Mission in an African city: discovering the township church as an asset towards local economic development in Tshwane

Abstract

This multidisciplinary, applied study investigated whether the township church can be repositioned or re-discovered as an asset, which could be used to form strong community structures in local communities and in turn be the foundation for community development and Local Economic Development (LED) for Tshwane (specifically Soshanguve and Hammanskraal (S&H)). The concept of oikos is of central importance in the understanding of the ecological dimension of mission in relation to LED and was used in this thesis defined as oikomissiology which has a Christological basis and broadens the scope of mission by reinterpreting missio Dei and various socio-theological themes in order to realise the vision of collective wellbeing or shalom). Oikomissiology provided a framework / worldview for analysis, description, reflection and planning for action which releases the world, economics, the church and conventional Christian theology / missiology from the traps of anthropocentrism. A narrative approach enabled the “uncovering” of the voices of grassroots communities, giving grassroots participants (i.e. local church ministry representatives) freedom to tell their stories and share their experiences as far as LED is concerned, such that major economic concepts were spoken of in these stories in laymen’s language. The narratives were supplemented by interviews with experienced practitioners and church leaders, which resulted in gaining richer perspectives on LED and on how township congregations that participated in this research are attempting to respond to current socioeconomic crises in Tshwane (S & H). A literature study and a study of the physical space were performed in dialogue with narratives and interview findings. The findings of this applied study established that the township church, in relation to other community organisations and structures, is an asset that could play a number of vital roles towards improving LED in Tshwane (S & H).