영문 으로 되 어 있 는 라이베리아 에 대한 소개 와 SIM Liberia 의 사역 들 이 소개 들 이 있 습니다 . DescriptionLiberia has the distinction of being the only nation in black Africa never to have been colonized or ruled by whites . It declared itself to be a free nation in 1847 . The country has been badly crippled by the effects of a civil war which began in 1989 . Liberia is bordered by Sierra Leone , Guinea , and C ? e d ' Ivoire . . .. more 23 - Nov - 2001 Liberia November Report 31 - Aug - 2001 Liberia Field Report Topography History Political S i t u a t i o n M i s s i o n s H i s t o r y ReceptivityNationalChurch Related Church - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------------------- TopographyLocated on the western bulge of Africa and bordered to the south by the Atlantic Ocean , Liberia has three distinct topographical features : the coastal belt , 80 miles wide , with beaches , lagoons , and marshes rolling plateaus in the central region , sectioned with low mountains and dense forest the mountain area to the extreme north . The climate is warm and humid . Rainfall varies from near 200 inches at Monrovia to less than 80 inches in the interior . back HistoryLiberia is thought to have been settled from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries by peoples from surrounding areas . Throughout this period no dominant kingdom ruled , resulting in a number of smaller independent tribal kingdoms . In 1461 , Portuguese explorers visited Liberia ' s coasts and for the next 250 years trade was conducted between European merchants and African coastal inhabitants ( including much slave trading ) . In 1816 , the U . S . Government granted the American Colonization Society a charter to send freed slaves to Africa ' s west coast . These settlers were able to obtain land from native chiefs , and in 1832 the first group settled at present - day Monrovia ( named after U . S . President JamesMonroe in 1824 ) . There were a number of new settlements in the following years , and houses echoed the architectural tastes of Georgia , the Carolinas , and Maryland . The constitution was written at HarvardLawSchool , and laws were codified at Cornell . In 1838 settlers united to establish the Commonwealth of Liberia . On July 26 , 1847 , Liberia became Africa ' s first independent republic , her constitution patterned after that of the U . S . During her struggle to remain independent , Liberia ceded surrounding disputed territory to both France and Britain ( portions of present - day Sierra Leone and Guinea ) . The United States didn ' t recognize Liberia until after the American Civil War . Liberia began to build toward economic stability based on coastal trade , but with the advent of steam - powered ships , her trading advantage was lost in the 1880 s . This led to a protracted period of decline and a dispute with England over a debt that Liberia couldn ' t repay . The United States was instrumental in keeping England from collecting the debt by physical force , but the tensions continued for over 30 years . The solution came in the mid - 1920 s when HarveyFirestone gave the needed money ( $ 5 , 000 , 000 ) to the Liberian government in return for an option to build what became the largest rubber plant in the world . Liberia has been solidly aligned with the United States and the West in the twentieth century , and ranked third in the amount of United States aid received per capita until 1987 . From its inception until 1980 , the government of Liberia was continually in the hands of a small elite known as the Americo - Liberians or Congos . These were descendants of the original settlers who were freed slaves from the U . S . and other African - Americans who were brought to Liberia and set free after being taken from slave ships on the high seas . However , it wasn ' t until the 1950 s that the government extended its control to the entire country and stopped tribal warfare . At that time the government began a campaign to integrate the indigenous peoples into the national structure . At about the same time , due to international demand for rubber and the high - grade iron ore in Liberia , there was an economic boom which lasted until the mid - 1970 s . Conditions began to improve for the common man and the infrastructure was improved in the form of roads , schools , medical assistance , etc . It was clear with the economic decline of the 1970 s , however , that the economic boom time had not produced self - sustaining development . Liberia has continued in a state of economic decline since the military takeover in 1980 when many professional businessmen left and the natural wealth of the country was mismanaged . In 1980 President WilliamTolbert and most of his cabinet were assassinated in a coup led by Master Sergeant SamuelDoe . A series of attempted coups took place because of rising frustration with Doe ' s corruption and mismanagement . Elections were called for and held in 1985 , but the election results were disputed . The resulting rebellion was crushed with ruthless execution of Doe opponents , ritual murders , dismemberment and eating of body parts . Civil war erupted in a 1989 Christmas Eve invasion by CharlesTaylor and his forces of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL ) who were seeking to depose President Doe . The NPFL were mainly recruited from the Gio and Mano tribes . Government forces destroyed Gio and Mano villages in retaliation . Fighting between the NPFL , the Armed Forces of Liberia , and other splinter groups reached the capital city in June 1990 . A peace keeping force from the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) was sent to Liberia in August 1990 and stopped the fighting . They were not , however , able to broker a peace agreement acceptable to all the factions that had formed , and fighting broke out again in October 1992 when the NPFL launched " Operation Octopus . " ECOWAS increased the size of its army in Liberia and stopped the takeover . In August 1993 , the factions agreed upon a cease - fire , but sporadic fighting continued . Repeated attempts to bring the factions to agreement from 1993 - 1996 all failed . Fighting broke out in Monrovia on April 6 , 1996 forcing the evacuation of hundreds of expatriate relief workers , missionaries , and embassy personnel by the US Armed Forces . Thousands fled the capital and looting and vandalism left the city in ruins . In August 1996 the main faction leaders agreed to another truce , which included disarmament and presidential elections to be scheduled for May 1997 . The elections were postponed until July 1997 , when CharlesTaylor was elected . The election seemed to stabilize the factional rivalries until September 1998 , when an attempt to arrest a former opposition leader resulted in a raid , looting , and shooting in central Monrovia , followed by a standoff with the US Embassy where the fugitive fled . Other tensions continue near the Guinea and Sierra Leone borders , where there have been raids , looting , and killing . Each of the three nations claims the others have been trying to destabilize the others by harboring dissidents and providing weapons for them . In September 1999 , at a meeting brokered by ECOWAS , the nations agreed to cooperate with one another . The civil war has claimed between 150 , 000 and 200 , 000 lives through fighting , starvation , and lack of medical facilities . Each of the factions has committed atrocities . More than 750 , 000 Liberians have lived as refugees in the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone , Guinea , and C ? e d 묲 voire . The United Nations has repatriated many , but a large number have permanently emigrated . It will take a generation or more of peace and stability for the nation to recover from the trauma and disruption of the civil war . back Political Situation Constitution : Liberia operated under the same constitution from 1848 . Liberia was considered to be about the most stable country in sub - Saharan Africa until the 1980 coup when a military government suspended the constitution . A new draft constitution was overwhelmingly accepted in a national referendum in July 1984 . In practice the government is headed by a strong executive branch with a legislative and judicial branch that fall into line with little opposition . The president 뭩 term is six years with a two - term limit . There is complete freedom of religion and freedom of the press . Political Parties : In the current regime , the National People 뭩 Party headed by President Taylor dominates , but other smaller parties come and go . There ' s no apparent suppression of opposition . backMissions HistoryDue to Christian influence brought by the slaves returned from the United States , Protestant missions had an early start in Liberia . Two Baptist pastors were among the first to arrive in 1822 and begin church and mission work . Their work was joined by American Baptists and Southern Baptists from the U . S . and has developed today into the Liberian Baptist Convention with about 50 , 000 affiliates . The first Methodist missionary arrived in 1833 . Some of the first settlers to arrive were also Methodist , and the MethodistChurch has developed into the largest denomination in Liberia . Other Protestant groups followed : United Lutheran Church ( now known as the Lutheran Church of Liberia ) , Pentecostals , Seventh - Day Adventists , Baptist Mid - Missions , Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA , and Worldwide Evangelization Crusade . Many small Protestant mission societies were working in the country prior to the civil war . Liberia then had one of the highest per capita missionary populations in the world . Although the Portuguese had contacted Liberia as early as 1462 , no permanent Catholic work was established until 1906 . Earlier attempts to establish a mission among the settlers had all ended in failure . There have not been a large number of converts . Catholic work has been marked by greater success in education than evangelism . In 1952 SIM involvement in Liberia began when the newly - formed West Africa Broadcasting Association ( WABA ) joined SIM . Radio ELWA , twelve miles from downtown Monrovia , grew rapidly and broadcast in 45 languages , using five transmitters prior to the war . In 1965 the 45 - bed ELWAHospital was opened , widening SIM ' s ministry . By the late 1970 s SIM had started church planting ministries in Tahn and Kolahun . The war started in December 1989 . As the war progressed , SIM evacuated most of its personnel , leaving behind a skeleton crew to keep the radio station on the air and treat war casualties at the hospital . SIM ' s ELWA compound became flooded by up to 22 , 000 refugees . The refugees believed the warring factions respected SIM ' s work and neutrality , and would leave the compound untouched . Finally , in July 1990 , even the skeleton crew was forced to evacuate . Within two hours after the refugees learned of this , they abandoned the compound as well . on their evacuation route , however , five missionaries were taken back to ELWA compound by Taylor ' s troops . Taylor had the missionaries broadcast over the ELWA radio his victory speech announcing him as Liberia ' s new president . In the following months , opposing forces sought to control ELWA , resulting in the total destruction of the radio station , print shop , power house , and six residences . All buildings suffered extensive damage and looting . SIM missionaries began to return to Monrovia in January 1991 , and their numbers built back up to nearly 40 ( adults and children ) over the next year - and - a - half . All but four of the men evacuated within a week after Taylor attacked Monrovia in October 1992 , and half of those who evacuated returned to Monrovia within the next three months . Forty missionaries lived in Monrovia as of June 1995 . Because of an incursion in April 1996 , the missionaries were once again evacuated . All national staff also left and the mission buildings were looted and damaged worse than before . In the meantime , former hospital , services , and radio employees , however , moved in to save the campus from total looting . Within a couple of months they re - established the hospital as a clinic . SIM sent support personnel to consult , and provided some funding for capital expenses , and radio ELWA started again in early 1997 . In mid - 1998 several missionaries moved back into Liberia to work . back Receptivity to the GospelGod may be opening many doors , particularly among people who ' ve been moving into Monrovia . However , Islam is growing and is particularly strong among the Gbandi , Gola , Mandingo , and Vai peoples . The international Muslim missionary movement considers Liberia to be a strategic base for reaching into West Africa . Currently it seems the traditional religions are gaining strength as people are turning to it as a way of restoring stability in society . back The NationalChurchThere is no official national church in Liberia . There are , however , many older churches along the coast that are in need of revival . Nominalism and syncretism with animistic beliefs are widespread among leaders and members . Some urban and inland churches are growing and reaching out in evangelism . A Liberian Council of Churches is composed of Lutheran , Episcopal , Methodist , and similar groups . An evangelical fellowship of churches and missions established in 1966 became dormant in 1982 , but was reactivated in the late 1980 s as the Association of Evangelicals of Liberia ( AEL ) . It is helping Liberians reestablish themselves through loans , training , working among rural people . The funding comes from groups like TEAR Fund and World Relief . back The SIM - relatedChurchThe SIM - related church in Liberia is young , as SIM began church planting in Liberia in 1976 . In 1997 an association of SIM - related and other churches formed the EvangelicalChurchUnion of Liberia ( ECUL ) . SIM works with ECUL in church development . We don 뭪 know exactly how many churches and preaching points exist . Ten years ago there were 740 baptized members and a total of over 2 , 050 weekly attendees among different people groups in which SIM is working .