Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe

The relationship between theology and culture created serious tensions in the mission of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. Research has shown that most of the splits that happened in the church were premised on the differences between the missionaries and/or the locals and how the Methodist Church w...

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Main Author: Martin Mujinga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Noyam Journals 2024-12-01
Series:E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ERATS202410141.pdf
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author Martin Mujinga
author_facet Martin Mujinga
author_sort Martin Mujinga
collection DOAJ
description The relationship between theology and culture created serious tensions in the mission of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. Research has shown that most of the splits that happened in the church were premised on the differences between the missionaries and/or the locals and how the Methodist Church was theologising healing ministry, From the year 2008, most Methodist congregants sought healing from the newer religious movements, resulting in dual and/or total transfer of membership. The purpose of this paper was to discuss the ongoing debates about the theology underlying healing ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The paper used a missio-cultural conceptual framework to assess the inculturative challenges of healing ministry.The research was conducted between 2015 and 2016 in the Mabelreign, Epworth, and Mbare societies of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The qualitative research used both purposive and snowball sampling to collect data from ninety-eight participants who took part in different interviews. The paper found out that the diverse understanding of healing ministry has caused conflictive relationships among the clergy themselves and the clergy and congregants, dual membership, and total transfer of members to newer religious movements. The paper recommended the church to advocate for the inculturation of healing ministry in the Methodist Church if the ecclesial space will remain relevant in a multireligious world. This research contributes significantly to knowledge as it brings to light a new dimension of creating a dialoguing space between the healing ministry and African culture. This inculturative space allows theology to be relevant in Africa.
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spelling doaj-art-97e921638c684263911eb2f5d0ea90af2025-08-20T02:28:28ZengNoyam JournalsE-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies2458-73382024-12-011014112https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202410141Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in ZimbabweMartin Mujinga0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8098-2515Research Fellow- Research Institute for Religion and Theology- University of South Africa The relationship between theology and culture created serious tensions in the mission of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. Research has shown that most of the splits that happened in the church were premised on the differences between the missionaries and/or the locals and how the Methodist Church was theologising healing ministry, From the year 2008, most Methodist congregants sought healing from the newer religious movements, resulting in dual and/or total transfer of membership. The purpose of this paper was to discuss the ongoing debates about the theology underlying healing ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The paper used a missio-cultural conceptual framework to assess the inculturative challenges of healing ministry.The research was conducted between 2015 and 2016 in the Mabelreign, Epworth, and Mbare societies of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The qualitative research used both purposive and snowball sampling to collect data from ninety-eight participants who took part in different interviews. The paper found out that the diverse understanding of healing ministry has caused conflictive relationships among the clergy themselves and the clergy and congregants, dual membership, and total transfer of members to newer religious movements. The paper recommended the church to advocate for the inculturation of healing ministry in the Methodist Church if the ecclesial space will remain relevant in a multireligious world. This research contributes significantly to knowledge as it brings to light a new dimension of creating a dialoguing space between the healing ministry and African culture. This inculturative space allows theology to be relevant in Africa.https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ERATS202410141.pdfinculturationmissio-culturalmethodist church in zimbabwehealing ministry
spellingShingle Martin Mujinga
Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies
inculturation
missio-cultural
methodist church in zimbabwe
healing ministry
title Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
title_full Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
title_fullStr Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
title_short Toward Inculturating the Theology of Healing Ministry in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
title_sort toward inculturating the theology of healing ministry in the methodist church in zimbabwe
topic inculturation
missio-cultural
methodist church in zimbabwe
healing ministry
url https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ERATS202410141.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT martinmujinga towardinculturatingthetheologyofhealingministryinthemethodistchurchinzimbabwe