Biography
Benjamin Kwashi was born in 1956 in northern Nigeria. He grew up in a land of many peoples and many faiths, where Christians and Muslims lived side by side and where tension was never far away. He came to faith in Christ as a young man and felt called to ministry. He trained for the Anglican priesthood and served in parishes in Nigeria. He married Gloria, and together they raised a family and began a lifetime of service.
In the early 1990s he was consecrated Bishop of Jos, a city on the plateau in the middle of Nigeria. Jos sits on the fault line between the largely Muslim north and the largely Christian south, and it has seen repeated outbreaks of violence over the years. Bishop Kwashi took up his duties there in a place where being a pastor meant standing with the people in danger. He led the diocese, preached the gospel and started ministries to care for the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. He founded programs for women and children, ran farms to help families feed themselves and built schools. Later he became Archbishop of the Province of Jos.
His ministry has not been quiet or safe. Violence between communities in and around Jos has killed thousands. Churches were burned and homes destroyed. The Kwashi family has been attacked on more than one occasion. Armed men have raided their home, and he and his wife have been beaten and threatened. In 2007 the attacks on his family were especially severe. After such attacks many leaders would have moved away or stayed behind guarded walls. The Kwashis chose to stay in Jos. They said that if the shepherd runs, the sheep are left alone. His wife Gloria has also given herself to ministry, caring for women and for those who suffer, and she has borne her own share of the cost.
Benjamin Kwashi has also become a leader in the wider Anglican world. He was a leading voice in the Global Anglican Future Conference, known as GAFCON, which was formed in 2008 by bishops and leaders who believed that parts of the Anglican Communion had departed from the teaching of Scripture. He served as its General Secretary for many years. He spoke for a church that holds to the Bible as the Word of God and that insists on faithful teaching about Christ, sin and salvation. He traveled widely and preached in many countries. He has been outspoken, and his stand has drawn both admiration and criticism.
He has also been a defender of Christians who suffer for their faith. He has spoken openly about the persecution of believers in northern Nigeria and elsewhere. He has called on the world to take notice, and he has insisted at the same time that Christians must not answer violence with hatred. He has often spoken of forgiveness and of praying for enemies. He has also acknowledged how hard it is. He has said that the temptation to bitterness is real and that the believer needs grace each day.
Those who know him describe a big-hearted man, full of joy and humor, who can sit with the poor and speak with leaders alike. He has a strong will and he does not shy away from conflict. He also knows his limits and speaks freely of his need for the Lord. He has said many times that he could not endure without prayer.
His life gives a living picture of what it means to remain faithful in a place of danger. He stayed where God put him, and he kept feeding the poor, preaching the gospel and loving his neighbors, including those who hurt him. Many believers in Nigeria and beyond have found courage in his example.