Apostolic Faith Research Articles

Pentecostal leadership disputes in Zimbabwe: A pastoral challenge

Conflicts in the Pentecostal church leadership have been growing since time immemorial. However, leadership disputes have become traumatic and tragic in Zimbabwe to the extent that junior pastors are committing suicide and killing each other because of these conflicts. The article uses the practical theological framework to explore the complex intersections of conflict within the Pentecostal church, analysing the various factors and dynamics contributing to these conflicts. This work examines and addresses the ramifications of a leadership conflict within the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM). The junior pastors, who have been impacted by the leadership dispute, have endured trauma stemming from the ongoing conflict among the church’s prominent leaders, which is the central focus of this study. To better understand the lived experience of trauma among these pastors, a qualitative research design was employed. Through purposeful sampling and face-to-face interviews, participants were given the opportunity to share their narratives of leadership trauma. The result is that junior pastors are internalising the trauma, which is affecting them spiritually, emotionally and physically in ministry. This article proposes a healing methodology utilising the Gerkin and Positive Deconstruction approach.Contribution: This study leverages a practical theological framework to examine the challenges of providing pastoral care for junior ministers who were impacted by leadership disputes within AFM thereby contributing to Pentecostal approaches to care.

Factors associated with long-acting reversible contraceptives usage among sexually active adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe.

Despite the benefits of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), they are not being utilized in Zimbabwe as much as the short-acting reversible contraceptives (SARCs). The aim of the study was to explore factors associated with LARC usage among Zimbabwean adolescent girls and young women, using data from the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey. Cross tabulations and chi-square tests were used initially to describe associations. Odd ratios were then used to measure the strength of association between LARCs usage and the independent variables using stepwise multinomial logistic regression. From the 2132 sexually active females included in the study 9.1% were LARCs users and 42% were SARCs users at the time of the survey. Secondary and primary education had increased odds of not using any method (OR: 5.032, 95% CI: 2.136-11.8512 and OR: 5.799, 95% CI: 2.327-14.453 respectively) compared to tertiary education. Women with no living children had increased odds of not using any method (OR 66.543, 95% CI: 25.784-171.7381). Being not married was associated with decreased odds of SARCs usage (OR 0.399, 95% CI: 0.285-0.558). Desire for no more children was associated with reduced odds of SARCs usage (OR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.304-0.66). Being a member of the Apostolic Faith church was associated with increased odds of not using any method (OR 1.423517, 95% CI: 1.018-1.990309). In conclusion, acquiring a tertiary education, having children, a desire to cease bearing children altogether, being unmarried and belonging to the highest wealth class were generally associated with an increased likelihood of using LARCs. Being a member of the Apostolic Faith church was associated with a decreased likelihood of LARCs usage. Findings from the study are relevant in the Zimbabwean context and highlights the relevant factors essential to focus on, when carrying out interventions aimed at increasing LARCs uptake in the country.

Prophecy, Pentecostals and South Africa’s socio-economic inequality

Background: The article dissected white South African classical Pentecostals’ concept of prophecy in the context of widespread poverty and the resulting socio-economic inequality that characterises their society. As a rule, most white Pentecostals do not respond to the challenges of inequality and disparities by getting involved in assemblies in former apartheid-segregated ‘black’ communities that are characterised by widespread poverty. The legacy of apartheid’s separate neighbourhoods is still intact, implying that racial distinctions determine, to a great extent, who lives where. In addition to preaching practices, the congregational prophecies that occur among them also do not reflect these dire circumstances that characterise a majority of South Africans and play no role in arousing their social conscience.Objectives: The article aims to define Pentecostal prophecy against the context of South African socio-economic inequality.Method: A qualitative conversation with 43 white Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) pastors at the level of regional and national conferences during 2024 provides a view of white Pentecostals regarding the church’s handling of social inequality.Results: Most white Pentecostals in South Africa (SA) are aware of the social inequality that mars the separateness between formerly white and black neighbourhoods. However, the awareness has not infiltrated their spirituality to the extent that it is reflected in the prophetic practice.Conclusion: Most white South African Pentecostals still live in neighbourhoods separated from the squalid conditions of many black townships and ignore the structural, political, economic, and social issues that cause poverty. They interpret their prophetic task to exclude consideration of social ethics and structural challenges. What is needed is an urgent reconsideration of prophecy and its relevance for current socio-economic challenges.Contribution: The article was presented to awaken and stir up the consciences of white Pentecostals for the dire economic circumstances of most South Africans threatened by unemployment and poverty.

Women in Pentecostal churches and mental wellbeing during the COVID- 19 pandemic: The case of the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe

Pentecostalism, to which the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe belongs, is one of the fastest growing brands of Christianity in Zimbabwe. Most Pentecostal churches promise divine health, deliverance, miracles and prosperity to their members. In the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe, women constitute the greater percentage of the church membership. Despite the fact that Pentecostal churches make promises of a good life, a church is generally expected to be a safe haven to its members. This paper wished to examine whether the Pentecostal church response to COVID-19 helped to build or destroy the mental health of its majority members, the women. The findings however show that the church mostly affected women’s mental health in a negative way as it grappled with the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article therefore contests the claim of providing a good life as done by some Pentecostal churches. This was a qualitative study and utilized findings from a sample of 15 members of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe who were selected using purposive sampling. The findings suggest that the women were stressed by the teachings on marriage and emphasis on collection of money, discrimination against single women, the prosperity gospel, and patriarchy.

Clergy Vestment: An Analysis of the Ecclesiological and Theological Journey of African Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in South Africa

Historically, African Classical Pentecostal Churches (the African sections of the Apostolic Faith Mission, the Full Gospel Church, the International Assemblies of God, and the Back to God-Assemblies of God) did not used clergy vestment. The use of clergy vestment emerged among African Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches when Gladstone Botwana, the founder, and head of Zoé Bible Church in Soweto, was elevated to the office bishop in 1996. Currently, the use of clergy vestment has become a norm among African Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in South Africa. This article uses desktop research method to analyse the ecclesiological and theological journey of clergy vestment among African Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in South Africa between 1996 and 2022. It shows that association with African Pentecostals from the United States of America and the Commonwealth Dominican influenced this trend and provided them with a Christian leadership accountability platform accompanied with a new ecclesiastical and theological identity.

Revisiting African Spirituality: A reference to Missiological Institute consultations of 1965 and 1967

This article revisits the hope of the First and Fourth Missiological Institute (MI) consultations in 1965 and 1967 regarding the survival of African Spirituality as relevant to the daily life of South African churches. African Spirituality has played a significant role in the cultural context of Africans. In the African context, African Spirituality is intertwined with life, death, and health, which co-exist with material aspects and the economy as gracious gifts from God. The churches in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa have been challenged by the African worldview of healing and culture. Thus, Africans mostly prefer the African-centred church with more African Christianity, instead of Western Christianity. This has been a serious challenge in African church circles for centuries, even in the current 21st century. The question therefore arises whether this is a matter for the Africanisation, indigenisation, and decolonisation of the church in Africa.Contribution: The article analyses the two MI consultations and whether the church in the 21st century has Africanised and decolonised itself in service of its African members. The study is a historical approach given the history of the MI’s contribution in South Africa. The concept of African Spirituality is unpacked and contextualised within the African Independent Churches’ (AIC) Zionist type churches such as the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), the St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM), and other Ethiopian type churches such as Lutheran Bapedi Church and others in South Africa and African Traditional Religions (ATR). The article engages the importance of how African Spirituality differs from other spiritualities within the context of Christian spirituality.

Africa Independent Churches as Amabandla Omoya and Syncretism in South Africa

This article presents a historical contribution of African Independent Churches in South Africa, particularly with references to the Ibandla lamaNazaretha of Isaiah Shembe, Zion Christian Church (ZCC) of Engenas Lekganyane and the St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of Christina Nku. There is no doubt that these churches continue to be attractive and relevant to the South African context in the 21st century. They form an integrated part of African Christianity in South Africa. The article investigates ways in which these churches respond to the spiritual and cultural needs of Africans. It is interesting to look at how the Holy Spirit, healing, prayer and prophecy manifest in these churches. The concept of African Spirituality is discussed and contextualised within these churches.

Looking Back: Theological Reflections on the Intersection between Pentecostalism and Ubuntu within the African Section of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa

