Bedieningsvooruitsigte in 'n klein plattelandse gemeente : 'n bedieningsbeplanning vir die Ned. Geref. gemeente, Hofmeyer

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The small rural congregations, of which the Dutch Reformed Congregation ofHofmeyr is part,strive to keep the status quo with their congregational structure and leadership. However the timeswe live in is characterised with a lot of changes. The rural areas cannot escape al these changes. Itbrings these congregations at a T-junction in the road, where they must decide which way to go.The problem is that these congregations do not always have a good understanding of who, what enhow the church must be. With this self-initiated study the researcher tries to put in place a practicaltheologicalprocess for the Dutch Reformed Congregation of Hofmeyr with the aim to work out hernature and character, her ministry practise and structures. The researcher tries to discus in practicaltheologicalterms the future of the Dutch Reformed Congregation ofHofmeyr with spesific focus onthe development of new structures for the faith-leaders of the congregation.With this study the researcher wants to render an account of the history, the statistics of the previous17 years and an analysis of the context of the congregation with the aim to discern the currentunderstanding of the congregation about the church. Through interaction with Scripture and otherdisciplines the researcher wants to develop a possible base and practical theory for thecongregation. Following from this the researcher wants to set guidelines for the process ofdeveloping a new ministry practise. In this process the development and rol of the faith leaders is akeyfactor.The study is arranged in the following chapters:In the introduction the researcher places the study in the proper framework. The differentdimensions of the study are explained. The purpose is to orientate the reader about thecongregation, the community and the specific area of this research.The purpose of the second chapter is to give the reader a picture of the congregation and the contextin which the congregation functions. It becomes clear that the members of the congregation growolder and hardly any young people join the congregation. The younger members and children of thecongregation grow-up in an altogether different world than the older members did and very few ofthem make sense of the traditional way of being a congregation. The changes in the world have theresult that the current way of being a congregation is just not exceptable to anybody.In the third chapter the researcher explains the paradigm shifts and megatrends observed in theworld and their influence on the church as a whole, also the influence there-of on the localcommunity and congregation. It becomes obvious that the small rural congregation cannot side-step these shifts and trends - with one part of the congregation routed firmly in the Christendom-eraparadigm and another part of the congregation on its way to a different but still undefined paradigm.This whole process brings uncertainty and stress in the congregation. Following from thisknowledge of the world and the congregation the researcher tries to develop a more Scripture-basedunderstanding of who, what and how the congregation is supposed to be. The focus is to develop animproved base theory for the congregation.In the forth chapter this base theory for the congregation must be put into practice. The researchertries to show what does this base theory means in practice. The following comes into play: thecongregation must be an open family of God. We must not only say that we believe. We must havea faith that we live in practice. Each member must participate with his/her gifts in the differentministries of the congregation. The congregation must reach-out to the community to help the poordevelop different skills with the focus to break the cycle of poverty. We must have goodcommunication between all the different generations. We must be a congregation that loves natureand preserve it for posterity. Lastly we must have leaders that inspire and motivate the congregationthrough their service.In the fiveth chapter the researcher tries to develop a strategy to implement the practical theory ofthe previous chapter. The focus is on the development and equipping of faith leaders. Theresearcher presents some guidelines for doing this. He demonstrates that a new structure for thecongregation is needed to be faithful in the development of these faith leaders.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University