Problems faced by Missionaries in Africa.

1.      Harsh climate
The humid and hot climate  of Africa  made travelling difficult and risky which confined missionary work to just a few areas The conditions were very unhealthy for missionaries who were used to the cool temperate climate of Europe. The pioneer missionaries had died and that had scared other interested societies to come to Africa.
2.      Diseases
For a long time, west and central Africa were considered as the "white man's  grave" because of malaria and other tropical diseases that claimed the lives of the whites in the area The death toll of missionaries was high and this retarded the progress of their work. e.g the death of Dr. David Livingstone brought an end to his adventurous travel in central Africa.  The leaders  of Paris  Evangelical  Mission   in Central  Africa  e.g. Coillard  and his wife  also died in  1904 at the hands  of tropical  diseases  while  Helmore  also died leaving his London Missionary  Society without care in central Africa .
Political problems  and insecurity
This was also a major set back to the missionary  work in Africa  especially  due to the fact that  it was the. time when  slave  raiding  was still rampant  especially  In central  Africa.  In Northern  Malawi,  for example,  the Lengu  and  Mabwe  people  were  still being  raided  by the Bemba  and Tuta Ngoni.  In Ndebele  kingdom,  Chief Lobengula  was against  the entry of  missionaries   in his  kingdom  until  1894 when  Cecil  Rhodes   with  his BSACo  forces attacked  and defeated  the Ndebele  kingdom.  It was therefore  impossible  to make converts and to work full time in some African  societies  e.g. Bunyoro,  Ethiopia  under Theodore  II, Iandika Empire under Samoure  Toure etc. due to political  and security problems.
Hostility from slave traders:
These strongly hated missionaries  because  of their preaching  campaign  against slave trade e.g  it was due to this hatred that some missionary  stations  in central  Africa were attacked by  slave  trading  societies  e.g.  Amachinga   Yao  in South  of  Lake  Malawi  while  coastal Arabs  could  not  allow  missionaries   to  set  missionary   stations   on their  coastal  regions which  explains  the  missionary   activity  in Zanzibar,  Pemba,   Kilwa  and  Sofala  zones  of East  Africa  while  in West  Africa,  Jaja  of Opobo,  one  of the  famous  Niger  Delta  states chiefs,  strongly  resisted  the entry  of missionaries   in his areas because  they feared the loss of their commerce. meanwhile  societies  which  were  heavily  hit by slave  trade  and  slavery  activities  had  to welcome  the missionaries   as a relief,  to this inhuman  activity  in their  area e.g. the Shena of Central Africa, the Fante of West Africa, central societies  of Tanganyika,  etc.
Lack of proper transport  and communication   systems
Africa  being  in the tropics,  its geography   is characterised   by  swamps,  lakes,  rivers, rift valleys,  forests  and mountains   which  hindered  the  movement   and  creation  of necessary infrastructure   e.g. roads,  navigation   systems  that wouldn't   facilitate   missionary  work  in the African  continent  e.g. around  Lake-Malawi,  presence  of swamps  and rapids  of River Zambezi  made navigation  difficult  for the movement  of missionaries.   This contributed  to the  failure  of initial  university   mission  in central  Africa  that  had  pioneered  missionary activities  in Shire highlands  in 1850 in Malawi.
In West  Africa,  the  presence   of  forests-and   boggy  topography   in southern  Nigeria   to southern  Ghana  flopped  the activities  of pioneer  missionary  groups in West Africa.  They were  not  passable.   Malaria  disease  also  made  the  missionary   group  of  the Portuguese origin to go back.
Lack of supplies                                                                -
It should be noted  that missionaries   were  operating  far away  from home,   it would  often take  many  months  and  at  times .years for  them  to  receive assistance   from  home,  the difficulties  of transport  and hostilities  of the environment  in which  they worked  made  it difficult  for them to receive supplies  in time of need, It was often  risky for a small group of missionaries  to travel from the interior  up to the coast  and other  places to look for food, medicine,  clothes,  and sometimes  hostile  tribes aggrieved   the  situation   by  ambushing   and  looting   any  such  limited  supplies   of  the missionaries  e.g. the Dutch  missionary  group  in central  Africa  were  victims  and had to close down because of lacking essential suppliers.
7.    Language barrier
This limited the missionary  work as in some cases missionaries  spent long time trying to learn African  languages  or would find it necessary  to teach their European  languages  to the local people if they were to get converts  in Africa. For example,  missionaries  in West Africa  spent  time  studying  the  Yoruba  language,   in East  Africa,  they  tried  to speak Luganda  and  Swahih.  They  had to write  books  in these  languages  like dictionaries  and bibles  all of it limited  the missionary  work and limited  expansion  in many ports  of East Africa.
8.      Limited nussionary  man power
Missionary  groups in Africa were also too few to be effective. This is why some parts of the continent  were  left unattended  to e.g. the Congo  regions,  Chad and central  African Republic  had no recorded  missionary  activity  in the  191h century. This  added to the high death  rate.  PIOneer mission  in Africa  greatly  discouraged   other  volunteers   who  were wilting  to come to Africa and carry out missionary  work. This explains why the death of one missionary  leader  would  stop the whole  of that missionary  group  from continuing with  its work.  e g. the death  of Coillard  and his  Wife in 1904 led to the collapse  of the evangelical  mission  in Barotseland.
9.    Quarrels  and misunderstandings   between  whites  themselves  limited  the progress  of their work   e g.  in   1858  the   Universities    Mission   to  Central   Africa   failed   because   of disagreement   between  the  leadership  and  management.  The  financial  embezzlement   of Blantyre   Mission   temporary   stopped   work  from   1879  and  had  to  resume   in  1892. Sometimes  the conduct  of missionaries   themselves   affected  their  work  negatively  e.g. some of them were harsh, indisciplined and this disorganised  the evangelizanon  process.
10.    Hostility of local rulers
Rulers like Lobengula didn't  allow missionaries  to station in their land without his consent
and in Mashona-land  the king strictly controlled  the movement  of the missionaries  in his territory.  It's  believed that Lobengula  resisted the entry of missionaries  in his territory for a long time and they ended up by calling on their home government  for protection and the British South African company force was sent in 1893-94 and immediately  took over the independence  of the Ndebele and Shona societies.
11.    Opposition from traditional religious and the African cultures:
The Africans  had  already  developed  a concept  of God whom  they approached  through religious  mediums  such  as Mwari  cult of the  Ndebele  that  was  strongly  rooted.  Such traditional  beliefs  influenced  the Afncans  to resist  the spread  of the white religion.  The tradition  of the ancestral worship,  sacrifices, witchcraft,  polygamy  and other values of the African society blocked the progress of the missionary  work.
Missionary  discrimination    of  Africans  which  led  to  the  development   of  independent churches»
These were  Christian  missionary  churches  led by pure  Africans  who broke  away from Europeans  because  of  segregation,   discrimination   etc.  subjected  to them  by European Bishops  and- priests.  Such cburches  include  the messianic  church,  the  Zionist  State and Ethiopian   Churches.   The  famous   African   independent    church   leaders   include  Eliot Kamwana,   Charles   Domingo   from  Malawi,   and  Chilembwe    of  northern   Rhodesia (Zambia).