The Church as a Spiritual and Social Being: A Holistic Approach to Ministry in the Contemporary Ghanaian Society

The teaching of Jesus presents a powerful dimension to the understanding of holistic ministry. In Luke 4 18-19, His announcement of His vision in the synagogue at Nazareth has a powerful component of spiritual and social action. Jesus was purposefully mandated to preach the Gospel to the deprived, heal the blind, set the captives free and liberate the oppressed. Preaching and ministering to physical needs of people were both central in Jesus’ life and work. He preached and healed. He satisfied both sick hearts and sick bodies. This paper discusses contextual reasons for the employment of holistic ministry in the contemporary Ghanaian Society. It brings to the fore the need for the Church to engage in holistic ministry which would go a long way to attract even non-Christians into the Christian fold. The study recommends that attending to the social needs of people in the Ghanaian society is an advantage to the church hence the call to employ holistic ministry. The study contributes to research knowledge in the holistic approach to ministry pointing out clearly that the ministry is not only for the spiritual growth of a person but also a person’s social wellbeing.


INTRODUCTION
In the view of Edward Enim, the nature of the church is described as not only spiritual but also physical, and the people it serves are both material and spiritual in essence. 1 Without physical necessities, it is difficult to worship God. Things like clothes, shoes, food, transport, among others fuel the individual's devotion to his God. In the light of this, Enim warns the church against dualism and insists that the church's mission is holistic. 2 This means that no group in the church is called only to serve tables and the other called to pray and evangelize; all Christians are all in all together.
Foremost, Holistic ministry entails preaching the Gospel in both words and deeds to all manner of persons with a special attention on those that are both spiritually and materially destitute. It is, thus, evident that Jesus' mission is directed to the poor  and defines not merely in subjective, spiritual or economic terms, but in the holistic sense of those who are for any of a number of socio-religious reasons are in need of God's intervention. 3 Thus, the "poor" to whom Jesus was sent was a generalization, not as an exclusive reference. Therefore, for the church to be holistic in its ministry, there should be a blend of proclamation and social concern.
Second, a holistic approach to ministry should be intensified with the intention of making the Gospel significant to contemporary Ghanaian society because faithful communication of the Gospel requires costly, incarnational identification with humanity -no isolation of proclamation from the social involvement. Jesus even became a social activist challenging the evils of society, showing concern for the poor, the marginalized and the weak. He introduced such people to the love of God, the power of God and also to the community of dignified people -a community of forgiven people, women and men, prostitutes and tax collectors (Jn 18:36). One cannot have a balanced ministry when he focuses on only spirituality or social responsibility.
Further, proclamation of the Gospel should go hand in hand with social action because the problems of this world are rooted in sinful rebellion against God. When drug abusers or sinners are converted, society improves. This should not make proclamation the sole aim of the church because people are not saved until they are economically saved. According to H. Richard Niebuhr, the church is a "social pioneer. " As it engages in social action, it expresses "the highest form of social responsibility. " 4 Again, one cannot divorce spirituality from social action because Christ has redeemed human beings for good deeds (Eph. 2:10). Hospitals and orphanages started among Christians who cared about the needy. Sunday schools began as places to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic to illiterate kids caught in the oppression of child labour. Sunday was their only free day. Slowly, the larger society saw that access to hospitals and universal education were good things that everyone should enjoy. 5 Living a model that challenges the sinful neglect or oppression of the larger society often brings social change. 6 Consequently, the church should embark upon a holistic ministry because social action fleshes out the Lordship of Christ, reaching people's spiritual needs through their felt needs and developing an indigenous economic base for the work. 7 When social responsibility or ministry and proclamation of the Gospel are interwoven, the outcome is much more potent than any of them being executed separately. This shows that they are inseparably interrelated. They mutually support each other. In practice, they are often so intertwined that it would be fruitless, indeed destructive, to pull them apart. 8 They are like the two wings of a bird. Therefore, the Church as a spiritual and social being must strengthen a holistic approach to ministry in the contemporary Ghanaian society. This paper basically focuses on discussing contextual reasons for the employment of holistic ministry in the contemporary Ghanaian Society. It discusses what the church is, functions of the church, biblical examples of social concerns, holistic approach to ministry, and the rational for holistic ministry in Ghana.

