Reorientation of mission and its action plans for a reformed missional ecclesiology in Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21609696 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thinandavha Derrick Mashau (0000-0002-9914-8982, University of South Africa, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2024-12-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1018-6441 • E-ISSN: 2305-0853 |
| Publisher | AOSIS (PUBLISHER • ZA) |
| DOI | 10.4102/ids.v58i1.3129 |
| OpenAlex | W4405435998 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 35 |
The quest to understand and practise the church’s missionary calling will remain a significant exercise in the church’s life of every age. This article aims to provide a reorientation of the mission and its action plans for a reformed missional ecclesiology in Africa today. This is prompted by existing concerns around the demise of Christendom and the decline in numbers among some of the reformed churches in Africa. This is coupled with challenges of dualism, syncretism and Sunday-cult Christianity, which are accompanied by no or less societal impact because of a missionless and inward-looking ecclesial praxis. These are some of the reasons, as well as the professionalisation of mission at the expense of the involvement of the laity in the missio Dei, that led to this sorry situation (among these churches) towards the missional ecclesiology and ecclesial praxis of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA), which are used as an interlocutor from time to time. The main research question is: What kind of missional ecclesiology and praxis should the Reformed churches embrace to facilitate active participation in the missio Dei, resulting in numerical growth and having a societal impact in Africa today? Having investigated the missionary ecclesiology and missional ecclesial praxis of the Reformed churches through a literature review of readily available missiological publications, this article suggests that it should be a missional ecclesiology that is founded and grounded on the missio Dei, biblical, historical, contextual, practical, and eschatological impact. Contribution: This missionary ecclesiology not only rediscovers the giftedness of individual church members but also encourages them to participate in the missio Dei through their lifestyle mission or actions in Africa today
Ecclesiology · Environmental ethics · Political science · Praxis · Sociology · Theology · Christian Theology and Mission · Law · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development
The Shift of Gravity of the Church to Sub-Saharan Africa
Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Mission Theology
‘ Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda ’ Church renewal from a Reformed perspective
Missionale ekklesiologie in die Afrikaanse gereformeerde kerke sedert 1990
Church decline
The missiological implications of Jesus’s final departure from the Temple for Western Christendom
Die GKSA se ‘sendingstilstand’ na 150 jaar
The roots of missio Dei in the Reformation, and its implications for theological education
The shaping and formation of a missional ecclesiology of township congregations in the Mangaung Metro Municipality during Covid-19
Missio Dei refuting the pactum salutis
Missio hominum as commissioned by missio Dei
The Kingdom of God and the Transformation of the World
Ecodomy in mission
Perspectives on church and mission
The missional church structure and the priesthood of all believers (Ephesians 4
The recovery of the prophetic voice of the church
The Kingdom of God in the Gospel of Matthew
The church of the Future, its Mission and Theology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |