A BIBLICAL APPROACH INTO THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN MISSIONARY WORK

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Abstract

Table of content

CHAPETR ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Research questions

1.4        Objective of the study

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

CHAPETR TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 introduction

2.2 conceptual review

2.3 empirical review

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1    sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

 

Abstract

Evangelicals are frequently perceived as conservative, for instance in their perspective on women. There is indeed a widespread evangelical hierarchical or complementarian theological view which objects to women in church leadership. There is, however, a growing egalitarian counter position, sometimes also referred to as “evangelical feminism”, which supports female leadership. This study concentrates on the international missionary biblical approach into the role of women in mission work. however, women are under-represented in leadership positions in modern church.

                                        CHAPTER ONE

                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The modern era of the missionary expansion of the Christian Church started with an evangelical revival movement stimulating Protestant initiatives at the end of the eighteenth century, with Anglican and Roman Catholic missions joining up some decades later. Intensified contact with the non-Westem world since the late eighteenth century confirmed in the European mind the idea of the Christianization of those parts of the world which had hitherto been deprived of the message of the Gospel. This third phase of the expansion of the missionary movement in Africa, which continued throughout the nineteenth century up to the present day, may conveniently be dated from 1792 and the publication of William Carey’s Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens, which was called a landmark in Christian history, “the first and still the greatest missionary treatise in the English language” Bediako (2005). Shortly after the publication of his pamphlet, Carey preached his famous sermon with its two heads, “Expect great things. Attempt great things”. Less than five months later, on 2 October 1792, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed, followed in quick succession by the interdenominational London Missionary Society established in 1795, the evangelical Church Missionary Society created in 1799, the Religious Tract Society and many others. The British and Foreign Bible Society founded in 1804 had the special task of promoting the translation and printing of the Holy Bible. At this period, the bulk of the missionary enterprise was done within English-speaking Protestantism, joined in the 1820s and 1830s by continental Protestantism coming from Germany, Switzerland and France. CAREY (1991) Similar organizations sprang up in Scandinavia, Holland and the USA. Catholic Christianity which came to play an essential role in the evangelization of Africa, revived its work a little later. The Catholic mission movement in Africa which had started in the late fifteenth century and was given new direction by the foundation in 1622 in Rome of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide by Pope Gregory XV, nearly collapsed under the impact of the French revolution and Napoleonic wars in the late eighteenth century, when many religious houses and congregations in Europe were closed down. It recovered in the first decades of the nineteenth century and revived the work of evangelization in Africa. The Catholic mission movement got a new impulse and a sense of direction when new missionary congregations explicitly directed to Africa were founded in France. French missionary societies played a crucial role in the revival of the Roman Catholic presence in nineteenth-century Africa. Until 1885, apart from the Italian Verona Fathers in North-Eastern Africa along the Nile, all Roman Catholic missions in Western, Central and Southern Africa were French. The role of women in the churches is a very crucial section because of the roles of men and women in the church are more clearly stipulated than in the Secular World (Maina, 1995). This is because the church seems to have dictatorial ideas than in the ordinary life where women are taken for granted. David Crabtree on the same notes states that women do comprise the large majority of active church members and are the sustaining force in the almost every congregation (Crab, 1970). In that note, women cannot be ignored in their church participation. Maina in her book states that church has continuously been accused of supporting and perpetuating the unjust social institution customs and myths which the church itself should evaluate. One finds that she (the Church) is more rigid than the secular society in her approach to gender issues. For instance, the society has opened up avenues for women to participate in any sphere of the society which the church has still kept some roles as men’s roles. It is on that note that Crabtree states thus: The church has given rise and supported the myths of dependency and emotionality the nuclear family system the all male Trinity. Crabtree, 1970. In the early church the role of women was highly recognized and appreciated. Women participated as deacons, companions of Paul and other Apostles and as apostles themselves (Rom. 16:7). Church leaders (Rom. 16:3-5) Church rulers (Rom. 16:1). Mary McKenna notes that women’s pastoral functions included teaching, catechizing to other women and caring for the sick (MacKenna, 1967). These pastoral works that women perform are done even today by lay and religious women; the world is emphasizing on equal rights and some dignity of sexes should respond accordingly to the situation where women play their role. In John 4, Jesus shares the Gospel with the Samaritan woman, who, having been introduced to the Messiah, returned to her village and shared her testimony in the marketplace and neighborhood with anyone who would listen. Nothing in the text indicates that she held evangelistic crusades or addressed the synagogue or even delivered her message in the local amphitheater ( John 4:5-30). Mary Magdalene was instructed by Jesus himself to share her personal testimony about the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead with his disciples (John 20:18). Mary of Bethany took advantage of a unique opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet to learn the deep truths of Scripture (Luke 10:38-42). Women have been equipping themselves for service to Christ and have been active in personal evangelism from biblical times. Despite the many examples found in Scripture and the specific didactic passages addressing church order, some women still struggle with how to apply biblical principles in the midst of a postmodern era that bears little resemblance to the ancient world setting in which Scripture was given. Most churches find themselves drawn into chaos and sometimes despair as gifted and equipped women respond from a heart’s passion to pour themselves out in service to Christ even to the ends of the world. Whereas no one in the International Mission Board would want to say publicly that ladies are serving as “pastors” on international mission fields, one must beware of a “slippery slope” in attempting to make a distinction between the specific role of pastor and the functions of supervising and/or mentoring national pastors or other missionaries. Team leaders are directed or overseen by a “strategy coordinator,” who in reality functions much as would the pastor of a church. Unless a woman states clearly (as some women have done) that she does not want to be placed in such positions of leading men, a woman may be considered in subordinate for declining to serve in these positions.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Change relating to female leadership has also come to the evangelical movement, sparking passionate and controversial debate. There is a stereotypical perception of evangelicalism as conservative. Although this stereotype does exist, as exemplified by the “Christian Right” in America, it is far from the whole story. David Gushee (2008) has argued that an evangelical centre is emerging in American politics (implying that there is even an – albeit small – evangelical left, epitomised since the 1970s by Jim Wallis and the Sojourners). These evangelicals take surprising positions – surprising, that is, if one only knows the right-wing caricature – on issues like climate change, mild forms of torture, poverty, and injustice, to mention some of the more important ones. It is in view of this that the researcher intends to investigate the role of women in mission work.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The study has one main objective which is divided into general and specific objective; the general objective is to examine the biblical approach into the role of women in mission work, the specific objectives are;

