How many of us would return to a place where we were sold into slavery to preach the gospel? Bishop Samuel Ayaji Crowther did just that when he returned to his native Nigeria to turn his people from idol worship to Christ. Sold into slavery several times, Ayaji was on a slave ship headed to Brazil when a British warship confiscated the slaves and took them to Liberia. Ayaji heard the gospel there and eventually became the first African bishop of the Church of England. He died on December 31, 1891, with his diocese covering all West Africa.
