Chapter Four Mission Praxis and Informal Pentecostals
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STATEMENT STUDENT NUMBER 3441-368-5 I declare that A missiological study of Pentecostal churches in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. Signed. ……………………….. Date ………………………………….. Name …………………………………………… DEDICATION To Anita, Sheila and Sandie, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work is a product of the privilege I have had over the past seven years of working with pastors and church leaders involved in ministry in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Some of them appear in this thesis but the vast majority of them do not. I would like to thank all those who I have had the privilege of working with over the years and who have been gracious enough to share with me in the joys and struggles of ministry in this city. I would like to thank all those who directly participated in the research, the pastors and the congregations in Gatwikera who shared with me their experience of living out their faith in this community. My thanks to the Church Mission Society for their support and encouragement in conducting the research. Also Carlile College for allowing me the space and time to complete the work and the staff and students at the Centre for Urban Mission who have patiently endured my struggles to finally finish. Thank you too to the congregation of St Jerome Church Gatwikera and the Vicar Rev Richard Mayabi whose friendship is a constant source of encouragement. Particular thanks to Dr John Padwick whose depth of experience and insight have been profoundly helpful in developing the thesis, and to Prof. Paul Gifford for his reflections and encouragement. Also to Prof. JKN Mugambi and Prof. Annalet van Schalkwyk for their guidance, advice and insight throughout this journey. Various people have helped in the research and the production of the thesis. Anne Kimani and Alvin Mbola from the Centre for Urban Mission assisted in the transcribing and translation and Alvin conducted the initial enumeration of churches and businesses. My thanks too to Andrew Avina who spent many hours transcribing the video recordings and assisting in translation. Lastly thank you to the family to Anita, Sheila and Sandie who have quietly endured my long evenings of solitude in the study, provided the encouragement and support to continue and been the constant reminder, if ever it was needed, that there is more to life than this. Abstract East Africa, with Nairobi at its hub, is currently experiencing unprecedented rates of urban population growth. Much of this growth is absorbed into informal settlements which, in the case of Nairobi, house over 55% of the city’s population. The largest of these settlements is Kibera with a population totaling approximately 700,000. The thesis focuses on Pentecostal churches in Gatwikera, one of the twelve urban villages which together make up Kibera. It is argued that what is emerging within these communities is a distinctive type of church which is defined as informal Pentecostal. Consideration is given to why mainline churches appear to struggle within the informal sector while these churches appear to thrive. The explanation for this is given in the way the Pentecostal churches emerge along the same lines as the informal economy. The thesis sets out to identify the distinctive nature of the churches and the way in which they exemplify a different form of Christian presence in the settlements to that of mainline churches and Roho churches. The study offers an analysis of their ministry and their pastors and considers their relationship to the flows of the rural urban continuum and the liminality of informal settlements. The study seeks to identify the contribution these churches make to mission within the community particularly looking at their role in social transformation. It concludes that while the churches provide an important Christian presence within the community and social capital to enable people to better survive and retain hope within the settlements they offer little towards the much needed social transformation within the settlements. It is further argued that for this to be achieved, attention needs to be given to the development of appropriate forms of training and the facilitation of higher degrees of networking and collaboration. The thesis is structured around the pastoral cycle which forms both the theoretical framework and the research methodology. The suitability of the pastoral cycle as a research method is explored within the thesis. KEY WORDS AND PHRASES Charismatic Churches Informal Settlements Missiology Pastoral Cycle Pentecostal Churches Praxis Transformation ABBREVIATIONS ACK Anglican Church of Kenya AICs African Independent Churches CUM Centre for Urban Mission GCC Gatwikera Church of Christ. GPC