The effectiveness of Sesheke Church’s transformational task: An exposition of the descriptive-empirical task from a practical theological perspective

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of the descriptive-empirical task of an original research into the effectiveness of the Sesheke Church’s transformational task. Osmer’s (2008) model of the four tasks of practical theological interpretation (descriptive-empirical, interpretive, normative, and pragmatic) has been employed in the original research. Each of the tasks addresses a specific stage of a proposed study, but this article, as already mentioned, reports on the descriptive-empirical task. The task seeks to understand the current praxis of the Sesheke Church regarding the transformation of their local community (Osmer, 2008:31–79).

The Sesheke Pastors Fellowship, referred to as Sesheke Church in the article, has accepted an obligation regarding the welfare of their community and formed a sub-committee in July 2007 to engage the church, government, and all other stakeholders in a transformation process. The aim of the Sesheke Church has been to bring about socio-economic transformation for the local community.

The researcher was chairperson of the sub-committee for seven years and has, therefore, been motivated to investigate the praxis and impact of the Sesheke Church’s transformational task. According to the opinions of the participants interviewed, the transformational task by the church in Sesheke has not been effective for various reasons. This article discusses the reasons for the church’s failure as perceived by the participants.

The researcher believes that this article will contribute to the understanding of practical theology with regards to community transformation from the unique context and situation of the transformational task by the church in the Sesheke area.