PACMACK: Where Africa’s missionary kids finally found home

In Lagos, Nigeria, something quietly historic unfolded in October 2025. The Pan-African Conference for Missionary and Cross-Cultural Kids (PACMACK) was not just an event. PACMACK was a long-awaited answer to a question many children of African missionaries had carried silently for years: is there a place where my story makes sense? Neither the dominant global MK narrative nor the broader TCK framework fully tells the African MK story, shaped as it is by faith, culture, race, and Africa’s uniquely complex context.

God showed up. And everyone present knew it.

A gathering Africa had been waiting for

PACMACK was convened to address a deeply under-discussed reality: the lifelong impact of third culture upbringing on African children of missionaries and cross-cultural Christian workers.

For decades, African MKs and children of cross-cultural Christian workers have lived between worlds, cultures, languages, and expectations, often without the language or community to process those experiences. PACMACK created that space for learning and belonging.

It brought together young and adult (18-35+)children of missionaries and workers from sending churches and mission organizations across Africa. These were individuals who had grown up cross-culturally and were now beginning to reflect on how that upbringing shaped their identity, faith, relationships, and sense of belonging.

The room where stories finally met understanding

PACMACK 1.0, themed Thrive, was not a call to survive complex upbringings or merely cope with cross-cultural tension. Thrive reframed the conversation toward wholeness, purpose, and the confidence to shape their own paths. It invited African MKs and children of cross-cultural Christian workers to understand their stories, name their experiences, and recognize the strengths forged through their journeys, not as anomalies to be managed, but as foundations for growth, leadership, and impact.

Out of more than 160 registered expressions of interest, over 80 participants attended, representing MKs from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Benin Republic, Ghana, and Ethiopia.

Also present were MK caregivers from multiple mission organizations such as SIM, Interaction International, Calvary Ministries (CAPRO), and Operation Mobilization (OM), listening and learning about the African MK experience firsthand from MKs as well as sharing their broader experiences in MK care.

The speakers were not outsiders theorizing about the African MK realities. They were MKs and TCKs themselves, sharing lived stories of struggle, growth, grief, resilience, and redemption. Speakers such as Jeremiah Gado (MK), the former Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) President, David Bowers (MK), the CAPRO International Chairman, David Ogunsola (MK), Paul Bamibe (MK), and Tolu Oladipo (MK). They spoke candidly about navigating identity fractures, cultural displacement, and the quiet strengths that third culture experiences cultivate. The conference also had Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, an internationally recognised Christian businesswoman and first female Chairperson of First Bank of Nigeria, who charged and inspired MKs to live boldly and audaciously in the workplace.

For many participants, this was the first time they heard their inner lives described out loud.

What happened in that space

The testimonies were consistent. Participants shared that:

• They felt seen, many for the first time in their lives.
• They found a community that instinctively understood their reactions, questions, and contradictions.
• They finally had language for their experiences as Third Culture Kids, and clarity on how those experiences shaped their worldview and emotional landscape.
• They learned not only how to heal, but how to leverage their cross-cultural upbringing for purpose, leadership, and impact.

The conference atmosphere carried depth and honesty. There were intense conversations, quiet moments of reflection, tears of relief, shared laughter, heartfelt worship, and the beginnings of friendships that will likely last a lifetime.

Gratitude that runs deep

None of this would have been possible without the generosity, prayers, and encouragement of partners and supporters who believed in the vision before it had a name, a venue, or a precedent.

Because of that support, PACMACK became a safe, healing, and life-shaping space for African MKs and the children of cross-cultural Christian workers. The fruit of this gathering will be seen not just in the lives of African MKs, but in families, mission organisations, sending churches, and communities for years to come.

On behalf of the PACMACK planning committee and every life touched, we say thank you. Together, history was made.

What comes next

PACMACK 1.0 was only the beginning.

The vision of PACMACK extends far beyond a single gathering. It is to see the intentional establishment and steady growth of MK care and community across African nations, rooted in support, understanding, and shared identity. PACMACK exists as a convening and networking ground, a place where relationships are formed, resources are developed, and capacity for MK care is cultivated. From this space, localized expressions of MK care can take root and flourish, strengthening the wider African missionary ecosystem for generations to come.

The plan is a biannual gathering that continues to connect MKs and TCKs across Africa. PACMACK 2.0 is set for 2027, with expectations of broader reach, deeper programming, and a growing continental community.

How you can be involved

PACMACK is a movement sustained by the community of adult MKs and MK caregivers who seek the growth of MK care in Africa. You can join this movement by:

• Connecting MKs and children of Christian cross-cultural workers to us.
• Sharing relevant MK and TCK resource materials with us.
• Offering your skills, expertise, or professional support.
• Encouraging MKs in your circle to participate in future PACMACK conferences.
• Connect us with Christian Mission Organizations and Sending Churches operating in Africa .
• Give financially towards sustaining this vision.

To connect or learn more, visit the PACMACK website www.pacmack.com or send an email to pacmack1.0@gmail.com

Masinoluwa Kashimawo

For the Planning Committee