EVANGELISM AND CHURCH PLANTING (A CASE STUDY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH, ST. JAMES CATHERDRAL OKOPEDI ITIAM, UYO)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – i
Declaration – – – – – – ii
Certification – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement s – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – vi
List of Tables – – – – – x
Abstract – – – – – – xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study – – – – 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem – – – – – 3
1.3 Purpose of the Study – – – – – 3
1.4 Significance of the Study – – – – – – 4
1.5 Research Questions – – – – – – 6
1.6 Research Methodology – – – – – 7
1.7 Definition of the Study – – – – – 8
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction – – – – –
2.2 Concept of Evangelism
2.2.1 The concept of Church Planting
2.3 Evangelism in the Old Testament
2.4 Evangelism in the New Testament
2.5 Historical Perspectives on Church Planting Mission in Nigeria
2.6 Evangelism and Church Planting as a Common Duty for all Churches
2.7 Evangelism among Churches as a Fruit of Love
CHAPTER THREE
CHURCH PLANTING METHODOLOGY
3.1 Biblical Foundation of Church Planting
3.2 Theology and Methods of Church Planting
3.3 Church Planting in the Old Testament
3.4 Church Planting in the New Testament
3.4.1 Church Planting in Jerusalem
3.5 Population and Sample
3.6 Data Collection Procedure
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALSIS
4.1 Data Analysis
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Findings
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendations
References
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Evangelism and church planting is the biblical pattern for the evangelistic expansion of the Church. Christianity without evangelism is a dead faith, “go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house be filled (Luke 14:23b). Evangelism and church planting has been misunderstood by many church leaders and members. It is believed by many as a mission to be carried out by professionally trained ministers, missionaries and a few others specially gifted to do this work, not something that all Christian are called to do. But the biblical call is for all Christians to be evangelists and do their unique part to bring the gospel to others.
The biblical and theological foundation for the planting of churches has generally been assumed rather than explicitly articulated. As (Gailyn Van Rheenen, 2001) points out, ‘theological reflection is the beginning point of ministry formation’. Evangelism and church planting walks hand in hand with each other in fulfilling God’s desire of reconciling the world back to himself. To understand how this two different phrase functions independently there is need for a clear definition of evangelism from church planting.
Evangelism is the proclamation of salvation in Christ to those who do not believe in him, calling them to repentance and conversion, announcing forgiveness of sin, and inviting them to become living members of Christ’s earthly community and to begin a life of service to others in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Bosh 1991, pg:10).
Church planting is the sending out of people, by a church, churches, or mission agency, in order to establish a new congregation, revive a struggling one, or even replace a closed one. The result may be separate independent churches, congregations responsible to a “mother church”, or congregations which are part of a network with sister congregations.
A church is planted to win people to Christ, help them grow in their faith and then send them out to participate in the mission of winning the entire world. The process of growing them in their faith and sending them is called discipleship, and it is God’s will for every church” (Rod Dempsey, 2008).
Less interest for evangelism among churches today have wasted the power of God vested on the apostles at Pentecost, for it is written “But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8 kjv). When Jesus ascended into heaven, he commanded, “therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20 NIV).
In a statement made by Ogidi (1997), he categorically asserts that, “Nigeria is a country with easily the largest number of churches per capital in the world.”(Ogidi, 1997). Fayomi (1993) also described Nigeria as “a fertile soil for the growth of independent churches.”(Fayomi 1993). In urban cities and even rural areas, for lack of space and accommodation, six or more different churches could make do with a storey building. Such is the present state of events all over Nigeria. For example, in Ekiti State, as rightly observed by Tokunbo (2007), there are well above One hundred and fifty-seven Pentecostal denominations alone between 1970 and 2004 (Tokunbo, 2007). More parishes and new religious movements continue to be springing up each passing day.
It is not easy for people to move from being inactive or unreached to being active and committed disciples of Jesus Christ. For doing this, an effective evangelistic strategy consisting of several stages is required (Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson, 2007). The mission statement of a church generally consists of five purposes: worship, evangelism, fellowship, ministry, and discipleship (David Wheeler, 2008). Evangelism should not function as a mere section of God’s whole strategy for a church, but it should be the engine that drives motivation and direction for each aspect of the congregation’s productivity (Jonathan Falwell, 2008). In other words, if the existing people are not involved in evangelizing the unbelievers who attend regularly, the church may experience difficulty in the aspect of evangelism. Both the reasons for and the objections to evangelism and church planting beg the question of what theological foundations underlie such considerations. Therefore, it is the intention of the researcher to cross-examine evangelism and Church planting in African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo.
