Poverty is a social problem. Its alleviation has been one of the major issues that occupy a significant place in the scale of preference of developmental policies of several nations, international organizations, church and other interested stakeholders. Thus, the thrust of this work centers on poverty alleviation strategies of selected Churches in Anambra State: namely how this institution participates in some economic activities, skill acquisition programmes, and empowerment programmes, among others in view of controlling the scourge of poverty. The research methods employed here are: both qualitative and quantitative-survey and documentary research methods of data collection. The survey method collects data through designed research questionnaire and oral interview with some respondents respectively, while in qualitative approach is the content analysis of written sources such as books, journal articles and online sources that are relevant to the research. The findings of this research show that poverty is human-induced problem manifested in the mismanagement of resources and other forms of ills. Selected churches in Anambra State has reduced the effects of poverty through its collaboration with the State and Non-Governmental Organizations in poverty reduction programmes.

The apparent disconnection between Nigeria’s endowment in natural resources and the level of poverty has become a cause for concern, with a serious impact on the development of the nation. To address the poverty issue, the Nigerian government has designed various programmes. Drawing data from official documents and other relevant materials, this article examines such poverty eradication programmes. The article argues that as laudable as they appear, these policies and programmes have failed because of corruption and poor design and implementation, among others. This calls for other stakeholders to be involved in eradicating poverty in Nigeria. This article thus looks at what the Catholic Church is doing to reduce poverty for peace and sustainable development in Nigeria. It suggests that collaborative governance is the key to poverty eradication, peace and sustainable development in Nigeria. The descriptive phenomenological method was employed in the study.

This study compared the early church's conceptualization of poverty, and attitude towards the poor, with that of the contemporary Prosperity Preachers in Nigeria. Hermeneutical and comparative phenomenological methodologies were employed. The study revealed that in the early church, the majority of the members were poor, yet there was no practice which involved the elements of modern 'prosperity preaching' in Nigeria. In fact, the early church had a view of poverty and disposition towards the poor that is different from that of the prosperity preachers in Nigeria. This served as a justification for the position of the study on the prosperity preaching movement.

The research examined prosperity gospel preaching or teaching and its implications on the poor. It discussed its historical origin and noted that it was birthed in United States of America in the nineteenth century and now spreading in the Nigerian churches and society like wild fire. The information for the paper was derived from primary and secondary sources. However, the researcher showed that most scriptural references made in support of prosperity gospel are placed out of context, thus, giving a false impression and interpretation about what the Bible really teaches. The findings of the research indicated that, prosperity gospel in a way gives one a sense of hope, direction and reassurance that the life one lives can get better if one can only apply certain biblical principles correctly. Equally, it was observed that the prosperity preachers or teachers are quite correct in pointing believers to God and the wonderful promises made in his word in order to get their needs met. However, many of these preachers have turned the table of the gospel round for self or selfish advantages and thereby impoverishing their congregation the more rather than improving their lots. This in-turn has reduced the capacity of the people and thereby affected national developments in terms of socioeconomic , psycho-spiritual and physical developments. The mind of many Nigerians has so much been corrupted to pursue wealth at the expense of the things of God which has eternal values. Hence, the research paper recommended that the focus of gospel preachers today should rather address soteriology of man.

One can argue that the growth of Pentecostalism in Nigeria owes a lot to the rising spate of poverty and squalor in the country. When individuals began to seek spiritual solutions for their physical problem, Pentecostal churches with their prosperity messages logically appeared as anchor point. Pentecostalism - a term which describes the set of Christians who believe so much in the help of the Holy Spirit for overcoming life challenges – both spiritually and physically readily became a bastion of hope for a vast number of Nigerians who have had to struggle for an existence in the ailing Nigerian economy. The nexus between the claims and testimonies of the adherents of these Pentecostal churches and the social conditions in Nigeria appear not to have fully caught the attention of social historians. Simply put, are prosperity messages by Nigerian Pentecostal Churches a safe guard against poverty? This study attempts to find answers to these questions. Information for the study was der...

Much of poverty alleviation theory and practice fails to sufficiently consider the following crucial factor: the religious dimension. This paper elaborates this thesis by focusing on the African context and the valuable resources African religious communities and movements can provide in the struggle against poverty. One particularly influential streak of present-time African religiousness serves as a case study: the so-called 'Prosperity Gospel' as part of Pentecostal Christianity. The author first argues for the continuing formative influence of religion on African conceptions of self, other, and world. Secondly, she provides a critical assessment of the impact of Pentecostal-ism and the 'Prosperity Gospel' on poverty alleviation. In comparison with secular ngos, Pentecostal churches emerge as the more effective agents of change. A third part situates the insights gained into a wider perspective, seeking ways to integrate the religious factor into a more holistic conception of and engagement against poverty.

Abstract Is addressing of poverty a central gospel activity in Ghanaian Pentecostalism? Poverty is a grave concern in the world and a living church must join fight it as a central part of its gospel mission. Do Pentecostals require a new paradigm of mission to address poverty? This paper discusses aspects of a study which sought to ascertain whether Pentecostal congregations in Ghana are aware of the missional conversation and how this orients them towards addressing poverty in their congregational development. The missional movement aims to renew the church towards the mission of God, with the understanding that mission is the raison d’être of the church, and not just one of the activities it is engaged in. Viewing poverty as structural, systemic and culture embedded, the right response from the church to the difficult questions facing society as God would have them addressed is imperative. Such a response can be effective if it flows from the right paradigm developed from the substance of people’s inner convictions. Authors contend that he missional church concept awakens the inner senses of the church to become “salt and light” to the world. This missional paradigm involves using practical theology methods and expresses theological ideas in social science language. In that vein, this article introduces Spiritual leadership capital (SLC) a theory advanced in a recent doctoral study titled, “Spiritual leadership Capital: A Theology of Poverty in Congregational Development”. Authors argue that SLC is useful for social capital formation and can help in addressing social problems such as poverty. And observe that people respond to their world from their inner states, as such, to change our external situations the quality of our inner states must be enhanced.

There is a conflict over whether Christian ministry and theological education should be pursued with an expectation for economic survival. The rise of Christian ministry practice emphasising wealth and prosperity has heightened commodification of the Christian ministry. Church ministry and theological education are being used as instruments for economic profit. The link between theological education and Christian ministry, among other things, is that church practices and ministry expressions reflect the underlying theology. In such a situation, this article reflects on the following questions: How are Christian ministry and its undergirding theology being utilised as instruments of economic prosperity in Africa? What is the theological education approach that is employed to support this ministry approach? The article attempts to establish an understanding of ministerial practise that has biblically and theologically informed views of material wealth. It begins by examining the tradi...