About Israel

Rev. Dr Israel Oluwole Olofinjana (PhD) is the Director of the One People Commission of the Evangelical Alliance. He is an ordained and accredited Baptist minister and has led two multi-ethnic Baptist churches and an independent charismatic church. He is the founding director of the Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, a mission network initiative that provides cross-cultural training to reverse missionaries in Britain. Israel is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham and is on the Advisory Group on Race and Theology of the Society for the Study of Theology (SST). He is a consultant to Lausanne Europe, advising them on matters related to diaspora ministries in Europe. He is on the Christian Aid Working Group of Black Majority Church leaders, exploring the intersection of climate justice and racial justice and a member of Tearfund’s Theology Committee.  Israel lectures at Christ Theological College on themes related to World Christianity and he a visiting lecturer at All Nations Christian College and London School of Theology. Israel attends West Leigh Baptist church with his family where preaches occasionally.

He is a Yoruba Nigerian coming from a Pentecostal background. He holds a BA (Hons) in Religious Studies from the University of  Ibadan, Nigeria and MTh from Carolina University of Theology (CUT). Israel’s PhD thesis, through his publications, has been to develop African British Theology, exploring African identity through Intercultural Missiology and Public Theology. He has published several books, including editing World Christianity in Western Europe: Diasporic Identity, Narratives and Missiology (2020), African Voices: Towards African British Theologies (2017), Turning the Tables on Mission: Stories of Christians from the Global South in the UK (2013) and co-editing Encountering London: London Baptists in the 21st Century (2015). He is the author of Reverse in Ministry and Missions: Africans in the Dark Continent of Europe (2010), 20 Pentecostal Pioneers in Nigeria (2011) and Partnership in Mission: A Black Majority Church Perspective on Mission and Church Unity (2015).  He is also a member of Commission for Mission for the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).

Israel’s research interest and areas of specialisation include African Christianity, African theology, Reverse mission, multicultural churches, intercultural ecumenism, African Pentecostalism, Black Majority Churches (BMCs),World Christianity and Public Theology.

Israel speaks nationally at various conferences, seminars, theological Colleges, Universities on the subject of Reverse Mission, African Christianity and Black Majority Churches. He is very passionate about the Bible and likes to help people connect with its stories. He also loves Railway models (Hornby), Lego and Scalextric! He is happily married to Lucy Olofinjana, who works for London City Mission (LCM).  as their Evangelism Content Manager. They are blessed with one son, Iyanuoluwa (meaning God’s miracle) and Iretioluwa (meaning God’s hope).

If you would like to contact me regarding any of my research work or would like to invite me to speak or preach about issues to do with African Christianity in Britain or related subject please contact me through this email address: israelolofinjana@yahoo.co.uk