The Impact of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church Social Ministry in Education on the People of the New Juaben Municipalities
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Date
2021
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University of Ghana
Abstract
The research investigated the impact of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church social ministry in Ghana, particularly, the underlying actors influencing the SDA Church in the establishment of basic education and its impact on the people of the New Juaben municipalities. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s interest in education isproblematised because the church has established many schools over the years but its effects and impact on the communities have not been assessed. The social ministry of churches in Ghana can be traced to the early European missionary enterprise that combined evangelisation with the development of formal education among others. The research adopted the historical and phenomenological approaches as the methodologies for the study. Findings of the study were analysed within the mission theological concept of diakonia. Data was gathered mainly through personal interviews with the Eastern Regional Manager of SDA Schools, present and past headteachers, and through focus group discussion of present and past students and some parents of the various schools. Among other things the study found that, the main factor influencing the establishment of schools by the SDA Church is to evangelise the communities in which the churches are established. This is a result of their quest to take the message of salvation to the whole world as stated in Matthew 28. The study also revealed that education is not the only means by which the church evangelises. The church makes use of print literature, health messages as well as preaching to establish churches. The researcher, among other issues, recommends that, mission-based schools be consulted when posting teachers to their schools. Again, Adventist schools should open up in the holding of students positions so as to give equal opportunities to all individuals in their schools. Also, as an agent for evangelism, each church should open at least a basic school to evangelise the people while young. In conclusion, the research posits that the SDA Church’s quest to evangelise the whole world by presenting Jesus Christ to them, the aim of equipping the individual with the necessary skills for life and the showing of love to each other account for the establishment of such schools
Description
MPhil. Study of Religions
Keywords
Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Social Ministry, New Juaben Municipalities