The dissertation in hand is about the theological researches about the mission of the German Mennonite - Brethren - Church in Karaganda I Kasachstan from 1956 to 2000. The existing socialism with its atheistical values affected adversely the lives of the Christians and prevented them from missionary work. In spite of that mission was able to be practised. Experienced preachers and teachers in the church prepared the missionary work by instructing the Christians to be effective witnesses for the Lord. This was achieved by the training of young preachers. regular pronouncements of the Gospel and the work with children and young persons. The Christians retained this method until the middle of the 70ies when the regid laws concerning the missionary work were mitigated. Commited brothers. young persons, preachers and singers visited lonely Christians and churches in remote villages, had personal conversations with unbelievers and organized evangelizations. Members ofthe church were sent out as missionaries to erect parishes and carry out evangelizations / Missiology / M.Th.

The Kazakhs of post-Soviet Central Asia have been in the process of re-discovering their cultural heritage and establishing their own national identity. Profoundly affecting this process is that they live in a world that is becoming more and more globalized, with increasing degrees of interaction with other cultures. During Soviet times there was a large degree of isolation from cultures outside of the Soviet Union and their lives were mostly impacted by a Russian dominated system. After the collapse of the Soviet system they were suddenly exposed to a world of ideas, influences, and opportunities. Part of re-establishing their cultural roots involved consideration of their Islamic heritage. They were caught between trying to discover this for themselves and in doing so include cultural beliefs and practices that are blended into an orthodox expression of Islam, or allowing themselves to be told by outside practitioners of Islam how they should believe and act. Seventy plus years of communism had weakened the commitment and expression of Islam, and this as well as the forces of globalization has made them cautious and even suspicious of any radical expressions of religion. With the post-Soviet openness and exposure to other cultures came the opportunity for Christianity to present itself as a valid system of belief for Kazakhs. This began as an expatriate dominated exercise as individual Kazakhs embraced Christianity and the first churches were started. As the years progressed Kazakh church planting faced the challenge of having a foreign image and as a result needed to consider how to contextualize Christianity so that it could develop a Kazakh identity. At the same time church planting as with the Kazakh culture as a whole, was confronted with the impact of globalization. This meant that church planting had to not only consider Kazakh cultural factors but also what changes globalization would bring that impacted how church planting would be done. This study seeks to examine this church planting context that finds itself caught between the effects of contextualization and globalization, and by means of the principles of Grounded Theory discover principles for effective church planting. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

The dissertation in hand is about the theological researches about the mission of the German Mennonite - Brethren - Church in Karaganda I Kasachstan from 1956 to 2000. The existing socialism with its atheistical values affected adversely the lives of the Christians and prevented them from missionary work. In spite of that mission was able to be practised. Experienced preachers and teachers in the church prepared the missionary work by instructing the Christians to be effective witnesses for the Lord. This was achieved by the training of young preachers. regular pronouncements of the Gospel and the work with children and young persons. The Christians retained this method until the middle of the 70ies when the regid laws concerning the missionary work were mitigated. Commited brothers. young persons, preachers and singers visited lonely Christians and churches in remote villages, had personal conversations with unbelievers and organized evangelizations. Members ofthe church were sent out as missionaries to erect parishes and carry out evangelizations / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th.

The Kazakhs of post-Soviet Central Asia have been in the process of re-discovering their cultural heritage and establishing their own national identity. Profoundly affecting this process is that they live in a world that is becoming more and more globalized, with increasing degrees of interaction with other cultures. During Soviet times there was a large degree of isolation from cultures outside of the Soviet Union and their lives were mostly impacted by a Russian dominated system. After the collapse of the Soviet system they were suddenly exposed to a world of ideas, influences, and opportunities. Part of re-establishing their cultural roots involved consideration of their Islamic heritage. They were caught between trying to discover this for themselves and in doing so include cultural beliefs and practices that are blended into an orthodox expression of Islam, or allowing themselves to be told by outside practitioners of Islam how they should believe and act. Seventy plus years of communism had weakened the commitment and expression of Islam, and this as well as the forces of globalization has made them cautious and even suspicious of any radical expressions of religion. With the post-Soviet openness and exposure to other cultures came the opportunity for Christianity to present itself as a valid system of belief for Kazakhs. This began as an expatriate dominated exercise as individual Kazakhs embraced Christianity and the first churches were started. As the years progressed Kazakh church planting faced the challenge of having a foreign image and as a result needed to consider how to contextualize Christianity so that it could develop a Kazakh identity. At the same time church planting as with the Kazakh culture as a whole, was confronted with the impact of globalization. This meant that church planting had to not only consider Kazakh cultural factors but also what changes globalization would bring that impacted how church planting would be done. This study seeks to examine this church planting context that finds itself caught between the effects of contextualization and globalization, and by means of the principles of Grounded Theory discover principles for effective church planting. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)