Abstract:
Leadership development is an ongoing need in Africa. Good leadership is key to the building
of any society. This article is written from the perspective of someone who lives in an African
community of poverty. As he or she observes the many problems the African continent faces,
he or she wonders about the role of the church to participate in seeking solutions to these
problems. The article stresses that effective leadership development should equip people to be
participants of the flourishing of their communities. It discusses the theological and
missiological foundations of leadership as avenues to align leadership formation with the
improvement of the quality of life of Africans living in communities of poverty. The researcher
belongs to a missional community which focuses on discipling local residents, with the hope
of nurturing agency from inside out. He uses the autoethnographic methodology to describe
this case study of his missional community efforts.
Description:
This research is part of the
research project, ‘Ecodomy:
The church and sustainable
communities’, directed by Dr
Attie van Niekerk,
Department of Science of
Religion and Missiology,
Faculty of Theology,
University of Pretoria.