The Church
The term "church" is used in two senses: the universal sense and the local sense. In the universal sense, the church consists of all those who, in this age, have been born of the Spirit of God and have by that same Spirit been baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13; 1 Pt. 1:3, [22][23][24][25]. That the term is used in this universal sense is evident because Christ spoke of building his church, not churches (Mt. 16:18); Paul grieved because he had persecuted the church (1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6); Christ is said to have loved the church and to have given himself for her (Eph. 5:25). In all these Scriptures the Greek word ekklesia is used. In itself this term means simply a body of called-out people, as an assembly of citizens in a self-governing state; but the New Testament has filled it with a spiritual content, so that it means a people called out from the world and from sinful things. It is interesting to note that the English word "church" comes from the Greek word kuriakos, which means "belonging to the Lord. " 9 This adjective occurs only twice in the New Testament; it is used of the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20), and of the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10). Membership is not, however, hereditary or by compulsion but by a personal decision of faith in Christ (Rom 10:9-10).

The Functions of the Church
Jesus Christ is revered as the Lord over His called-out people, the church, and the one calling people to Himself. This therefore is a call to duty and submission to His commands. Thus, the church is charged with the task of continuously performing the mission of the Master as instructed to them. Hence, the church's mandate remains as that of Christ . This is clearly stated in Matthew 28:19-20 where the church is commanded to make disciples. In as much as Christians continuously have faith in Christ and are committed to him, there must be the embracing and observing of the many things that he has mandated believers to do. However, Christians must not overlook the fact that "we are calledto 4 Richard H. Niebuhr, The responsibility of the Church for Society (New York: Harper press, 1946), 130-132. 5 Niebuhr, The responsibility of the Church for Society, 132. mission, not only as disciples of Christ, but as children of the Father demonstrating His love that is compassionate (and) imitating His love of grace toward guilty and undeserving enemies. " 10 More so, in as much as believers observe the very things that Jesus has directed them to do, the church is called "to worship God, to nurture the people of God, and to bear witness to the world in mission. " 11 Hence, the evangelistic ministry becomes the foundation introducing people into God's Kingdom (Jn 3:3), serves as an avenue for nurturing and maturing (Eph 4:11-16), as they diligently offer to God His worship in performing the very duties that He commissioned them for, which in turn serves both as representation of God's love and that of their fellow men .
In addition, a holistic approach to ministry is the best means possible to render the Gospel relevant to contemporary Ghanaian society because the proclamation of the Gospel, of course, is a matter of both word and deed. The very presence of the church in society is the beginning of God's social transformation: a move toward justice. 12 When one cares for people in Jesus' name, the act of mercy opens hearts to the gospel. Moreover, when believers stand with the poor to challenge the way they are treated (Ac 6:1-7), they are more likely to accept the invitation to turn to Christ.
Again, Proclamation of the message of the good news involves both words and deeds, as shown in the life of Jesus (cf. Lk 9:6). Both proclamation and service are used to let other people know the gospel. Proclamation of the Gospel concerns itself with much more than simply how people can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. While that truth is the pivot of the gospel, it is not entirely the gospel. Instead, when the source of the term Gospel is comprehended, and how it has been used in the New Testament is carefully analyzed, the biblical Gospel is best explained as good news for everybody, being a Jew or a Gentile, a believer or an unbeliever concerning the privileges and blessings which one receives from the Person and the work of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is all about the personality and the ministry of Jesus Christ, including all the scenario that led to His coming, and all the possible results from Christ's life, death, and resurrection for both unbelievers and believers.
Besides, another important element that gives a definition to the very disposition of the holistic mission of God are social concern, justice and compassion ministries. Social concern is the demonstration of the good news of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, showing compassion and justice to the poor, oppressed and marginalized in the world, and thus validating through lives and deeds of the good news Christians preach. Luke, in his writings, pay much more attention on the development and progress of the Church as a body of missions, thus bringing into fulfillment the call of Jesus to propagate the gospel. It stresses Jesus' concern for the underprivileged, including women, children, poor people and social outcasts. 13 In the light of this, there should be a demonstration of social concern and not just being felt.