Syncretism in the African section of South African Pentecostalism followed the emergence of the Ethiopian movement. The latter took the lead in promoting the syncretising of Christianity and African culture and practice (hereinafter referred to as Ubuntu). A similar syncretism emerged in the Christian Catholic Church in Zion in Wakkerstroom, the “black section of the Apostolic Faith Mission”, soon after the departure of Reverend Pieter Le Roux, who was appointed to lead the Apostolic Faith Mission in Johannesburg since John G. Lake was returning to the USA. This article intends to show that such syncretism did not occur in a vacuum. Rather, it was influenced by the interpretation of some portions of Scripture, the influence of John Alexander Dowie’s praxis and some dreams and visions of a leader of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion in Wakkerstroom. This form of syncretism later permeated subsequent sections of African Pentecostalism in the Apostolic Faith Mission, resulting in the emergence of two categories of African Pentecostalism in the church: namely, those who accept this phenomenon and those who abandon it. These past developments position the Apostolic Faith Mission as a prime example to use in analysing syncretism in Pentecostalism and how it could be addressed by taking cognisance of Ubuntu without committing syncretism. Hence, the following question arises: How can theological reflections on the past experiences of the black section of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa contribute to promoting a biblical approach that takes cognisance of Ubuntu without committing syncretism? This article applies the Magadi research method conceptualised for practical theology to answer this question. It further demonstrates that it is possible to promote a biblical approach that embraces Ubuntu without committing syncretism.

Current Classical Pentecostal Bible Reading Methods: A Critical Perspective

The prevailing trend among members of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM of SA) is to interpret the Bible in a biblicist and literalist way, which conflicts with how early Pentecostals read the Bible. Empirical research completed in 2020 supports the observation. In contrast, early Pentecostals read the Bible with the expectation of meeting God. Their precritical, canonical, and text-centered interpretation focused on the text inductively before they deductively compared it with related texts in a straightforward manner to formulate their teaching. The new generation of Pentecostals applied conservative Evangelical hermeneutics to focus on the world behind the text, using the historical-grammatical method to arrive objectively at the author's intended meaning. It was rooted in the Scottish Common-Sense school of philosophy in a synthesis with the Baconian method. Their new hermeneutic was based on a theory of inspiration that accepted that divine revelation terminated at the end of the first century, resulting in a discrepancy that conflicts with Pentecostals’ expectation for extrabiblical revelations, miracles, and wonders to continue. The article aims to suggest an alternative hermeneutical approach that can constructively address the discrepancy, based on the recently developed scholarly hermeneutic that employs post-critical and postmodern approaches such as literary, reader-response, and advocacy hermeneutics. It utilizes quantitative research and a comparative literature study to realize the aim.

War on women

South African men have declared war on women, a statement expressing the fight against gender-based violence (GBV). Some argue that such a statement is unfair towards men who still respect the right to health and safety of women in society, while others argue that the roots of this war find their basis in disaster patriarchy. Disaster patriarchy is a process whereby men exploit a crisis to reassert control and dominance, erase women’s rights, women lose their safety, economic power, autonomy, and education and are pushed to the frontlines unprotected. The question is, what does the term “war” have to do with the fight against GBV; how does it find its roots in patriarchy; what can be done to bring this war to an end; and what are the practical theological tools needed to fight and end this war? The study is done from a Classical Pentecostal perspective, focusing specifically on the position of the Apostolic Faith Mission on war, their deliberations on patriarchy and GBV, and what role Pentecostal congregations can play to end this war. The study offers an analysis of patriarchy that serves as a basis for the war on women, engagement with the national GBV plan and its implementation by religious actors, especially Pentecostal congregations, and proposes a humanizing pneumatological approach that recognizes the human rights of those affected by the war and how to strengthen their agency and resilience. The study follows a comparative literature approach and is done using an interdisciplinary lens, consulting literature from the fields of theology, sociology, law and philosophy.

The Role of Ethnic Minorities in the Resistance Movement

Abstract This article explores the role of some prominent ethnic minority armies in the course of resistance to the coup. It selectively describes how some ethnic minorities such as Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Chin, Rakhine, Wa, and Shan play leadership role in the resistance movement before and after the 2021 military coup. It emphasizes the ongoing movement of how the 2021 coup created a window of opportunity for the interreligious collaboration between such ethnic minority groups and ethnic majority Bamar groups. It then shows how their interethnic collaboration blocked coup makers from consolidating their powers. The article also highlights how some ethnic minority Christian leaders, pastors, lay Christians, nuns, and priests witness their prophetic and apostolic faith in various ways of hidden and public resistance.

The Beginnings of African American Pentecostalism

Abstract African American response to the pentecostal movement began soon after the introduction of the Apostolic Faith to Texas, where the movement experienced its first noticeable success. It spread within the Black community of Houston following the baptism of the Holy Spirit by Holiness minister Lucy Farrow. One of its number, William Seymour, introduced it to Southern California. An early congregation in Houston became the first congregation affiliated with the Church of God in Christ, which, by the mid-1920s, became the largest pentecostal denomination in the state. Toward the end of the second decade of the century, Robert C. Lawson introduced the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World to San Antonio. The story of Black Pentecostalism’s emergence in Texas underscores the importance of African Americans to the larger pentecostal narrative even as it highlights the role of Texas in hosting the early expansion of the Apostolic Faith.

