RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE OF POVERTY THROUGH CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: A CLARION CALL FOR CHURCHES IN NIGERIA
Abstract
The paper elucidates poverty to be one of the challenges of the age. It highlights the efforts of various governments in Nigeria towards poverty eradication which seems not to have worked out well enough. The writer calls on churches to see poverty alleviation as part of their mission of evangelisation and be proactively involved in it. Salvation is holistic in the sense that it does not only concern the redemption of the spirit and soul but it also involves the enhancement of the physical status of an individual. The causes, effects and level of poverty in Nigeria are presented. The rationale for churches response to poverty is stated as well. The paper itemizes some possibilities through the corridors of Christian education which churches could adopt in the alleviation of poverty. Specifically, the emphasis of Christian education strategies for the church’s involvement in poverty alleviation in the paper is illustrated with three practical and spectacular models/ patterns of ministry gained from an educational tour by the writer of the paper having visited sites of some individual church members who are ministering to the poor in their community. The paper concludes with some recommendations.
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References
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.893
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