Mojola Agbebi (1860–1917) was a Nigerian Yoruba

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister. He was formerly named David Brown Vincent, but during the wave of

African nationalism African nationalism is an umbrella term which refers to a group of political ideologies in sub-Saharan Africa, which are based on the idea of national self-determination and the creation of nation states.Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of . Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Niger ...

and in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

. Agbebi was the son of a Yoruba

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

, and was born shortly after his "Saro" father returned from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

to his homeland with the gospel. He left the CMS (the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

) in 1880 and became a Baptist around 1883. He played a prominent role in the March 1888 establishment of the Native Baptist Church (now the First Baptist Church) in Lagos, which was the first indigenous church in West Africa. Agbebi was a part of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Lagos, which was formed as result of a dispute within the First Baptist Church when American missionary Rev. W. J. David fired Rev. Moses Ladejo Stone, the native pastor. David rebuffed requests for an explanation by a delegation and by the church business meeting, claiming that he had the authority to dismiss Stone. Agbebi was an apostle of

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

. In 1898 he founded the

African Baptist Union of West Africa African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** List ...

, and in 1914 he started the Yoruba Baptist Association. He also supported his wife's efforts in establishing the nationwide Baptist Women's League in 1919. He was also politically active, and presented a paper at the 1911 First Universal Races Congress in London.

References

Nigerian Baptists 19th-century Baptist ministers 20th-century Baptist ministers Yoruba Christian clergy 1860 births 1917 deaths 19th-century Nigerian clergy 20th-century Nigerian clergy {{Nigeria-Christian-clergy-stub