The diocese was founded as one of the eight
missionary dioceses created in
Northern Nigeria at the start of the Decade of Evangelism.
Makurdi was the centre of the southern
archdeaconry of the
Diocese of Jos and is the capital of
Benue State. The diocese was founded on 24 September 1990 with the enthronement of
Nathan Nyitar Inyom (the then-
archdeacon) as the first
Bishop of Makurdi. The staff of the diocese were five other
clergy and
evangelists and
congregations in thirty-one
churches. The diocese saw dramatic growth through the decade and at the end of 2000 had grown to over two hundred churches, while the number of the workers have increased to fifty clergy and ten lay workers.
Mission and
evangelism continue to be the stated priorities of the
diocese, but unrest in the period following the return to
democracy in 1999 has led to the church responding with more work in
conflict resolution and reconciliation. ==List of bishops==