An Analysis of the Role of the Missional Church in Community Development

Mawethu Msebi ORCID iD

Issue: Vol.8 No.8 September 2022 Issue  Article 3 pp.229-240
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2022883  |   Published online 27th September 2022.
© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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This article reports findings on an analysis of the role of the Missional church in Community development. The study relied on document analysis, with data collected from hard and electronic formats. The following themes were analysed: Missional Church, Missional methods of Effective Presence, Community Development, communities, the Contribution of the missional Church to Community Development and Challenges facing the Missional Church within. The analysis reveals that a missional church is a missional community, in other words, people who are united in living God’s mission in a specific neighbourhood. The study further illustrates that community development is an essential part of God’s mission, whereby the church, notably the missional church promotes active citizenship to enable people to work together to improve human circumstances for the well-being of their communities. In narrating the correlation between the missional church and community development, the study elucidates the principles of community development as a cornerstone to the success of community development. Moreover, the paper argues that better relationships, reconciliation, and solidarity are the value judgments engendered by the involvement of the missional church in community development. The study further illuminates that the involvement of missional churches in community development is not easy as they face challenges like religious pluralization and racial polarisation.

Keywords: Missional church, community development, justice, transformation

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Mawethu Msebi is a licensed minister at the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa and a registered Religious Specialist with the Association of Christian Religious Practitioners in South Africa. He holds a Master of Theology (Practical Theology/Community Development) from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Reading, United Kingdom. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Pretoria. He is also a Business Accountant in Practice with the Southern African Institute for Business Accountants. His research interests include youth ministry and community development.

Msebi M. “An Analysis of the Role of the Missional Church in Community Development,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 8 no.8 (2022): 229-240  https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2022883

© 2022 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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