A Quarter Century of Structural Unity in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa: A Socio Historical Analysis

The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of South Africa is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Africa, with other denominational Pentecostal churches like the Full Gospel and the Assemblies of God. Since its inception in 1908, the AFM of South Africa has been divided into four main sections, namely: black, white, mixed race and Indian, for about 88 years. The church followed the divisions under apartheid in South Africa that divided people according to race, colour and ethnicity, with white people at the forefront of that division. It was only in 1996 that the AFM of South Africa decided to unite under one umbrella, with one constitution governing the structures and the members of the church. The 25 years of unity within the AFM of South Africa call for an evaluation of both the successes and the failures of this unity. Through a socio-historical analysis, it will be possible to identify the achievements of this unity on the one hand, and the loopholes on the other. The paper will show that the identified loopholes are detrimental to the unity of the church and its future. Therefore, in order to experience true unity, the church should address the challenges that compromise this unity by returning to the biblical basis of unity, dealing with structural impediments and encouraging multicultural fellowships. When the above is done, not only will the church experience true unity, but also maintain its growth that the church has experienced over the years of its existence.

Implementasi Manajemen Sumber Daya Manusia Berdasarkan Kitab Nehemia Pasal 1-13 Di Kalangan Gembala Sidang

Human resource management is a tremendous force that can be extracted and developed for church growth, both in quality and quantity. This research was conducted to determine the tendency of human resource management implementation and the most dominant dimension based on the book of Nehemia chapter 1-13 among pastors of the Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh (Full Gospel Bethel Church) in Surakarta. This research uses quantitative research methods with data analysis obtained from the study of the book of Nehemiah chapter 1-13 and other literature sources, carried out by measuring the application of the theory that has been obtained in the field by collecting data that is processed descriptively quantitatively. Data were obtained from 50 respondents, namely pastors from the Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh in Surakarta. The results obtained are the tendency of implementing human resource management based on the book of Nehemiah chapter 1-13 among the pastors of the Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh in Surakarta on moderate criteria. The dominant dimension in the implementation of human resource management based on the book of Nehemiah chapters 1-13 among pastors of the Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh in Surakarta is human resource management planning.Manajemen sumber daya manusia merupakan kekuatan yang luar biasa yang bisa digali dan dikembangkan bagi pertumbuhan gereja, baik itu secara kualitas maupun secara kuantitas. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui kecenderungan implementasi manajemen sumber daya manusia dan dimensi yang paling dominan berdasarkan kitab Nehemia pasal 1-13 di kalangan gembala sidang Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh Se-Surakarta. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kuantitatif dengan analisis data yang diperoleh dari studi Alkitab Nehemia pasal 1-13 dan sumber literatur pustaka lainnya, dilakukan dengan mengukur penerapan teori yang sudah diperoleh tersebut di lapangan dengan mengumpulkan data yang diolah secara deskriptif kuantitatif. Data diperoleh dari 50 responden, yaitu gembala sidang yang berasal dari Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh se-Surakarta. Adapun hasil yang didapat adalah kecenderungan implementasi manajemen sumber daya manusia berdasarkan kitab Nehemia pasal 1-13 di kalangan gembala sidang Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh Se-Surakarta pada kriteria sedang. Dimensi yang dominan dalam implementasi manajemen sumber daya manusia berdasarkan kitab Nehemia pasal 1-13 di kalangan gembala sidang Gereja Bethel Injil Sepenuh se-Surakarta adalah perencanaan manajemen sumber daya manusia.

Analalisis Jurnal : PENDAMPINGAN PASTORAL HOLISTIK: SEBUAH USULAN KONSEPTUAL PEMBINAAN WARGA GEREJA

Pendampingan Pastoral Holistik:Sebuah Usulan Konseptual Pembinaan Warga Gereja. Gereja yang kuat terbentuk dari jemaat yang kuat. Jemaat yang kuat didapat dari pendampingan pastoral yang secara aktif menyentuh keseluruhan kehidupan warga gerejanya. Gereja perlu berusaha mengembangkan pendampingan pastoral holistik kepada jemaatnya. Berbagai program yang dirancang digunakan untuk mencapai sebuah pendampingan pastoral holistik. Jemaat yang multikultur disertai dengan multiproblem, mengharuskan para pelaku pastoral mengatur strategi dan menyusun model untuk dapat memberikan pelayanan pendampingan pastoral holistik kepada warga gerejanya. Konsep pendampingan pastoral holistik dari Howard Clinebell dan Totok Wiryasaputra akan membantu menganalisis dalam kerangka membuat pembinaan warga gereja secara holistik. Kerangka teoretis tersebut akan dipadukan dengan model pastoral yang dikembangkan oleh David Yonggi Cho di Yoido Full Gospel Church. Konsep dan model pendampingan pastoral holistik saling menopang serta menjadi “pisau bedah” dari pendampingan pastoral yang bermuara kepada efektifitas pemberdayaan kaum awam dan metode kelompok kecil.

