Description and evaluation of missions activitiesby various leaders of Africa Inland church Tanzania Pwani diocese (AICTPD).

Abstract

This study was intended to investigate the understanding of missions among various leaders of Africa Inland Church Tanzania Pwani Diocese (AICTPD). So it is a descriptive research in which 62 leaders from AICTPD churches were consulted. These leaders include the bishop, the assistant bishop, general sectary, pastors and missionaries with their wives, one evangelist, two church elders and AICTPD partners in the diocese. These partners are AIM Regional leader, TIMO leader and BFC leader. Among these leaders, 7 of them were interviewed in Arusha, the other seven were both interviewed and asked to fill the research questionnaire in Morogoro, and the 48 filled the research questionnaire. A questionnaire and interview were the two combined methods used to collect data. The research discovered that the predominant missions activities include training in theology, improving existing churches, sending work reports, reaching out to unreached, encouraging pastors and missionaries and training in missions. The main challenges among others are inadequate support to missionaries, inadequate missions training, extreme size of geographical area of the diocese, lack of strategic planning priority, vision and creativity. All this provide the grounds for the recommendation that is given below. The data also revealed that the church achieved some successes which are the establishment of IBM, evangelism and discipleship, reaching out to Muslim communities and initiating strategic planning. In order to maintain these successes, the leaders suggested that they will involve the entire church in missions, reduce the size of the diocese, hold annual conferences and allocate resources into the diocese. Other areas will include providing missionaries with opportunities to share their testimonies with churches, develop positive attitude towards missions, cultivate more partners and improve training in the IBM. Based on these research findings, the diocese had never been able to develop a master strategic planning until the year 2010, when they put one in place. AICTPD, therefore, has survived without concrete, measurable and tangible goals and objectives. The diocese needs to develop missions strategic planning that could be integrated into the master plan of the diocese. MAPANA (Missions Awareness Program for African Nations Abandoned) strategic planning has been recommended, which if well supervised and coordinated will bring efficiency into the entire church structure. Missions training and involvement from individual believers, local church to top leadership of the diocese, needs to be given priority as other church ministries.