Biblical Examples of Social Concern
The Bible is full of exhortations and examples regarding social concern. This is evident in both the Old and the New Testaments.
The Old Testament books of the Law echo a strong concern for social justice. Laws regulating property, the use of land, and the treatment of other people (Ex 21-23) helped control violations of human dignity and ensure justice. Allocations and uses of land were of particular significance, since the very existence and identity of the Hebrew people were bound up with land. Thus, God directed them not to harvest the corners of their fields or go back over their vineyards a second time, so that the poor among them would have food (Lev. 19:9-10). Besides, every fiftieth year, the Year of Jubilee, land was to be returned to its original owner to ensure a measure of distributive justice (Lev. 25). God's law, then, stipulated not only acts of mercy for the downtrodden (Deut. 15:10-11) but also structural changes that limited exploitation and promoted justice in an agrarian, peasant society. 14 The balance of the Old Testament echoes a similar support for social concern. In the historical books, God condemns acts of social evil, such as when King Ahab and Queen Jezebel ordered Naboth killed to confiscate the vineyard that was his inheritance and means of livelihood (1 Kgs 21). In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah prays to God who "raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap" (v. 8).
Likewise, the poetic books portray Yahweh as a God of justice, compassion, and holiness. The Psalmist gives praise to God because "he upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down (Ps 146:7-8). The book of Proverbs call for people to express that same character: "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God" (14:31). However, it is with the Old Testament prophets that believers find the most explicit calls to social compassion and action. In calling the people of God to a renewal of their spiritual covenant, the prophets challenge them to turn away from idols that destroy both their relationship with God and one another. They call for repentance from sin, including social sins such as apathy toward the poor, mistreatment of workers, greedy accumulation of land, and injustice in the courts. This is clearly indicated in Amos'prophecy in the eighth century B.C. amidst great opulence and social unrighteousness. He decries the fact that the poor are maltreated and due to that the perpetrators will never enjoy whatever they gain from the labours of these poor (5:10-1 1).
In the same vein, the New Testament further develops the theme of social concern seen in the Old Covenant, and nowhere is this more explicit than in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. During the early stage of Christ's ministry, He attests to the fact that what the prophet Isaiah mentioned in this Scripture was ultimately fulfilled in Him.In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus boldly announced His mission: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (NIV).
First, making His mission so clear to the people through His teachings, behavior and sayings, He made it a point to show that He came for the destitute, marginalized, handicapped and victims of all manner of discrimination and was mandated to save them. 15 Moreover, though Jesus never engaged in social action of an overtly political nature, his own ministry and teachings were deemed a threat to conventional societal norms, as evidenced in his arrest and death. His teachings trumpeted a clarion call for love, mercy, and justice, often in ways that broke ranks with the expected mores, as seen in his story of the good Samaritan (Lk 10). His healing miracles, clearly an evidence of his deity, are examples of social compassion and demonstrate that Christ ministered to the whole person, not merely the soul.
In addition, the New Testament church sought to flesh out the ways of Christ both within the Christian community as well as the larger world. These early Christians felt their first responsibility was to fellow Christians, as evidenced in the selling of possessions to meet others' needs (Ac 2:45; 4:32-35) and in the offerings for economically distressed churches (2 Cor. 8-9; 1 Cor. 16:1-4). Nevertheless as the Apostle Paul pointed out clearly, Christian compassion was to extend beyond the walls of the church (Gal. 6:10, 2 Cor. 9:13) and was to be rooted in both love and justice. Hence, Social concern as presented in the NT is the outworking of the grace of God in a person's life; without it, one's salvation can be questioned is found in I John 3:1-7.

