The challenge of theological education in the Assemblies of God, Nogeria: A critical analysis

Abstract

The establishment of Bible institutions by the Assemblies of God, Nigeria (AGN) is based on the immediately felt needs of its clerics. This Pentecostal denomination still struggles with the perception of theological education as the seedbed for the renewal of churches and the intellectual development of its clerics. Evidently, the three tiers of the theological programmes of the AGN, that is, the diploma and the bachelors and master’s degrees in theology, lack cohesive curriculum articulation. This article argues that the AGN’s style of theological education is ontologically based on old knowledge organisation, largely in¬fluenced by centuries of ingrown and inbred Pentecostal acade¬mic tradition that discourages the heuristic intercourse of charisma with academic institutions. The article argues that the problem of curriculum articulation in the AGN’s theological education is responsible for the educational crisis currently besieging the church. The article suggests that the AGN needs a critical rethinking of its theological education programme to compel a redefinition of its twenty-year-old vision and mission in theological education.