Master of Arts in Missiology

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Browsing Master of Arts in Missiology by Author "Ayeni Folorunsho Michael"

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    A tent-making approach for equipping Adventists for witnessing to Muslims in Ilorin, Nigeria
    (Adventist University of Africa, 2025-05) Ayeni Folorunsho Michael
    The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden ignited the conflict between God and Satan, between good and evil. Biblical accounts present to humanity the core of God's mission to save and redeem fallen creation for Himself. This paper seeks to study this mission of God termed in missiology as Missio Dei through the tent-making ministry concept. The focus is to explore the tent-making approach for equipping Adventists for mission engagement among the Muslims in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The qualitative research method is employed, which uses narrative research designs through focus group discussions and interviews. Purposive sampling was used in selecting participants for this research. Three groups were selected based on situational-specific behaviours. One participant each was selected from two groups, while four participants were selected from the last group, which formed the focus group discussants. The three groups are the mission-employing organization of the Church – Conference, Training institution – Seminary and the Missional Church – Members of the Lay-Pastor. It was observed that Paul used this tent-making model to build cross-cultural bridges to link the dying world to the fountain of life, Jesus Christ, in an unusual way. Through this model, Paul was able to connect with people of various backgrounds and do underground missionary work. This model allowed Paul to carry the gospel message to the then-known Roman Empire, and it was said of his effort that his message had “turned the world upside down” (cf. Acts 17:6). It has been reported that through the tent-making model, missionaries can serve in the hosting territory for the development of the place and at the same time be the hand of God in ministering the hope in Jesus Christ to the people he/she is serving. On the part of the Church, a tent-making model has been identified to reduce the cost of hiring gospel workers, thus providing benefits both to the Church organization and the mission practitioners. This study presents that tent-making ministry is the next viable method of mission engagement among Muslims in the areas considered resistant belt, especially in Ilorin due to the high level of religious restriction in the City. Through this study, it has been confirmed that many Muslims are dying in silence and need someone to share their (spiritual) concerns with; to give them hope. This made it clear that now is the time for the Church to seek ways to embrace mission refocus and adopt a tent-making approach to reach this restricted belt.