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). / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology (Urban ministry))
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/22674 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | Mangayi, Lukwikilu |
| Contributors | De Beer, Stéphan, 1967- |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xxiv, 664 leaves) ; illustrations (some color), maps |
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