Nenilava, Prophetess of Madagascar

by James B Vigen, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Overview

Before she was baptized or knew anything about Christ, young Nenilava was called by Jesus to preach and exorcise in his name. At the age of twenty, newly married to a Lutheran catechist, she heard Jesus prompting her to intervene in a case of demon possession, and from there her ministry spread like wildfire. She spent the next sixty years of her life traveling around her native Madagascar, proclaiming Jesus' victory over sin, guilt, and evil, and bringing countless people to faith. In this book, her firsthand account of her early ministry, as told to a Malagasy pastor, appears for the first time in English. Complementing the immediacy of her narrative, former missionary in Madagascar, James B. Vigen, recounts the last thirty years of Nenilava's life and describes the extraordinary impact of this illiterate peasant woman on African Christianity. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson concludes the book with a far-reaching exploration of demon possession, healing from illness and sin, emergent offices of ministry, and the relevance of Nenilava for Western Christianity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725273276
Publisher:	Pickwick Publications
Publication date:	12/17/2021
Pages:	146
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

James B. Vigen is a retired ELCA pastor living in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Vigen served as a missionary in Madagascar from 1978–1996, where he served as an evangelist and later a seminary director and professor. Vigen has also served as a pastor of an ecumenical, English-speaking congregation in Stavanger, Norway, and an adjunct professor at the School of Mission and Theology of the Norwegian Missionary Society. Vigen authored the articles on the Fifohazana and on Madagascar for the Dictionary of Luther and the Lutheran Traditions (2017).



Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is Associate Pastor at Tokyo Lutheran Church and Visiting Professor of the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France. She co-hosts the podcast Queen of the Sciences: Conversations between a Theologian and Her Dad. She is the author of A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans (2016).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This work is a valuable introduction to both the life and prophetic ministry of Volahavana Germaine ‘Nenilava’ and to the comparative study of revival-inspired Lutheranism in Madagascar and Western-based Christianity. It will certainly open the way to further in-depth study on the subject of revival, or awakening to the power of God.”

—Péri Rasolondraibe, Honorary President of the Malagasy Protestant Church in France (FPMA)



“If you need to know the foundation of the ‘revival movement’ in Madagascar, this book is for you. As a shepherd-exorcist, I recommend this assiduous task by Dr. James Vigen and Dr. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson. I personally know them from their missionary services at different theological seminaries in Madagascar. I am so glad that this book has finally made it to its completion.”

—Toromare Mananato, Vice General Secretary of the Malagasy Lutheran Church



“James Vigen and Sarah Hinlicky Wilson manage to combine a captivating life story of Nenilava, a Lutheran revival leader in Madagascar, with thought-provoking theological reflection on African Christianity. The role of biography in shaping Christian theology in an African context and an exploration of critical issues such as the connection between confessional Lutheranism and charismatic experience find a meaningful place in this important work. Excellent reading for students of African Christianity, theological schools, and church groups.”

—Samuel Deressa, Assistant Professor of Theology, Concordia University, St. Paul

Editorial Reviews

This work is a valuable introduction to both the life and prophetic ministry of Volahavana Germaine ‘Nenilava’ and to the comparative study of revival-inspired Lutheranism in Madagascar and Western-based Christianity. It will certainly open the way to further in-depth study on the subject of revival, or awakening to the power of God.”

—Péri Rasolondraibe, Honorary President of the Malagasy Protestant Church in France (FPMA)



“If you need to know the foundation of the ‘revival movement’ in Madagascar, this book is for you. As a shepherd-exorcist, I recommend this assiduous task by Dr. James Vigen and Dr. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson. I personally know them from their missionary services at different theological seminaries in Madagascar. I am so glad that this book has finally made it to its completion.”

—Toromare Mananato, Vice General Secretary of the Malagasy Lutheran Church



“James Vigen and Sarah Hinlicky Wilson manage to combine a captivating life story of Nenilava, a Lutheran revival leader in Madagascar, with thought-provoking theological reflection on African Christianity. The role of biography in shaping Christian theology in an African context and an exploration of critical issues such as the connection between confessional Lutheranism and charismatic experience find a meaningful place in this important work. Excellent reading for students of African Christianity, theological schools, and church groups.”

—Samuel Deressa, Assistant Professor of Theology, Concordia University, St. Paul

From the Publisher