Examining the model of tent-making ministry in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa: past, present and future

Abstract

The concept of tent-making ministry emerged from the Umgababa Synod of the former Nederduitse Gereformeere Kerk in Afrika (NGKA) on 12 June 1979. This came as a response to a deteriorating situation in the church and an attempt to reconceptualise a better model in the service of congregations. Its rationale was based on a critical moment of black congregations failing to fulfil their ministerial contractual obligations for ministry maintenance due to sudden withdrawal of subsidies by mother congregations of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) who had been the financial backbone for the sister congregations. The situation resulted in the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika (NGKA) allowing its employee ministers to be employed somewhere else while still serving the congregations on part-time basis. This article attempts to examine the problem of whether the contemporary models of tent-making ministry can be effective in serving the financial and spiritual aspects of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) congregations. Although church politics also played a role, here the researcher wants to focus on the contribution made by tent-making ministry that salvaged a ghastly situation in the church. The major results appear to be different views on understanding policy and practice concerning tent-making ministry in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa.