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ABSTRACT
This study examines Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward. Christianity is communicated in words and action. Therefore, the gospel of the Kingdom of God must be preached to those who do not know it, and the doctrinal foundation, history and ethics of the Christian church must be passed on for posterity sake. This must be done through evangelism. The design adopted for the study is the descriptive survey research design, Stratified random sampling technique was used to select twelve churches in the study area, four orthodox and eight Pentecostal. The findings of the study shows that Christ’s earnest expectation from the church is to save every wandering lost soul, “go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house be filled (Luke 14:23b). This implies that Christianity without evangelism is a dead faith. God expects us to love Him and our neighbor as ourselves by sharing the redemptive words of Christ with sinners. The church therefore honors God by reaching out to every unsaved soul through evangelism and by loving them as Christ loves the church. God does not need our evangelism to the world as a price of our salvation, but he needs them to secure the wellbeing of His creation just as we were once saved. We are His ambassadors. The early believers also give us examples of a good evangelism through sharing of things they have with one another. The gospel did not come from our mind, but originated in God’s heart. The church must also meet the unsaved souls with actions motivated by and based on the will of God. The study concludes that the Christian churches today have a lot to do in reconciling the world to Christ.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
1.2 Statement of the study
1.3 Purpose of the Study
1.4 Significance of the study
1.5 Research Methodology
1.6 Delimitation
1.7 Limitation
1.8 Definition of Terms
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Definition and the Practice of Evangelism
2.1.1 Concept of evangelism
2.1.2 Evangelism and Church growth
2.1.3 Models of Evangelism
2.2 Definition and Concept of Church Growth
2.2.1 Church Growth As A Movement
2.2.2 Three Kinds of Church Growth
2.2.3 Three Major Church Growth Mandates
2.3 Community Free Education as Strategy for Evangelism and Church Growth
2.3.1 Church schools as a tool for Evangelism and Church Growth
2.3.2 The Conflict between Education and Evangelism
2.3.3 Resolving the Conflict between Education and Evangelism
2.3.4 Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward
CHAPTER THREE
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES OF EDUCATION AS AN OUTREACH
3.1 In the Old Testament
3.2 In the New Testament
CHAPTER FOUR
CHALLENGES FACING EVANGELISM AMONG CHURCHES IN NIGERIA
4.1 Research Design
4.2 Data analysis
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendations
APPENDICES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
There is great joy in heaven over one lost soul that is saved here on earth, the church of God owe Christ the duty of reconciliation. For this reason was the son of God sent down to reconcile man back to God, in that while we yet sinners Christ died for our sins. After Christ’s resurrection he choose us (the church) to become the channel of reconciliation between the world and God as clearly stated in his word “ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you (the church), and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruits and that your fruits should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the father in my name he may give you” (John 15: 16kjv).
From the above scripture it can be deduce that a church without evangelism cannot grow and can never receive answered prayers from God on a regular basis, unlike a church that is always on the go for Christ. Poor performance in the aspect of evangelism among churches today have wasted the power of God vested on the apostle at Pentecost, for it is written “But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8 kjv).
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he commanded, “therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20 NIV). This verse contains an important mission the church should pursue in the world. Concerning this point, Rod Dempsey claims that “the church exists to win people to Christ, help them grow in their faith and then send them out to participate in the mission of winning the entire world. The process of growing them in their faith and sending them is called discipleship, and it is God’s will for every church” (Rod Dempsey, 2008).
The bible state it clear that whosoever win soul is wise, and that such a man shall shine like the brightness of the stars. This shows the importance that God place on the soul of man he created in his own image, no longer his long patience that none of his creature should perish in hell. In Christ message it was shown, the principles, doctrine, manner, character of what is expected of his church, then, now and future (i.e end time). His teaching in the mountain, and plain, during his earthly ministries was directly invitees, expectation of him, from his church, them, now and future, (End time) and what and how he wanted to reconcile sinners to the father.