Patterning Constitutional Conflicts in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

This paper set out to analyse the patterning of conflict in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (COCZ) with the introduction of the Constitution; which has been described as an unfair proposition, given that conflict is inevitable in a postmodern society. Conflicts in communities have largely been caused by resource scarcity, group affinities, and poor leadership. The study used data collected from participants who were purposively selected to answer electronic questions posted on a WhatsApp group platform for this study. They were randomly chosen from the national fellowship of the COCZ pastors. The study observed that conflict was caused by the shifting centres of power through the adoption of the Somabhula Conference Centre. These conflicts thus bolster a deeper appreciation of Christian identity and mission in contemporary ecclesiastical circles. The data analysed revealed that there are three frameworks: concept, content, and composition of constitutions. It also revealed that conflicts in Zimbabwean churches happened in the Anglican Diocese of Harare; the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe; the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe and the Marange Apostles’ succession battles. Positively, conflicts have been observed to remove complacency among the leadership and followership. It concluded that citing the 2015 Constitution, therefore, becomes an unfair proposition as conflicts occurred in the history of mission churches in Zimbabwe inclusive of the conflicts in the COCZ history. This study contributes in a small measure to discussions around international best practices for resolving church conflicts. Keywords: Constitutions, Conflicts, Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

Diakonaat en die Afrikaanssprekende AGS van SA

The diaconate and the Afrikaans-speaking Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa. The aim is to discuss the development of the diaconate in the Afrikaans-speaking white Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) in order to examine its effectiveness. This is done on the basis of a comparative literature analysis. To understand this development, the church’s early antipathy towards established mainline churches must be understood, born out of the pentecostal movement’s self-definition and experience of rejection and discrimination. One consequence was that all traditional offices were denied, including the office of minister, elder and deacon. Early members were generally poor, like most other Afrikaners. Yet they supported each other and helped where possible. Their assistance excluded people of colour. There was no organised diaconate until the AFM was eventually forced by reality to institutionalise. From this a Welfare Department was born in time which also organised welfare work through Dorcas councils at regional and parish levels. The Welfare Department also established and administered old age and children’s homes. In general, only women served on Dorcas councils while the congregational council (church council) consisted only of men. Still, welfare work was mainly limited to the ‘own people’. In the run-up to unification, the ‘white’ AFM relegated all power to the local level as much as possible to protect their own identity. After unification in 1996, as a result of this process, local congregations were again left on their own to do welfare work. At the same time, many Afrikaans-speaking congregations exclusively use Afrikaans in their worship services, excluding non-Afrikaans speaking people of colour. As a result, their welfare work is mainly limited to white people. The importance of the conclusion is that the church needs to address deficiencies in the diaconate task, which is essential to the church’s mission.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The evaluation of the diaconate in the AFM implies a new welfare strategy and redesign of the diaconate based on the church-historical description, exegesis of relevant Scripture passages and description of the current South African scene marred by social inequality and the occurrence of widespread poverty to relate to the church’s task.

The liberation of women and girls as the liberation of Mother Earth: A theological discourse

This article, grounded in ecofeminism, considers the earth as symbolising women and girls and the liberation of women and girls as the liberation of the earth. When the environment is liberated from abuse, its capacity to sustain human life is enhanced. In the same way, when women and girls are freed from all forms of oppression and exploitation and are allowed to be self-actualising people, their capacity to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development and human welfare is enhanced. Given that women and girls play key culturally prescribed roles such as being carriers of life through childbirth, nurturing, caregiving and serving as pillars of the home, their oppression and exploitation stifle their contribution to societal development, thereby curtailing sustainable development. Similarly, abuse of the earth results in environmental crises such as floods, droughts, famine, heat waves and global warming, resulting in the earth’s diminished capacity to sustain life. This study was based on literature review and informal interviews involving participants from three churches (the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe, the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe and the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church). This article examined the extent to which religion can empower women to participate in public activities including environmental management, epitomised by the way women and girls in the selected churches are perceived and treated. It is concluded that religion can be both liberating and binding to women and girls and, by implication, Mother Earth.Contribution: This article highlights parallels between females and Mother Earth, using the treatment of women and girls in three churches as the springboard of the discussion. It considers how far such treatment can promote their participation in public spheres that include taking care of and managing the environment.

