Abstract
The book of Acts is often referred to by many scholars and preachers when discussing Christian missions with emphasis on Acts 1:8 as the centrality of the book. Unfortunately, very little exegetical study is done on the text by scholars in relation to missions. It appears that Luke fails to provide a detailed blueprint strategies or approaches to the command for missions (witnessing) in the text. This article therefore considers Acts 1:8 exegetically to establish its missionary importance. In the light of this, the article assesses the mission strategies of the Early Church, Historic Missions and Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches in Ghana. The article contends that, a reflection on the current trend of Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic approaches or strategies to missions in Ghana gives a valuable insight of a departure from the early missionary strategies in general. The article acknowledges that, the recent widespread involvement of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in the use of radio, social media, television, open-air crusades, street evangelism, preaching in buses, prayer and prophetic meetings/conventions, medical outreach work and social welfare are ways to fulfill missions in the light of Acts 1:8. The article also highlights the need to broaden the understanding and task of Christian missions to meet the challenges of the recent changing Ghanaian Christian religious landscape. Keywords: Missions, Missiology, Neo-Pentecostal Churches, Early Church,Strategy, Book of Acts, Historic Churches.
Highlights
According to Hinne Wagenaar, “in the origin and development of African Theology, the Acts of the Apostles has been of considerable importance
African theologians refer often to passages from Acts. This may be related to the fact that African Christians identify with the missionary situation as described there
DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS The Missionary Importance of Acts 1:8 Acts 1:8 explicitly sets out the mandate which symbolizes the motif for the entire book of Acts
Summary
According to Hinne Wagenaar, “in the origin and development of African Theology, the Acts of the Apostles has been of considerable importance. African theologians refer often to passages from Acts. This may be related to the fact that African Christians identify with the missionary situation as described there. The book of Acts plays an influential role in the beliefs and teachings of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. It has influenced their theology, missiology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and pneumatology.[2] No other New Testament book has records of early Christian missions in the Bible other than the Acts of the Apostles
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