The Church of Nazarene in Khayelitsha: Developing a missional spatial consciousness with special reference to COVID-19

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The Church of Nazarene in Khayelitsha: Developing a missional spatial consciousness with special reference to COVID-19
 
Creator Mlambo, Ntandoyenkosi N.N. Mbaya, Henry
 
Subject Church History Cape Town; apartheid; spatial justice; church history; spatial planning; Church of the Nazarene.
Description The legacy of apartheid spatial planning can still be seen in the dynamics of spaces in South Africa today. The elite (according to research is racialised and mostly white people) lives in well-located city areas, close to economic activity and rule social life that defines cities as stated in 2016 by the Socio Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI). Alternatively, mostly black South Africans are confined to urban margins in densified and poorly serviced areas, with low rates of home ownership. The effects of these policies extend beyond the urban nature, as spaces on the margin by design tend to have fewer opportunities for education compared to urban areas, and there are spatial limits to black business ownership. This article seeks to discuss a case study on a church’s use of space during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), to show an inclusionary spatial dynamic that may be used in South African spaces. Firstly, it presents an overview of the unequal spatial dynamics in South Africa, particularly Cape Town, and dynamics during COVID-19. Secondly, it provides a historical overview of the Church of the Nazarene and its foundational beliefs. Moreover, it discusses a case study of renewed spatial dynamic in church using the Church of the Nazarene in Khayelitsha. Furthermore, the case study will be used to show the innovative way they reached their community during this time. The final part will discuss how this inclusive spatial dynamic reveals an innovative dynamic in the concept of the missional church, one that goes beyond the going out contextually, but allowing the outside in as well.Contribution: This article discusses the new spatial dynamic of the missional church which inspires inclusivity. The article uses literature around space, COVID-19, mission studies and church history. Furthermore, a semi-structured interview with a church leader at the Church of the Nazarene in Khayelitsha is used for a contextual case study.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Lund Mission Society Polin Institute
Date 2024-03-07
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v80i1.9217
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 80, No 1 (2024); 7 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/9217/26571 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/9217/26572 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/9217/26573 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/9217/26574
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Ntandoyenkosi N.N. Mlambo, Henry Mbaya https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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