672020312_PENDAMPINGAN PASTORAL HOLISTIK: SEBUAH USULAN KONSEPTUAL PEMBINAAN WARGA GEREJA

Pendampingan Pastoral Holistik:Sebuah Usulan Konseptual Pembinaan Warga Gereja. Gereja yang kuat terbentuk dari jemaat yang kuat. Jemaat yang kuat didapat dari pendampingan pastoral yang secara aktif menyentuh keseluruhan kehidupan warga gerejanya. Gereja perlu berusaha mengembangkan pendampingan pastoral holistik kepada jemaatnya. Berbagai program yang dirancang digunakan untuk mencapai sebuah pendampingan pastoral holistik. Jemaat yang multikultur disertai dengan multiproblem, mengharuskan para pelaku pastoral mengatur strategi dan menyusun model untuk dapat memberikan pelayanan pendampingan pastoral holistik kepada warga gerejanya. Konsep pendampingan pastoral holistik dari Howard Clinebell dan Totok Wiryasaputra akan membantu menganalisis dalam kerangka membuat pembinaan warga gereja secara holistik. Kerangka teoretis tersebut akan dipadukan dengan model pastoral yang dikembangkan oleh David Yonggi Cho di Yoido Full Gospel Church. Konsep dan model pendampingan pastoral holistik saling menopang serta menjadi “pisau bedah” dari pendampingan pastoral yang bermuara kepada efektifitas pemberdayaan kaum awam dan metode kelompok kecil.

672020312_PENDAMPINGAN PASTORAL HOLISTIK: SEBUAH USULAN KONSEPTUAL PEMBINAAN WARGA GEREJA

Pendampingan Pastoral Holistik:Sebuah Usulan Konseptual Pembinaan Warga Gereja. Gereja yang kuat terbentuk dari jemaat yang kuat. Jemaat yang kuat didapat dari pendampingan pastoral yang secara aktif menyentuh keseluruhan kehidupan warga gerejanya. Gereja perlu berusaha mengembangkan pendampingan pastoral holistik kepada jemaatnya. Berbagai program yang dirancang digunakan untuk mencapai sebuah pendampingan pastoral holistik. Jemaat yang multikultur disertai dengan multiproblem, mengharuskan para pelaku pastoral mengatur strategi dan menyusun model untuk dapat memberikan pelayanan pendampingan pastoral holistik kepada warga gerejanya. Konsep pendampingan pastoral holistik dari Howard Clinebell dan Totok Wiryasaputra akan membantu menganalisis dalam kerangka membuat pembinaan warga gereja secara holistik. Kerangka teoretis tersebut akan dipadukan dengan model pastoral yang dikembangkan oleh David Yonggi Cho di Yoido Full Gospel Church. Konsep dan model pendampingan pastoral holistik saling menopang serta menjadi “pisau bedah” dari pendampingan pastoral yang bermuara kepada efektifitas pemberdayaan kaum awam dan metode kelompok kecil.

Liberationist Icon or Conservative Leader? Ismael Mwai Mabiu’s Afro-Pentecostalism and Ecclesiastical Leadership in Kenya

This article sets out to retrieve the oral histories of a pioneer African Christian at Kagumo Full Gospel Churches of Kenya (FGCK), namely Rev. Ismael Mwai-Mabiu. Mwai-Mabiu offered exceptional leadership as he sought to revive the Mount Kenya region and the entire Kenyan nation, particularly in the mid-1940s–1980s and 2000–2012, through his oral “liberation theological discourses.” These efforts were well captured in his preaching as a roving pastor in mass seminars and in evangelism. His Afro-Pentecostal theology, which he propounded in the FGCK (a church he co-founded), provided the forum that he used as a platform to launch and advance his liberationist Afro-Pentecostal approach. Was Mwai-Mabiu a liberationist or a conservative ecclesiastical leader in his theo-social doctrinal matters; or was he seeking to indigenise theological discourses in his Afro-Pentecostal outfit? The concern of this article is to unearth the nature of leadership that Mwai-Mabiu employed and to describe the relevance of his Afro-Pentecostal oral and liberationist theologies. What were his fundamental concerns? Was his “ministry” evangelised in a cultural vacuum, rather than an inclusive environment that relied upon already existing networks of the host area of ecclesiastical operation? The methodology of this article comprises interviews conducted in four phases: 1) with Mwai-Mabiu himself; 2) with his wife; 3) with three focus discussion groups (FDGs) in interviews between 2016 and 2018; and 4) by the researcher with people closely related to him, namely Bishop Joshua Kiongo Kimani, assistant Bishop Rev. Joseph Muriithi Karugendo, elder Joseph Munene, elder Benson Ngiri, and the pioneers of the FGCK. Later, in May to October 2019, the researcher conducted further research to seek clarification on some areas that did not come out clearly during the first interviews. A review of the relevant literature was also conducted.

Promoting Public Good and Wellness from the Perspective of a Midwestern Regional Baptist Church Community-led Research Engagement Partnership

Faith-based communities supporting diverse and underserved communities are increasingly being recognized by researchers as community “anchor institutions” and equitable partners in research engagement. Research suggests that faith-based organizations (FBOs) can promote health and well-being within congregations and throughout communities. This evidence has energized community-academic partnerships to collaboratively support FBOs in plans to improve community wellbeing and health equity, particularly within communities of color. This paper describes the evolution of a community-academic collaboration led by a Full Gospel Midwest Regional Baptist Church where the co-partners professed a commitment to advancing the public good through collaborative governance and shared goal setting in the delivery of an engagement training program. Core features highlighted are: (1) establishing a Community Advisory Board; (2) developing a research engagement training program; and (3) analyses, results, and legacy. Extension of the church-led mission to lead research engagement connects leaders and communities to resources and scientific expertise in support of the data needs and aspirations of faith-based communities. As research-ready partners, faith-based communities have the capacity to function as localized anchors to drive urban health policy and to serve as advocates by being the “voice” in community-driven research engagement for “public good.”