Gatwikera Presbyterian Church GTJ Grace and Truth of Jesus JGC Jesus Gospel Centre PCEA Presbyterian Church of East Africa PMLM Praise Miracle Liberation Ministry PAG Pentecostal Assemblies of God. PPC The Pentecostal Prayer Centre RWGC Restoration of the World Gospel Centre SGC Shamma Gospel Church SJACK St Jerome Anglican Church WCCM We Care Christian Ministries . i MAP OF KENYA SHOWING NAIROBI Source http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9710/25/kenya.aids/kenya.nairobi.map.lg.jpg ii MAP OF NAIROBI SHOWING KIBERA Source http://www.stayalivekibera.org/Pics/nairobi-map.gif iii MAP OF KIBERA SHOWING THE DIFFERENT VILLAGES Gatwikera Source Carolina for Kibera http://cfk.unc.edu/misc/map1.html iv Map Showing Churches in Gatwikera 37. United Church Gatwikera Churches. 38. Nguvu Roho Mtakatifu 1. Upendo Centre Church 39. Musanda Hoy Ghost Church of East Africa 2. Revelation Miracle Church Centre 40 United Church of Christ 3. Jesus Gospel Centre 41. The Children of God Regeneration Center 4. Jehovah’s Witnesses 42. Katwikera Village Friends Church Nairobi 5. Mowar Roho Israel Church Yearly Meeting (Quakers) 6. African Divine Church 43. Holy Church of Christ (Joler) 7. Holy Ghost Church Full Gospel Fellowship 44. ARMC Gatwekera Church 8. Holy Trinity Church of Africa 45. Lion of Jude 9. Nomiya Luo Church 46. Full Gospel Fellowship Deliverance Church 10. Katwikera Lyahuka Church of East Africa 47. Great Altercall Fellowship Church 11. Musanda Holy Ghost Church 48. Holy Spirit Church of East Africa 12. Disciples of Christ Church 49. Pentecostal Evangelism Team Universal 13. Jesus Gospel Center (Mugumo) Church 14. Holy Salvation c.c. 50. Living Stone Church 15. We Care Ministry 51. Pentecostal Prayer Centre 16. Grace Ministries 52. Faith of the World Salvation Church 17. Restoration of the World Gospel Center 53. St. Jerome Anglican Church of Kenya 18. Seventh Day Adventist 54. United Cross Church of Africa 19. Faith of the World Salvation Church Kibera 55. Faith and Deliverance Church. 20. Galilaya Community Center 56. African Divine Church 21. Shammah Gospel Church 57. Holy Gospel Injili Takatifu Church 22. Pentecostal Revival Church of Christ 58. Praise Miracle Liberation Ministry. 23. Roho Israel Church 59. Pentecostal Assemblies of God 24. Presbyterian Church of East Africa 25. Baptist Church Terms: 26. Brilliant Holy Gospel Church Roho- Spirit (Swahili) 27. Maranatha Church Yie- Belief (Luo) 28. St. Lazarus Faith (Yie) Church Teko- Strength (Luo) 29. Gatwikira Worship Center (Pentecostal Injili- Gospel (Swahili) Church) Galilaya- Galilee (Swahili) 30. Daughter church of St Michael’s Roman Upendo- Love (Swahili) Catholic parish Langata Takatifu –Holy (Swahili) 31. Teko Injili Roho Mtakatifu Nguvu- Strength (Swahili) 32. Musanda Hoy Ghost Church of East Africa Mowar- Saved (Luo) 33. Gatwikera Church of Christ Lyahuka Be separate (Luo) 34. ACF Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship Musanda Location in Western Kenya (Luhya) 35. St. Philip Church 36. Pentecostal Church of Mercy v 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of key words phrases and abbreviations………………....... i List of abbreviations …………………………………………… ii Map of Kenya showing Nairobi ………………………………. iii Map of Nairobi Showing Kibera ……………………………… . iv Map of Kibera showing Gatwikera……………………………. v Map of Gatwikera identifying churches ……………………….. vi CHAPTER ONE: RESEARCH DESIGN Introduction …………………………………………………. 1 Part One: Background to the research …………………….. 2 1.1 Statement of the Problem ………………………………..... 2 1.2 Justification for the Research ……………………………… 4 1.3 The Hypotheses …………………………………………… 6 1.4 The Research Questions …………………………………. 7 1.5 The Structure of the Thesis ………………………………. 9 Part Two: The Conceptual Framework ……………………. 11 2.1 The Pastoral Cycle …………………………………………. 11 2.2 Assessing the Models ………………………………………. 15 2.3 Modifying the Cycle ………………………………………… 16 Part Three: The Research Method ……………………………. 25 3.1 Integrating the Conceptual Framework ……………………… 25 3.2 Incarnation and the Research Method ……………………….. 26 3.3 The Research Process …………………………………………. 39 3.4 Limitations of the Research …………………………………… 30 Conclusion ………………………………………………………… 33 CHAPTER TWO: THE LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction …………………………………………………… 34 Part One: The Context ……………………………………… . 36 1.1 The Informal Church in the Informal Sector: Defining Key Concepts ………………………………………………………… 36 1.1.1 Slums and Informal Settlements …………………………… 36 1.1.2 The formal and the Informal Economy ……………………. 37 1.1.3 Formal and Informal Churches ……………………………. 40 1.2 Towards a definition of Informal Pentecostal Churches ……... 41 1.2 .1 Models of Church …………………………………………… 41 1.2.2 Informal Pentecostal and “Spiritual” Churches ……………… 43 1.3 The Informal Church in the Informal Sector: Defining the Geographic Context