1.2 Statement of Problem
The current level of chaos and homicides in the country has been so alarming, rape cases has been on the increase since the Covid-19 lockdown began in early march 2020. The most painful of it all was the rape and murder of Miss Vera Omozuwa, a 22-year-old 100-level Microbiology student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in a church (www.theguardian.com). This single act of disgrace and disregards for God’s presence has fueled lots of debates, controversies and protest for justice for Uwa. The recent ethno-religious killing in Kaduna claiming many soldiers and innocent civilians’ lives is still breeding fear in the region. This and many more happenings has thrown a hard blow at the church on the need to spread the gospel of Christ and curb the menace. Theologically, some Christians consider evangelism and church planting in a time like this to be inappropriate, while others fear that church planting can’t curtail the present situation of religious conflicts. Physiologically, planting church may face objections from its own members arising from a “maintenance perspective”, a focus on expenses rather than on mission, fears of the risks and costs involved. In view of these problems and issues, the big question is the relevance of evangelism and Church planting in the present situation? This led to the study on evangelism and Church planting in Nigeria.
1.3 Purpose of Study
The primary purpose for this study is to investigate evangelism and church planting in Nigeria. The study investigates the following sub objectives:
- To outline strategies to be carefully followed in achieving a successful evangelism and church planting in African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo.
- To help identify challenges of evangelism and Church planting activities with the view of planting new churches in Nigeria.
- To develop a methodology for evangelism that will be widely accepted by local churches in Nigeria.
- To provide researchable materials for Pastors, church leaders, church workers, theologians and members on the Subject of Church Planting in African Church, Akwa Ibom State.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The study will enlightens readers on all that is needed to be known about evangelism and church planting among churches so that they will increase their efforts for evangelism and church planting, by this, they will acting on Jesus statement to Peter “upon this mountain will I build my church and the gate of Hell shall not prevail”.
The findings of this study will be useful to every church general oversea, ministers, church leaders and the general congregation on the role of the church in ensuring that Hell is reduced to increase Heaven’s population. This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic. It will provide valuable insights into existing relationship between the church and Christian in sharing the message of love. It will bring to the fore the prominent roles the missionaries have been playing in evangelizing the world since independence. It will add to existing knowledge and equally serve as a benchmark for further studies on church planting and evangelism.
1.5 Research Questions
The following questions were formulated to guide the study;
- What is the evangelism performance in African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo?
- What is the church planting performance in African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo?
- What is the Comparative Evangelism and church planting Performance level between African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo and Pentecostal churches?
- What are the major causes of less interest in evangelism among churches in the 21st century?
1.6 Research Methodology
The study will not base it conclusion on self-belief or to be subjective on the issue, the researcher shall make use of relevant books that related to evangelism and church planting, he will likewise visit other researcher’s work on anything that is having to do with the research topic, library and works online shall be visited, finally, some church leaders from African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo shall be interviewed in order to have a balance and decisive conclusion on the research work.
The major libraries consulted were:
- The African Church College of Theology, Uyo Satelite Campus, Akwa Ibom State.
- Uyo E-library
- Personal Library/Note Books
1.7 Scope / Limitation of the Study
Since the research work is limited to a particular church, the researcher shall channel his focus to African Church, St. James Catherdral Okopedi Itiam, Uyo; and shall strictly consult those in authority on the research topic in order to have a balance and decisive outcome, not being subjective.
The time frame within which this work is to be completed is somehow short and not enough, so it cannot be possible for the researcher to access all the effects of less interest in evangelism and church planting in Cross River State. It was envisaged that Ministers who ought to be good source of material for the research may likewise not cooperate with the researcher due to time frame or personal reasons. But serious effort will be made to overcome these problems so that the final outcome of this work will not lack any shortcoming.
1.8 Definition of Terms
For the purpose of this study, the following terms are deemed fit to be distinctively defined as follows:
Evangelism: In Christianity, evangelism is the commitment to or act of publicly preaching of the Gospel with the intention of spreading the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Church: A church or church house, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly for Christian worship services.
Church planting: Church planting is a process that results in a new (local) Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship center or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation.
Missionaries: A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.
Pastor: A pastor is an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. A pastor also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. It is derived from the Latin word pastor, meaning shepherd. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, the term may be abbreviated to “Pr” or “Pts” or “Ps”.
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