Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
Having lost its prominent position at the centre of Western society, the church
currently finds itself in a post-Christian era. This position leads to a drastic loss of
members (Braaten & Jenson 2002:21). Estrangement in churches therefore
brings about a new dialogue regarding the identity of the congregation which
constitutes the essence of its reason for being (Greenwood 2002:21 ).
The identity of the congregation as a missional faith-community is indispensable
to a healthy, growing congregation (Van Engen 1996:26; Frost & Hirsch 2003:15;
Guder 1998:3). Theologians agree that the loss of this identity constitutes one of
the main reasons for churches declining influence. This necessitates a
reorientation of the true essence of being church. The changing of the times is an
important factor, because it challenges the local congregation to grow towards
becoming the missional faith-community that God has in mind. A missional faithcommunity
is exemplified by a congregation that rethinks its essential identity
and purpose for existence. This reorientation restores the local congregation's
true nature to God's original plan and objective, thus enabling it to meaningfully
embody the Missio Dei. It was therefore important to undertake a comprehensive
literary study in order to ascertain the definition of a faith-community, how it is
formed, how it is sustained and how it may demonstrate its missional purpose.
This study has a dual contribution in that it presents a systematic PracticalTheological
study of the essence of church and that it allows for the development
of a contextual model. This model was developed and tested through a process
of participative action research in the context of two AFM-congregations. The
method also allowed for the formation of a measuring-instrument which will
enable congregations to do self-evaluation. In the future this PracticalTheological
study may form a guideline for meaningful church-development while
the developed incarnation model will enable the local congregation to function as
a missional faith-community.