
West African Union Mission (WAUM) headquarters.
Photo courtesy of West African Union Mission (WAUM).
West African Union Mission
By Emmanuel G. M. Kollie
Emmanuel G. M. Kollie (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology with a cognate in Theology of the Old Testament; M.A. in Education and Applied Theology with a minor in Computer Science). He is currently the president of the Adventist University of West Africa, in Liberia. Kollie is married to Erhuvwukorotu S. Kollie. They both have four children.
First Published: April 22, 2022
The West African Union Mission (WAUM) is one of the unions in the West-Central Africa Division. It was organized in 1973 and reorganized in 2000 and 2013. Its headquarters is in Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia.
Territory: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone; comprising the South-West Liberia Conference; the Central Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South-East Liberia Missions; and the Guinea Region.
Statistics (June 30, 2021): churches, 144; membership, 43,580; population, 26,818,000.1
History of WAUM
The Adventist message arrived in West Africa in the 1880s.2 When the Northern-Europe Division was organized in 1929, West Africa was assigned to it, along with those parts of French West Africa that adjoined Ghana and Nigeria. To accommodate the church in West Africa in its name, it was called Northern Europe-West Africa Division from 1971-1980.3 Thus, when the West African Union Mission was organized in 1973, it was a part of the Northern Europe-West Africa Division. Its territory included: Dahomey, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Upper Volta; comprising the Ivory Coast, Liberian, North Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo-Dahomey, and Upper Volta Missions; and the Ghana Conference. Population: 28,350,000; churches, 135; members, 26,093. Cable Address: “Adventist,” Accra, Ghana, West Africa. Postal Address: PO Box 1016, Accra, Ghana, West Africa. Telephones: 23720 and 24805. Administration: president, Thorvald Kristensen; secretary, C. B. Mensah; treasurer, W. G. C. Walton.4
The West African Union Mission’s territory included Ghana until it was reorganized in 2000 when the Ghana Union Conference was organized as a separate union.5 A further reorganization of the union in 2013 resulted in Gambia being removed and replaced with Guinea in the territory of the union.6 The present office building of WAUM was purchased in February 2000. The address is: Old Road; Sinkor, Monrovia; Liberia. Mailing: PO Box 357; Monrovia; Liberia.
During the 2000 organization of WAUM, Pastor Carlyle M. Bayne, was appointed to act as president of WAUM even though he was still the director of the department of Stewardship for the then Africa Indian-Ocean Division. Taiwo J. Robert and Joe Fayia were secretary and treasurer respectively. The members of the Executive Committee were: Taiwo John Roberts, J. B. A. Conteh, Joe H. Fayia, Borbor D. Gibson, and A. Kwei. The departmental directors were Edna Thomas (Children's Ministries and Education); Taiwo J. Roberts (Communication, Family Ministries, and Ministerial Association); Ephraim C. Pamero, Jr. (Health Ministries); Joe H. Fayia (Publishing, Stewardship, and Trust Services); Mrs. A. A. Roberts (Women's Ministries); and Borbor D. Gibson (Youth Miniseries).7
In 2001, a year after the reorganization of WAUM, it had the following statistics: churches, 89; membership, 28,457, and a combined population of 9,702,000 in the countries in its territory.8
In the 2013 reorganization of WAUM, Pastor James M. Golay was elected as president of WAUM along with Pastor Joseph B. A. Conteh as Executive Secretary, Philip Baffour-Awuah, as treasurer, and Martinus N. Bernard, as associate treasurer.9 The departmental directors were Pastor Emmanuel G. M. Kollie (Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, Family Ministries, Planned Giving and Trust Services, and Stewardship Ministries); Mrs. Cecelia A. Fayia (Children’s Ministries); Pastor Joseph B. A. Conteh (Communication); Sawusen Koryan Ndorleh (Education); Mrs. Jemimah Clara Wennie (Health Ministries); Pastor Emmanuel P. Smith (Ministerial Association, Spirit of Prophecy, and Strategic Planning); Pastor John O. Baysah (Sabbath School, Personal Ministries, and Youth Ministries); Mrs. Josie Watson (Women’s Ministries).10
When the union was reorganized again in 2013, the following were the statistics: churches, 120; membership, 33,371; population, 22,392,000.11
Administrators
Presidents: Carlyle M. Bayne (in acting capacity, 2000-2002), Danford R. Francis (2002-2004), Ekkie Haapasalo (2004-2010), James M. Golay (2007-2019), Michael S. Koroma (2020-Present).
Secretaries: Taiwo J. Robert (2000-2004), Joseph B. A. Conteh (2004-2015), Michael S. Koroma (2015-2019), John O. Baysah (20019-Present).
Treasurers: Joe Fayia (2000-2005), Philip Baffour-Awuah (2005-2015), George Davis (2015-2019), Rafi Sohail (2019-Present).
Sources
Records of WAUM, Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.
Trim, David J. B. A Passion for Mission. Bracknell, England: Newbold Academic Press, 2019.
Notes
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“West African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=13555.↩
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For more information see, for example, Onaolapo Ajibade, “West-Central Africa Division,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed April 19, 2022, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=8CAV&highlight=West-Central|Africa|Division.↩
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David J. B. Trim, A Passion for Mission (Bracknell, England: Newbold Academic Press, 2019), 3, 7.↩
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“West African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1973-74), p. 215, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1973,74.pdf.↩
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“West African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/2001.pdf.↩
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“West African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/2014.pdf.↩
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Records of WAUM, Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia.↩
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“West African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/2001.pdf.↩
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Records of WAUM, Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia.↩
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Ibid.↩
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“West African Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/2014.pdf.↩