The story of the relationship between The Connexion and the Sierra Leone Mission (SLM) is an interesting one.
David Lockett, Chair of The Connexion Trustees and acting editor of The Voice, recently published an account of how these two church movements came together:
The Connexion’s involvement with Sierra Leone can seem like an accidental chapter in our history. It’s a quite astonishing story of two separate church movements, that owe their origins to the dedication of the Countess of Huntingdon.
For four decades the two Connexions were barely aware of each other. Then, long before any of us were born, believers from the two communities met, and chose to bind their futures together; the Connexion in the UK chose to partner with its sister Connexion in Sierra Leone. That choice created not a project but a relationship.
I’ve been studying the Connexion magazines, from the last 120 years. They show that, from the beginning, the Mission to Sierra Leone was spoken of as:
Our work
Our people
Our shared labour in Christ
The churches in Britain and Sierra Leone grew up conscious of one another, praying for one another, giving for one another, and learning to recognise that the Gospel had made them one household. It is a unique relationship in church life so enduring, so personal, and so deeply mutual. It’s not simply history; it’s true fellowship.
What keeps the Connexion involved is recognition that we are bound together because God has bound us together. When missionaries endured sickness, when congregations rebuilt after loss, when chapels, schools, dispensaries, an orphanage, and a health centre were raised with so few resources, the language used was of God’s provision for our shared witness.
The churches in Sierra Leone are our partners in this common witness. Their endurance has often inspired and strengthened the faith of the UK churches. Their courage has rebuked our discouragement. Their joy in worship has reminded us why the Connexion exists at all. We remain involved because in their life we see the work of God that joined us together, and The Voice never tires of celebrating them.
The Sierra Leone Connexion proclaims Christ steadily in difficult conditions. It educates children where education would otherwise be a distant dream. It rescues children the world has abandoned. It heals bodies to reach hearts. It builds churches not only of brick but of human fellowship, reconciling disputes, guiding communities, and giving visible form to Christian hope. Above all, it shows that our faith can take root in soil very different from our own and bear fruit. The work in Sierra Leone proves that the Gospel does not belong to one nation; it belongs to Christ.
The historical accounts also speak honestly about struggle. The mission has always lived close to its limits. Funds are scarce, workers are few, illness and even war interrupts plans, and progress is slower than we would wish. The burden placed on a handful of faithful workers is often heavy. We don’t try to hide these weaknesses, instead we offer them to God in prayer. Past pages of The Voice present struggle as part of their authenticity, they never pretend that the mission is easy.
And perhaps that’s the deepest reason the Connexion remains bound to Sierra Leone. This relationship has taught us, year after year, that the Church lives by grace rather than by strength. Our shared history is a testimony to providence: two communities, on separate continents, carried forward by the same faithfulness of God. For it to cease would silence a living witness to what the Connexion has always believed, that relationship matters more than size, that mission matters more than comfort, and that the Gospel entrusted to us is meant to be shared, even when the cost is real.
The Sierra Leone Mission is central to our story, not an optional appendix. It is one of the places where the Connexion has most clearly learned what it means to follow Christ together.
"Not a project, but a relationship"
