The centenary of Assemblies of God in South Africa: Historical reflections on theological education and ministry formation

Kelebogile T Resane

doi:10.4102/hts.v74i1.4853

Kelebogile T Resane

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4853

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Abstract

The Assemblies of God (AOG) celebrates its centenary in 2017. The paper aims to show the historical development of theological education and ministerial training and formation in this denomination. It starts by showing how internationally AOG embraced the Bible Institute movement as a way of evangelism, church planting and growth from the early decades of the 20th century after the birth of the Pentecostal Movement. Then there is a South African scenario, lamenting the de-emphasis of the importance of theological education, though there was emphasis on evangelism and missional endeavours on the grassroots. The research unfolds the development of institutions from 1949 to the present. All in all, 10 institutions are identified and briefly explained, some of them with their demise. The article concludes by historical reflections on what was taught and identifies the gaps by suggesting that the Pentecostal curriculum should be relevant to the context of Africa by embracing inclusivity: Hidden Curriculum, Gender Studies, Inculturation and Liberation ideals and renaissance of pneumatology.

Highlights

It is important to note that this paper examines theological education on a broader Assemblies of God (AOG) tradition, regardless of its diversified cohorts – splinter groups since 1964
A letter I received from Paul Alexander, the President of Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, North Dakota, gives much of the information about Africa School of Missions (ASM): As a historical misfortune, the Assemblies of God in South Africa historically suffered from similar divisions as were evident in the wider society and the imposition of Apartheid
The international trend and the influence of the Bible Institute movements became a powerful tool for evangelism, church planting and church growth

Summary

Introduction

It is important to note that this paper examines theological education on a broader Assemblies of God (AOG) tradition, regardless of its diversified cohorts – splinter groups since 1964. It is known that AOG internationally embraced theological training as a way of ministerial formation and missionary expansion, regardless of Pentecostal reservation towards education elitism. The sentiment that prevailed during the 1950s AOG was the ministerial formation through theological training in the indigenous context: Beyond mere lip service to local initiative and leadership in each of the Assemblies of God fields, the DFM gave priority to training programs, especially the development of Bible institutes.

Results

Conclusion