Mission Namibia. Challenges and Opportunities for the Church in the 21st Century

Table of Contents

• Contributors
• Foreword
• Para-church ministry:
  • God’s mission in Namibia: the situation of the church and the strategic role of para-church organisations
• Doctrine:
  • Money, poverty and the church: the danger of the prosperity gospel in Namibia
• Theological education:
  • The quest for appropriate models of theological education for Africa
• Church leadership:
  • Training leaders like Paul did: church leadership training in Namibia
• Christian ethics:
  • Faith that works: a study of James 2:14-26 with some insights for the Namibian church context
• Mission practice:
  • Theological controversies on the mission field in southern Africa: reasons, implications and responses
• Contextualization:
  • African names for God and the biblical concept of YAHWEH
• Mission history:
  • Carl Hugo Hahn and the spiritual condition of the Herero-Mbanderu people

Objectives and Key Themes

This book seeks to equip Christians to serve the Church and the wider community in Namibia. It contains essays by NETS faculty members reflecting on various aspects of Christian mission and ministry.

• The challenges and opportunities for the Church in Namibia
• The role of para-church organisations in evangelism, church planting, and theological training
• The dangers of prosperity gospel teaching in Namibia
• The need for contextualized models of theological education in Africa
• The importance of practical Christian ethics in Namibian society

Chapter Summaries

• The first chapter examines the challenges facing the Church in Namibia, including poverty, HIV/AIDS, and ethnic divisions. It argues that para-church organizations play a crucial role in evangelism, church planting, and theological training.
• The second chapter critiques prosperity gospel teaching, arguing that it distorts biblical teaching and adds pain to those suffering poverty and illness.
• The third chapter explores the need for appropriate models of theological education in Africa, utilizing the biblical metaphor of a tree to examine the roots, fruits, and species of theological education.
• The fourth chapter explores the importance of local church leadership training in Namibia, using the example of Paul's mentorship of Timothy to highlight key principles.
• The fifth chapter examines the relationship between faith and works, drawing from the Epistle of James to highlight the need for genuine, good-works-producing faith.
• The sixth chapter explores the theological controversies surrounding mission practice in southern Africa, examining the rise of the Emerging Church and its impact on evangelical missionaries.
• The seventh chapter explores the difficulties associated with contextualizing the names of God in African languages, highlighting the need for faithfulness to Scripture and careful consideration of the biblical concept of Yahweh.
• The eighth chapter explores the spiritual condition of the Herero-Mbanderu people before and during the missionary period, highlighting the impact of Carl Hugo Hahn's ministry and the importance of the Gospel message for spiritual transformation.

Keywords

This book explores the key themes of Christian mission and ministry in Namibia, focusing on the role of para-church organisations, theological education, prosperity gospel, liberation theology, African names for God, and the importance of practical Christian ethics in the Namibian context.