God’s biggest hope is to save the unbelievers in the world. He wants all people to be saved and come to know the truth (1Tim. 2:3-4). He uses His church to accomplish the hope. This means that all works the church does should be carried out centering around evangelism. Many modern churches, however, have used evangelism as a means of church growth, and as a result of that they have failed. Evangelism should not be considered as a one-time event that merely increases the number of people who attend the church, but as an entire process that wins people and makes disciples (Wagner, 1984). The heart of being a purpose driven church is to focus on growing individuals spiritually with a process instead of trying to grow a church with programs. For a church‟s growth to be healthy, balanced, and consistent, the church should map out a strategy for developing disciples of Jesus and adhere to it (Rick Warren, 1195). It is not easy for people to move from being inactive or unreached to being active and committed disciples of Jesus Christ. For doing this, an effective evangelistic strategy consisting of several stages is required (Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson, 2007). The mission statement of a church generally consists of five purposes: worship, evangelism, fellowship, ministry, and discipleship (David Wheeler, 2008). Evangelism is usually considered as a separate area from the others. For example, people think that even if discipleship is not working well, evangelism can be successful regardless of the failure of discipleship. However, evangelism should not be treated only as a free-standing program but as one of the closely-knit ministries of the church. Evangelism should not function as a mere section of God‟s whole strategy for a church, but it should be the engine that drives motivation and direction for each aspect of the congregation‟s productivity (Jonathan Falwell, 2008).
Evangelism should be a principle, central axis in accomplishing God‟s will by churches, ruling over other aspects of the purpose of a church. There are many Christian denominations in Nigeria. Many unbelievers go to church because they are lonely and need relationships in the various communities. Unfortunately, however, most of the churches have few proper strategies for evangelism. Though the churches sometimes succeed in drawing unbelievers from outside their church through an evangelistic event, they do not have the next step that makes them disciples. There are two reasons for this. One is that the churches do not have passion for and an interest in their regeneration as much as in drawing them into their church. The other reason is that they are satisfied with just those attending their church. Forgetting the other aspect of Christ word, and that your fruits may abide or remain in the faith (John 15:16b). As a result, those who become new members of the church may remain unbelievers inside the church for a long time, and a conflict for hegemony between the unbelievers and the existing members may arise. In other words, if the existing people are not involved in evangelizing the unbelievers who attend regularly, the church may experience difficulty in the aspect of evangelism.
This study therefore focuses on examines Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward, Christ apostolic church Ikeja district, IkejaLagos state, Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the study
The church currently needs growth in both quality and quantity through an effective strategy of evangelism by churches in Nigeria. The current level of chaos and homicides in the country has nothing good to write of. Daily, our society and the media is inundated with alarming and scaring news such as “herdsmen attack Benue state leaving 500 persons missing”, “19 people killed by Fulani herdsmen in Jos village attack” (Fulani Herdsmen Archives, Information Nigeria, www.informationng.com). More worrisome is the ethno-religious dimension of the conflict. All these problems call to question the role of the Church in still contributing to the provision of needed succor in these problem areas. In view of these problems and issues, the big question is the relevance of the Church in the present situation. Since relevance is an important feature of any meaningful phenomenon, event or institution, especially in the sphere of human life, the Church’s role in the solution of problems in the 21st century Nigerian society may be definitive in the justification of its sensitization through evangelism among the Nigerian people. Moving from the great signs of vitality and great contributions of the Church to community development since the advent of the early missionaries to Eastern Nigerian, this present study will look at the role of the Church in evangelizing Nigeria to Christ and set how it can help address religious and political crises through evangelism. Thus the topic “Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward”..
The implementation of Free Community Education has resulted in an influx of children coming to school in great numbers in many African countries, and this put a strain on the recourses in the primary schools.[1] The immediate challenge that the influx of learners into schools created since the inception of Free community Education, was the need for more infrastructure and teaching and learning resources. Despite the Church’s attempts to provide some of the resources, the study found that these were either insufficient or not responsive to the local priorities and needs of the schools. As also noted by UNESCO[2] provision of more infrastructures, school facilities such as desks and books, and hiring of more teachers, was such a pervasive challenge facing the schools, related to the implementing Free Community Education.
Christian education is about the nurturing of Christian life and its effective practice which is expected to yield desired results. The value of any Christian educational practice should be measured by its transformational potential. For Wyckoff[3], among others, the aim of Christian education is to help persons to develop lives of integrity, loyalty, commitment and obedience and help people to live in full awareness of God. The above-mentioned aims seem hardly to come by in quite a number of Church members as indicated by the Nigeria Evangelism Report cited by Foli[4]. When Foli was dealing with nominalism in Nigeria, his study proved that there was a high nominal percentage of fifty – one (51) in the mission Churches in Nigeria which suggest among other reasons that there is ineffective Christian education in the mission Churches.
