The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), formerly the Evangelical Church of West Africa, is widely regarded as the second largest indigenous Protestant denomination in Plateau State, after the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN).
The history of ECWA in Plateau is deeply intertwined with the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), a direct missionary complement of the Sudan United Mission (SUM), which brought COCIN into the state.
Firmly rooted in the state with its headquarters in Jos, Plateau State, became the primary administrative, educational, and spiritual nerve center for one of Nigeria’s largest protestant denominations.
The origins of the church can be traced back to 1893 when the SIM was founded by Canadian and American missionaries, Rowland Bingham, Walter Gowans, and Thomas Kent, while their first Nigerian churches were established in places like Patigi and Egbe in present-day Kwara and Kogi States.
In the early 1900s, their mission work quickly expanded northward, with the missionaries finding highly receptive communities in the Middle Belt, particularly in the central highlands of what is now Plateau State
According to the church’s website, what is known today as ECWA started with the story of Mrs. Margaret Craig Gowans, who had a burden for the unreached communities in the then Sudan. She carried this burden for years in prayers for the redemption of the people of the African continent.
Mrs. Gowans believed that unless someone took a step and dared to come to the Sudan, popularly regarded then as the ‘Whiteman’s grave’, and share the gospel message, the people may not hear the message of salvation.
In what could be described as an answer to the fervent prayers of Mrs. Gowans, her biological son, Walter, answered the call of God to go and serve as a missionary to the Sudan. Walter embarked on this trip with two other young men, Thomas Kent and Rowland Bingham.
The three forerunners, Walter Gowans, a Scottish-Canadian, Thomas Kent, an American, and Rowland Bingham, an English-Canadian, had a strong faith in the missionary vision they had received.
All their efforts to raise support for the work of the mission were not fruitful; they ended up working to earn money and raise enough funds to sponsor their trip to Nigeria.
They arrived in Badagry, Lagos, on December 4, 1893, with only about thirty British pounds left on them. On arrival, they met an older Western missionary who inquired about their mission.
They replied that they were in Nigeria to take the gospel to the hinterland. The missionary said to them, “You will never see the Sudan, your children will never see the Sudan, perhaps your grandchildren may.”
The three young men were not discouraged despite the predictions of death and illness. They continued because they were committed to their vision. Their concern, deep love, burden, and compassion for the lost became the driving force through the thick, dark, and deadly African tropical forest.
Within a year of their arrival, they were confronted with the death of Gowans and Kent. Gowans died on November 7, 1894, and was buried at Girku in present-day Kaduna State.
Though there isn’t much information as to how he was buried, it is, however, known that Gowans’ faithful Liberian helper was with him until he died. It was this young man who made the trip to Ogbomosho to convey what was left of Gowans’ belongings to Mr. Bingham. Thomas Kent died on December 8, 1894, and was buried in Bida, in present-day Niger State.
Rowland Bingham, the only survivor, nearly died from a serious malaria attack. Returning home, he visited Mrs. Gowans in Canada with late Walter’s belongings. The efforts of these three young men since 1893 gave birth to the organization called Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), now known as Serving in Missions.
The second attempt to enter the Sudan in 1900, led by Bingham along with Albert Taylor and A.J Moline, was also unsuccessful, even though without any loss of human life, ill-health and discouragement kept the mission from a successful entry into the Sudan.
The third attempt was, however, successful. Between 1901 and 1910, the following stations were established: Patigi, Bida, Wushishi, Egbe, Paiko, Kpada, Kwoi, and Karu. Other stations were established thereafter.
From there, Bingham and his new team took the bold step of expanding into Plateau, and because of the cooler, temperate climate, the SIM missionaries established a key missionary rest station and training center in Miango in the early 20th century.
As the gospel spread rapidly among the local indigenous populations rapidly transformed from a small settlement into the epicenter of evangelical Christianity in Northern Nigeria.
The headquarters of SIM and later ECWA was officially established in Jos, where it remains today.
After successfully establishing the Church, it slowly but surely embarked on building an educational and social legacy in Plateau State.
The history of ECWA in Plateau State is inseparable from its massive social outreach, with the establishment of schools and the launching of a robust network of healthcare facilities to cater to the rural communities.
ECWA later became independent from SIM but was to work closely in partnership with the parent mission and choose overseers for the various districts. As it is today, ECWA changed her name from the Evangelical Church of West Africa to Evangelical Church Winning All, maintaining her acronym ECWA.
Today, ECWA runs some of the best schools and health services in Plateau State, including the ECWA Staff School, Jos, ECWA Private School, Kabong, ECWA Theological Seminary,
Kent Academy, Mango, ECWA Evangel Hospital School of Nursing, Bingham University, and the Bingham University Teaching Hospital.
The Church has spread massively across the state and boasts millions of members, and is still looking to expand even more.