the role of the church in empowering its members economically

Abstract

The church has a God given mandate of holistic ministry. This entire project is an investigation on how the church can empower its members economically. The voice of the church in the economic space is not as loud as should, since it is generally perceived that the church should only concern itself with spiritual nourishment. How then can the church speak into the lives of its members economically? This research consists of the following components; the first chapter intently focusses on the objectives, purpose and methodology. Since this research uses the pastoral circle methodology, the following chapters systematically analyze and make sense of poverty in the church and its role therein. The second chapter reviews literature guided by the objectives of the research. It gives us a deeper understanding of the definition and current realities while observing the biblical basis for the church’s involvement in economic empowerment. The third chapter traces the theology of poverty in the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament. It goes on to intently look at poverty relief models in the Bible as well as models of the current times. The research found out that majority of the poor are Christians. Vices such as corruption and greed have led to the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor. God is concerned about the poor and he takes their side. The church must therefore take up its role of economic empowerment. This research therefore proposed normalizing economic empowerment conversations in the church. It also recommends innovation in development projects which are independent of external funding. Localization of development projects ensures longevity and greater impact in poverty eradication than funded projects. It ends with references used as well as relevant appendices.