Implementing Free Primary Education without sufficient resources and mechanisms to deal with the day-to-day requirements of the schools seems not to only have an adverse impact on the quality of education in these schools.[5] Studies point also to the health risks that such a move brings to the schools.[6] The severity of this situation could be clearly understood when viewed within the context of these schools, in which the implementation of Free Primary Education, caused classrooms to be overcrowded with learners of different ages, most of whom coming from poverty-stricken households where it was difficult to maintain acceptable levels of hygiene.[7] The poor health facilities around these schools meant that those who became sick might not even have medical attention – thus ensuring extended periods of teachers’ and learners’ absence from the schools.[8] These challenges necessitate a need to carry pout a study on examines Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward, Christ apostolic church Ikeja district, IkejaLagos state, Nigeria.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The general objective of this study is to carry out an evaluation of examines Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward, Christ apostolic church Ikeja district, IkejaLagos state, Nigeria. In order to achieve this, the specific objectives required include the following:
To ascertain the adoption of free community education by Christ apostolic church Ikeja district.
To examine the approach of Christ apostolic church Ikeja district towards implementation of free community education.
To find out the impact of free community education on evangelism and church growth in Christ apostolic church Ikeja district.
To investigate the challenges facing evangelism and church growth.
To establish the possible solutios to the challenges facing evangelism and church growth in Christ apostolic church Ikeja district.
1.4 Significance of the study
The significance of the study is the raising of awareness of the need or otherwise to reconsider the educational ministry in the mission Churches that will result in character transformation. Christian educators in the mission Churches may become aware of the methods that will stimulate, guide and assist learners in seeking the relevance of the Christian faith. Miller[9] believes that the most important factor in education is relationship. The study will also lead to improvement of personal relationship between man and God and between man and his fellow human being. The study will help the leaders of the mission Churches to know how to deal with the needs of the various groups: children, youth, young adult, married couples, families, adults and old people, and address them accordingly. Furthermore, Pastors, Christian educators, seminary students, concerned laity, and others who read this work will be renewed in their commitment to this vital ministry and will build on the basics to renew and transform Christian education for the sake of the Church and its mission in the world. Finally, the study will help the local congregation of the mission Churches to select the best educational resources and lesson materials and train good leaders for their Christian education programmes. If quality of life is achieved among Christians, it will have positive impact on the economy of Nigeria with respect to reduction of corruption since Christians cover a greater percentage of 72.2 of Nigeria’s population as posited in summary report of the results by Nigeria Statistical service.
1.5 Research Methodology
This research work is the adoption for the collation and of writing this project is mainly library research as well as internet sources which is the compilation for current events in Sunday school works. Questionnaire will be given out to conduct the survey and statistics of the pattern on evaluation of examines Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward, Christ apostolic church Ikeja district, IkejaLagos state, Nigeria. Opinions of the people will be conducted through oral interviews teachers within the church will be a guide to collate and to arrive at a recommendation to be made from this research work.
1.6 Delimitation
The topic under consideration in this research is “examines Challenges facing evangelism among churches in Nigeria: Issue way forward, Christ apostolic church Ikeja district, IkejaLagos state, Nigeria”. This study is strictly restricted to Christ apostolic church Ikeja district, IkejaLagos state, Nigeria, although the result can be applicable to the church in general.
1.7 Limitation
Some of the major constraints the researchers encountered in putting up this research include:
- Financial constraint-
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview).
- Time constraint-
The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
- Limited resources.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Evangelism
In Christianity, evangelism is the commitment to or act of publicly preaching of the Gospel with the intention of spreading the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Poor Performance
Poor performance in this study is defined as the point where performance or expectations falls below the required standard.
Proliferation of churches
This is defined as the rapid increase in the number or amount of churches.
Church
A church or church house, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly for Christian worship services.
Missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development
[1] Ibid
[2]Miller, John P. (2000). Education and the Soul: Toward a Spiritual Curriculum. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
[3]Wyckoff, M, (2008). Moulding the Child: Siblings, Parents and School in Education and Reality. Reflections of Luigi Guissani’s book the Risk of Education
[4]Foli (1999). A century of Catholic Endeavor. Holy Ghost and Consolata Mission in Kenya. Pauline Publication.
[5]Ogeno,J.O., (2008). The Meaning of Education: Introduction to Total Reality in Education and Relaity. Reflections of Luigi Guissani’s boo the Risk of Education.
[6]Ibid
[7]White, G. E. (2008). Counsels on Education. Mountain View. California. Pacific Press. Publishing Association
[8]Ibid
[9]Miller. (2006). Adventist Secondary Schools: A More Complete Report. South Percific Division. Review and Herald.
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