Abstract
M.A.
The motivation for the study was to determine the problems encountered by pastors within the context of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (hereafter AFM Church) in a small rural congregation and what their specific needs were. The purpose of the research is to supply workable guidelines which will help the pastors to improve their situation in the rural area. A qualitative research investigation was done, which is investigative and descriptive.
Interviews were conducted with sixteen pastors from small rural congregations and were asked: How do you experience the ministry in a small rural town? The information was collected and scientifically processed, and four areas were identified which could influence the pastor’s ministry in a rural environment, namely:
• the congregation in which the pastor is working
• the community in which the pastor is working
• personal qualities of the pastor and
• lack of personal and professional support and resources available to the pastor in rural areas.
From the research it is clear that factors exist which obstruct the progress of rural congregations. Factors include a higher age profile and inadequate parishioner involvement in the congregations, whilst a conservative and tradition-bound community as well as inadequate involvement in the community also has a role to play. The research proved that the pastor’s personal background, age and experience in the ministry can be keys to success, while inadequate personal and professional backing to the pastor can handicap effectiveness in the ministry. There is a lack of useful resources available to the pastor while insufficient communication with head office can sometimes lead to frustration.
The results from the qualitative research were subjected to a literature control. In the literature control it was attempted to investigate and verify the accuracy of the problem areas, according to which guidelines were compiled to assist the pastor and leadership of congregations to eliminate problem areas which may occur. The guidelines viewed as a whole provide for an attempt by the church that could hold various benefits for the AFM pastor in a small rural congregation.