In December 2004 the BRI staff met with an ad hoc committee at Valley View University, Accra, Ghana. This committee was organized by the African Divisions to deal with issues of a spiritualistic nature that affect the churches in Africa. The idea to begin a dialogue came about as a result of a rather unexpected interest in a paper on magic presented by Dr. Brempong Owusu-Antwi at the Faith and Science Conference in the Ivory Coast organized earlier in 2004. Drs. Andrews L. Ewoo and B. Owusu-Antwi impressed upon Dr. Angel M. Rodríguez, Director of BRI, who happened to be in attendance at the conference, the need to hold a special meeting to examine the issues on spiritualistic manifestations and their impact on our churches in Africa. The result was the convening of a committee which brought together theologians, administrators, and departmental leaders from the three African Divisions, Will Eva, the editor of Ministry magazine, and the BRI staff. In a way, the conference at Valley View was historic, being the first of its kind on the African continent.

Following two days of intense brainstorming and reflections on the issues, the group came up with fourteen topics on the subject, to be dealt with in papers that will be presented mostly by African theologians at a future meeting in Africa. The topics identified ranged from magic through witchcraft to ancestor worship. The papers on these topics will seek to discuss the biblical view on these matters and recommend appropriate practical, personal, and pastoral ways of responding to the problems the church faces. There was a general feeling among the participants that these discussions will be of great value not only to the church in Africa, but to the church worldwide.