Holistic Approach to Ministry
The church may practice holistic ministry,that is a ministry that ministers to the whole person in his context and refuses to isolate proclamation from social involvement. That is exactly what Jesus, the progenitor of the Christian faith did. He ministered to the people holistically. He first of all preached the Gospel, healed the sick and fed the multitude. Alex Thabi adding to holistic ministry remarked: "There have been three main tendencies in evangelistic methodology. Each of them is apparently opposed to the others and promoted by particular branches of the church. The evangelicals tend to emphasize the proclamation of the "pure" Gospel message. The liberals emphasize social services and actions. The charismatics emphasize miracles and wonders in their preaching. The true Biblical approach is a synthesis of these three dimensions of the Gospel. It was the method used by Jesus. A combined approach is the best because it considers the entire dimension of humans: spiritual, social and physical. All three dimensions of the human being should be addressed by our presentation of the Gospel. " 16 Evidently, the economic context of the Africa continent necessitates a holistic approach if we want to win the poor for the Lord. Thabi stressed that in some situations, for example, with a group of people who are resistant to the Christian message, it would not be wise to begin by an open proclamation of the Gospel. Then again, he recommended the use of a more discreet Christian testimony through acts of love and social services. This, he believes, will prepare the ground for a more open way of proclamation. In the same way, with a tribe living in the fear of evil spirits, the best method would be to ask God to authenticate our proclamation through signs and wonders, as Paul did at Corinth and Ephesus. 17 As a matter of fact, it is in this vein that Larry Michael admitted: The Gospel message does not change, but the manner of its presentation may be adapted according to the situation required. Although a Christian leader must be careful that he does not compromise the unchanging message of salvation through Christ alone, the means of communicating that message are as varied as the people whom we seek to reach. 18 However, unless the Gospel is able to satisfy the very needs of the poor, it will not have a real, profound and lasting influence on their lives. Therefore, the church should reach the spiritual needs of people through the meeting of their physical or social needs 19 because putting together social and spiritual ministry stands a better chance to impact lives more than either being done separately.
Clearly, the poor are not interested in a Christianity that ignores their daily struggles and suffering. They want a Jesus that can deliver them now from poverty, disease, hunger, fear and death. This type of Jesus is the one presented in the Gospels (Ac 10:38). Churches that reach out to the vulnerable especially rural folks with the Gospel and medical personnel for free medical screening, second hand clothing should be commended. Likewise, strategic members who connect new members with various skills to various disciplines to enable them to find their feet in life and in Christ should also be commended.

Rationale for Holistic Ministry in Ghana
First, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ offers an important resource for Christian understanding of holistic ministry as the doctrine of incarnation establishes a sound connection amid the spiritual and the physical dimensions of life. It teaches that the divine became flesh or human in order to redeem humankind from the fall. One reads in John 1:14, that the word became flesh and dwelt amongst mankind. Myers notes, "the incarnation smashes any argument that God is only concerned for the spiritual realm and that the material is somehow evil or unworthy of the church's attention... God became concrete and real. " 20 The incarnation provides the best proof of the involvement of God in the affairs of the physical world as the divine became real and was seen, heard, touched and experienced. It also provides the best model of how the church can engage in Holistic Ministry. The church must be with the people, bear their problems with them, and walk with them to seek God in solving their problems.
Second, in the New Testament, Jesus builds on the inclusiveness of the poor by declaring in Luke 4:19 that he has come to proclaim the Year of the Jubilee. Thus, in the New Testament, the new community called into being by Jesus Christ is essentially a jubilee' community. Life in the community is to be characterised by love, mercy, peace, and justice which draws in those who have been marginalised. However, unlike the Old Testament jubilee, which happened once every 49 years, the New Testament jubilee is a daily practice involving fairness, mercy, and generosity. 21 Again, holistic ministry is contextual. Contextualisation is however, a process which is very dynamic. It involves the reflection of the church, in submission to the very being of Christ and his mission, on how the text relates as God's word and its context as a specific human situation. 22 "It is the dynamic process whereby the constant message of the Gospel interacts with specific human situations. " 23 Thus holistic ministry addresses specific problems, needs, and opportunities, receptivity, and resources of a specific community.
Lastly, Boapeah citing Tim Chester indicates that the Bible places the church at the heart of the purpose of God. It is considered as the "hermeneutic of the Gospel" for it interprets the gospel for the world. 24 It must be noted that it is not only biblical perspective that points to the primacy of the local church in mission and development. The local church is considered as the largest grassroots movement in the world and has the capacity to last for years than any other local agency in a local community. The church is therefore in a better position to work with the destitute, and the work is also more liable to being a sustainable venture in the long run. It is in this context that preaching of the Gospel and social action become inseparable as far as the role of the church in Christian ministry is concerned. Besides, to be effective in this role performance, the church is called upon to work in partnership with others. 25 Local church in the context of holistic ministry frames the Gospel message in language and communication forms appropriate and meaningful to the local culture of the community. It focuses the message upon crucial issues in the lives of the people. 26

