Master of Arts in Missiology

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Browsing Master of Arts in Missiology by Author "Ngussa, Baraka Manjale"

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    Effect of African Community Values on Christian Discipleship Among Adventist Believers in Mwanza City, Tanzania
    (Adventist University of Africa, 2024-05) Ngussa, Baraka Manjale
    This study investigated the effect of African Community values on Christian Discipleship among Adventist believers in Mwanza City, Tanzania. It was based on the assumption that like in the apostolic church, effective discipleship requires contemporary believers’ engagement in fellowship, unity and sharing, participation and belonging. These are selected biblical values which are also part of the African Community worldview. The study used the descriptive-correlational design to establish the perceptions of the respondents, their demographic differences and the relationship between the African communal values and discipleship. The study randomly sampled six out of 33 local districts in Mwanza City as sampling unit. From each of the six districts, one local church participated. Out of 1,410 church members from the six churches, the sample of 306 church members was randomly selected through systematic sampling. Data from the field came through a questionnaire with the response rate of 268. Validity of the questionnaire was ensured through expert judgment, while the reliability test took place from the pilot data where the Cronbach’s Alpha for each variable was above 0.7. Data was treated through descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Linear Regression Analysis. Based on the findings, the study concluded that the Adventist believers in Mwanza City embraced fellowship to some extent and they actively participated in church activities. Unity and sharing existed among the believers. The believers experienced a sense of belonging and their local churches were the best places to be as they treated one another respectfully. They actively participated in discipleship programs through family and personal prayers, public and personal evangelism and distribution of Christian literature. The increase in age positively affected the discipleship engagement as members moved from the age of 18 through 65. Based on the conclusions and implications of the study findings, the researcher recommends the following mission strategies: There is a need for the Adventist local churches in Mwanza City to provide opportunities for members to fellowship through eating together after worship services and through Sabbath School units. The fellowship will increase unity among the believers and strengthen members’ collaboration in discipleship. There is a need to strengthen Sabbath School programs since attractive programs propel members’ effective learning of God’s word and its application in discipleship endeavors. The established unity and sharing among the believers should be extended to non- Adventist believers. Through such Christ’s method, members will win the non-Adventist believers’ confidence, while bidding them to follow Christ and become his disciples. There is a need for local churches in Mwanza City to strengthen training and equipping of members for discipleship. The training should cover personal evangelistic strategies. This initiative will propel members’ active engagement in personal evangelism.