“To stand where God stands”: the mission praxis of the Melodi ya Tshwane congregation

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the understanding, attitudes and application of Article 4 of the Belhar Confession by Melodi ya Tshwane (MyT). The aim specifically outlines the current mission praxis of MyT and its missionary activities, the church’s missionary calling in line with Article 4 of Belhar , evaluate the extent to which Article 4 of Belhar is applied, and to propose missionary praxis for MyT . The research findings include: participants have a narrow understanding of missions; conducting outreach activities in the form of charity. Some gaps identified include: lack of understanding of God as the missionary God, and a narrow interpretation of justice. Guiding principles on being missional include: missions should be Christ-centred, relational, collaborative, transformational, and lived out in word and deed. Proposed mission praxis consider the following approaches: the church as an institution, as a living organism and the church’s corporate service, and missional consciousness.