Records and Information Management (RIM) Practices in Pentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has, for the past five decades, experienced a proliferation of Pentecostal churches. Some Pentecostal churches or prophets own television channels and social media accounts, which they have used for communication and preaching. In some instances, Pentecostal churches run several projects and church activities. All these activities and operations have resulted in the creation of financial, personal, prophecy and project records, among others. Although Pentecostal churches are not archives or records centres, they stand to benefit if they engage in Records Information Management (RIM). The Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFMZ) and the United International Apostolic Faith Church (UIAFC) both experienced splits in 2018, and this has contributed to information loss and the destruction of vital records. This study investigated the efficacy of RIM practices in the AFMZ and UIAFC and was grounded on qualitative and phenomenological research methods. The target population included pastors, secretaries and treasurers from the AFMZ and UIAFC who are part of the RIM chain. The study found that the lack of a RIM policy, trained personnel and physical as well as technological infrastructure contributed to records and information loss. Pentecostal churches are susceptible to splits. Records or information is usually managed by lay workers (volunteers) with less knowledge of RIM; hence this has attributed to information loss and records destruction. It is thus concluded that RIM in Pentecostal churches remains an afterthought. This study established critical RIM factors that Pentecostal churches may find useful, and which can increase their efficiency and effectiveness in operations and business.

Living the Apostolic Faith Together Today

AbstractAs the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC) prepares to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025, its distinctive task is to invite the churches to commemorate ecumenically and to consider the search for visible unity under the theme “Living the apostolic faith together today.” Recognizing the diverse expectations of Christians for this anniversary, Faith and Order is planning a year of ecumenical events and opportunities, including a World Conference on Faith and Order with both in‐person and livestreamed participation. The 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will focus on the Nicaea commemoration, and Faith and Order will collaborate with other WCC units and the churches. Topics for discussion are grouped under three themes: faith, unity, and mission. Online activities will enhance the opportunities for Christians around the globe to encounter one another in a spirit of love and reconciliation.

The Actuality of the Council of Nicaea

AbstractThe year 2025 will mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea, which initiated a new chapter in the history of the Christian Church. The World Council of Churches is planning to organize a World Conference on Faith and Order to celebrate this anniversary and to reflect on the transmission of the apostolic faith today. This conference is not intended to study the history of the council nor to study its theology, but rather to reflect on what “visible unity” means to different Christian churches and how Christians can collectively promote, preach, and live the apostolic faith today in the context of many contemporary challenges, such as secularization and religious pluralism. In this perspective, the present article reflects on the actuality of the Council of Nicaea and how it still ought to be considered as normative for the Christians of the 21st century.

Women’s Leadership Role in the Apostolic Faith Mission Church of South Africa

Women’s advancement into executive leadership in the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) church in South Africa (SA) has not been able to keep pace with women’s movement into the workforce. As part of a resolution passed at the AFM of SA’s National Leadership Forum (NLF) meeting, a task team was appointed in March 2020 to determine what prevents women from being elected to leadership positions in the church. This team consisted of three women ordained as pastors in the church. A questionnaire was distributed by the team to women in the AFM assemblies in nine provinces of SA asking why women were not advancing in leadership in the church and what could be done to change the phenomenon. A sample of 89 participants responded to both closed and open-ended questions. The open-ended questions were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings illustrated that a change in perceptions and bias toward women in leadership is needed. Women require support from church leadership, training, mentorship, and intentional changes to policy and practice. Finally, women require representation on all levels of leadership in the church.

Whose Fall? What Hellenism? Christianity's Fall into Hellenistic Philosophy Revisited

Many scholars have demonstrated the flaws in the claim that Christians sold out to Hellenistic philosophy soon after the apostles’ death. However, these same scholars have failed to account for the pervasive intuition that something was indeed troubling in this period. This paper argues that instead of a falling into Hellenistic philosophy, some in the early church were subtly seduced by scientia. The use of philosophy as a legitimate and helpful tool for Christian intellectual engagement with all of life soon led to the metastasis of philosophy from its position as a tool in the pursuit of Gospel ends to an end itself. By the middle of the 5th century, a particular metaphysic was enshrined as the measure of the catholic, apostolic faith delivered once for all, thereby demanding that right speech and thought about God must be philosophical. It is argued that this shift is not a natural outworking of biblical principles but alien to them. Philosophy has its place in Christian intellectual engagement and proclamation, but it cannot take the centre without drastic and detrimental consequences.