Born in the Congo to Missionary parents from Belfast and growing up deep in the heart of the dense tropical Ituri rainforest, David McAllister’s childhood was a unique and formative experience. His first home for many years was a village, where he spent wonderful days with Congolese friends exploring the vast and varied forest environment. He grew up learning to fluently speak the local languages and, more importantly, he acquired a deep understanding and respect for the diversity of Congolese cultures and peoples – something that he has kept with him all his life.
David is also Irish by birth. His parents left Belfast in 1951 as missionaries, and served in Congo for over forty years. David also enjoyed life in Ireland himself from 1970 to 1982, as he pursued a degree in Agriculture at Queens University in Belfast.
Why agriculture? David was, and is still, convinced that Congo has the potential to not only provide food security for all its people, but the rest of Africa as well. His intent was always to serve God back in Congo to do his best, in Jesus’s name, to break the cycle of poverty.
Alongside his wife, Sabine, who he met at a Bible College in Paris, he has lived and worked for many years in Congo and other African nations seeking to address the challenge of poverty through the local church and communities. Much has been accomplished but there is much more to be done to witness the Kingdom of God here on earth.
