Partnerships with Congregations and Churches in Africa from a Perspective of Theologies of Mission

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Mission impossible?
• Mission or partnership?
• Christian mission
• The term "mission"
• The history of Christian mission. A short survey
• Biblical foundation of mission
• Old and New Testament in general
• The Gospel
• Models of mission theologies
• "Plantation or Conversion Model", "Salvific-historical Model", "Promise-historical Model", "Communication Model"
• Missio Dei
• Further approaches. Konvivenz, Koinonia, contextuality
• Mission theological approaches in connection with mission history
• Accomplished mission
• Inner Mission and overseas activities
• Mission conferences and early impulses for an Ecumenical Movement
• Mission activities after World War II
• The Ecumenical Movement and the World Council of Churches
• Contemporary mission questions
• Excurse: missionary saving boxes reflect different mission understandings
• Mission theologies from the Global South
• Africa
• Latin America and Asia
• Conclusion
• Church Partnerships as part of modern Christian mission understanding
• The development of Christian church partnership understanding
• Beginning of the 20th century
• After World War II
• The last three decades of the 20th century
• Theological foundation of the term partnership
• The Bible
• Hermeneutical approaches
• The transfer of the partnership understanding into the praxis
• Global Christian siblinghood
• Shared theological reflections
• Social and global responsibility
• Development as a specific element of Christian partnership
• Learning communities and ecumenical learning
• Promotion of congregational life
• Contemporary partnerships with Africa and its mission theological perspectives
• German partnership understanding
• African partnership understandings
• Contemporary protagonists of German-African church partnerships. South Africa and Western Africa as particular examples
• Mission Societies. The Bremen Mission as example
• Church and congregation partnerships between Germany and South Africa
• Church partnerships between Germany and Ghana
• Strengths and weaknesses of German-African partnerships
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• The Church of Lippe. Examples of church partnerships with Africa
• The Church of Lippe and its ecumenical involvements
• Partnership between the congregations of Spork/Wendlinghausen and Hillentrup in Lippe, Germany and Alexandra in Johannesburg, South Africa
• The partnership
• Analysis
• Partnership between the classes Detmold, Blomberg-Horn and Bösingfeld in Lippe and the church district of Ho in North-Ghana
• The partnership
• Analysis
• Conclusion and prospect
• Mission impossible?
• Mission and partnership possible!

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This master's thesis examines the evolution and theological foundations of church partnerships, particularly those involving African congregations, from the perspective of missiology. It aims to analyze the development of partnership understanding within the broader context of Christian mission history.

• The development of Christian church partnership understanding
• Theological foundations of the term partnership
• Contemporary perspectives on partnerships with Africa
• Strengths and weaknesses of German-African church partnerships
• The role of congregations in promoting ecumenical learning and global responsibility

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The thesis begins by exploring the historical development of Christian mission, examining different models of mission theologies and the evolving understanding of mission itself. It then delves into the concept of church partnerships, tracing their origins and exploring their theological foundations. The thesis then focuses on contemporary partnerships between German and African churches, providing case studies from South Africa and Ghana. It analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of these partnerships, highlighting the challenges and opportunities presented by such collaborations.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This thesis focuses on the themes of mission, partnership, ecumenical learning, global responsibility, and the theological perspectives of Christian mission in the context of African churches. It examines specific case studies of church partnerships between Germany and South Africa as well as Germany and Ghana, exploring the practical realities and theological implications of these relationships.