The Need for Holistic Ministry in the Contemporary Ghanaian Society
In Jesus' mission statement in Luke 4:18-19 he declared that his ministry was to those suffering various forms of bondage and oppression, including economic oppression (poverty), physical oppression (diseases and disabilities), political oppression (injustice and oppressive rule) and demonic oppression. These same evils plague the Ghanaian society today. Christians must seek to apply the whole of the Word of God to the whole of life. From this assertion, it can be concluded that Christianity should be holistic in character. This means that the church should focus on the spiritual, political, socioeconomic dimension as part of its mandate since a ministry that ministers to the whole person in context is one that does not isolate proclamation from social involvement. Taking into consideration the fact that the anointed Jesus did not overlook the physical or material needs of his target audience, the church can follow in that direction.
While the believer is to separate from all worldly alliances (2 Cor. 6:14-18), he is to support all causes that seek to promote the social, economic, political, and educational welfare of the community. Paul said, "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Gal. 6:10). Here it is noted that Christians have a primary duty toward fellow-believers, but that they also have a duty toward the rest of the world. It is necessary to be clear as to the place of this ministry toward the world.
Jesus' practice is the best example to follow. He always subordinated physical and other material help to the spiritual. He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, though he never lost sight of his principal mission (Ac 10:38-43). It appears that he healed the man born blind in order to win his soul (Jn 9:35-38).
The church's ministry must follow that of Jesus if it is to bring about holistic transformation for the church and society. The Gospel must address all the fundamental areas and needs of humanity. Jesus' ministry involved preaching, teaching, and healing. His ministry was holistic, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus' manifesto of his mission, found in Luke 4:18-19, was bathed in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit upon him. This is critical for the church's mission in Ghana.
For mission to be transformative, proclamation must be seen in the context of service. It must serve humanity. Jesus' ministry reflects this . Jesus cared about the problems of the needy and those suffering. He healed the sick and fed the hungry. The church's mission must be holistic (Lk 10: [25][26][27]. It must address the material and physical needs of people. The Apostle James' definition of true religion is tied to acts of mercy and kindness to the needy and those suffering (Jas 1:27; 1 Jn 3:17-18).
According to Desmond Tutu, ubuntu is closely related to African world view, in that no one is an independent solitary entity. 27 It is a signal of what the people in this continent will accept as spirituality or the good news. Every act of spirituality by any group that has nothing to offer a brother in terms of material need or ensures environmental friendliness seems useless. Most Ghanaian societies are communal in nature with sweet flavor of brotherliness. 28 Anything that does not advance the course of all in the Ghanaian society will really struggle to gain recognition. So, if proclamation of the Gospel is not accompanied by social action, most societies especially in the Ghanaian hemisphere would not respond naturally or will struggle to be receptive to the gospel.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The paper recommends that Christian ministers should maintain a balance between their spiritual and social dimensions of ministry as part of their missionary agenda. Secondly, churches should set up development desk to manage the social issues of their members. Lastly, churches should recognize their prophetic role in society by championing the course of the vulnerable for justice and equity at all levels.

CONCLUSION
Holistic Ministry is imperative because it is biblically grounded. It underlines the mission practice of the prophets in the Old Testament and of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. Both the Old Testament and New Testament believers were concerned about the wellbeing of the people they ministered to, and they cared for them. Jesus modelled for his church what a holistic ministry entails. His mission statement is given in Luke 4:18-19, where he laid out his mission agenda. His mission addressed both the spiritual and physical wellbeing of humanity. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, preached the good news to the poor; he was concerned for the total wellbeing of the person. This paper has examined ways in which the church is called upon to engage in integral mission of proclamation of the Gospel and social action. The paper has shown that this is all that Jesus came to do and the church is required to doP just that. Since Jesus Christ is a model for Christians, his ministry pattern presents us with a perfect framework for understanding theology of holistic ministry which must proceed in the spiritual and social dimensions.