Church Leadership Capacity-building for Rural Community Development

Reflections from the AOG in Zimbabwe

Résumé

The church has been lauded as an able vehicle for community development and inclusive transformation in and beyond Africa. In attending to the need for integral mission, most urban church leaders in Zimbabwe have demonstrated an enabling capacity to identify and address the socioeconomic, political and environmental issues that bedevil their communities. Challenges remain in rural congregations and communities that are still hard-pressed by a series of political, socioeconomic and environmental crises. Although some urban-based denominational and ecumenical leaders have contributed to development in various outlands, rural clerical leadership capacity is low and in serious need of attention. Many related publications have covered the role and contributions of the church to community development in Zimbabwe, especially in urban settings. There is a large gap regarding rural, pastoral capacity-building for inclusive sustainability. This paper applied a qualitative case study of the Assemblies of God, a literature review and participant observation in theoretical view of Hoeft, Jung and Marshall’s Practicing Care in Rural Congregations and Communities (2013). It identified rural Zimbabwe’s community needs and suggested pastoral capacity building strategies to enhance desired development.