1. i) To examine the role of women in mission work
2. ii) To examine the effect of religious feminism on the growth of the church

iii) To ascertain the relationship between female gender and missionary work

1. iv) To proffer suggested solution to the identified problem

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;

1. i) Does women play any role in mission work?
2. ii) Does religious feminism have any effect on the growth of the church?

iii) Is there any significant relationship between female gender and missionary work?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;

H₀: There is no significant relationship between female gender and missionary work

H₁: There is a significant relationship between female gender and missionary work

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of importance to the management of missionary organization as the study seek to explore the effectiveness and efficiency of the female gender in the spreading of the gospel of Christ as it is recorded in the book of (John 4). The study will also be of importance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a pathfinder to further study. Finally, the study will be of importance to students, teachers, academia’s and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter and also contribute to knowledge.

 

1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers a biblical approach into the role of women in mission work; but in the course of the study, there are some factors that limit the scope of the study;

 

AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study

TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.

1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Bible

The Bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures. Varying parts of the Bible are considered to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans by Christians, Jews, Samaritans, and Rastafarians.

Biblical

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development

Mission work

A Christian mission is an organized effort to spread Christianity to new converts. Missions involve sending individuals and groups, called missionaries, across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

END NOTE

BEDIAKO, Kwame. Christianity in Africa.The Renewal o f a Non-Western Religion. Edinburgh, Edinburgh : University Press, 1995. BERNAN, Edward H. African Reactions to Missionary Education, New York – London : Teachers College Press, 1975.

BUXTON, T.F. The African Slave Trade and Its Remedy. London, 1839. CAREY, William. An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens.

Didcot, Oxfordshire : The Baptist Missionary Society 1991. Based on the Original Edition Published in 1792. GROVES, C.P. The Planting o f Christianity in Africa. 4 vols. London, 1948-58.

GUSHEE, D.P. 2008. The future of faith in American politics: the public witness of the evangelical center. Waco: Baylor University Press

HASTINGS, Adrian. The Church in Africa 1450-1950. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1996.

Maina Jane W (2005). Role of Women in the Church Myths and Human Development in MA Thesis

ISICHEI, Elizabeth. A History of Christianity in Africa. From Antiquity to the Present. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1995.

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