Title Page
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT (Translation)
Contents
CHAPTER 1. Introduction 14
1.1. Introduction 14
1.2. Background to the study 16
1.3. Research Objectives 18
1.4. Research Questions 18
1.5. Literary review 18
1.6. Definition of key terms 20
1.6.1. Child (children) 20
1.6.2. Child Evangelism 21
1.6.3. Missional Leadership 22
1.7. Justification of the study 23
1.8. Methodology 24
1.9. Chapter Summary 24
CHAPTER 2. Child Evangelism in Africa 25
2.1. The opportunity for child evangelism 25
2.1.1. Rapid population growth 27
2.1.2. Rapid church growth 30
2.1.3. Cultural values and practices that favour children 31
2.2. Challenges and obstacles to child evangelism in Africa 36
2.2.1. Socioeconomic obstacles to child evangelism in Africa 38
2.2.2. Ecclesiastical obstacles to child evangelism in Africa 42
2.3. Chapter Summary 44
CHAPTER 3. Biblical teaching on Child Evangelism 46
3.1. Introduction 46
3.2. Old Testament 46
3.2.1. The Law (Gen. 1:28, 9:1, 35:11; 18:19; Deut. 6:4-9) 46
3.2.2. The Wisdom Books (Ps. 127:3-5, 78:1-8; Prov. 22:6) 53
3.3. The New Testament 59
3.3.1. The Gospels (Mt. 18:2-5, Mk. 10:13-16) 59
3.3.2. The Acts and Epistles (Acts 10:44-48, 16:33-34, Eph. 6:4, 2 Tim. 1:5) 64
3.4. Chapter Summary 68
CHAPTER 4. The Significance of Missional Leadership in Child Evangelism 70
4.1. Introduction 70
4.2. Definition of leadership 70
4.2.1. Leadership in the African context (cultural perspective) 72
4.2.2. Biblical perspective on leadership 78
4.3. Missional Church 85
4.4. Missional leadership 87
4.5. Significance of missional leadership in child evangelism 89
4.5.1. Interpretational function 90
4.5.2. Relational function 94
4.5.3. Implementational function 98
4.6. Chapter Summary 100
CHAPTER 5. Towards Effective Child Evangelism 102
5.1. Introduction 102
5.2. The value of leadership in child evangelism 102
5.3. Towards Effective Child Evangelism 104
5.3.1. Reimagining the church in light of Missio Dei 105
5.3.2. Harnessing the African cultural values 109
5.3.3. Focus on creating a missional community 119
5.3.4. And pray 121
5.4. Chapter Summary 122
CHAPTER 6. Conclusion 124
6.1. Conclusion 124
6.2. Areas for further research 126
Bibliography 128
Figure 1. Current and projected population of children under 18 in Africa. 27
Figure 2. Children under 18 and the total population in Africa, 1950-2100, in billions 28
Figure 3. Population in Africa, by African Union region and by country, 1950–2050. 29
Figure 4. Percentage of the world's Christians in each continent. 30
Figure 5. Comparative percentage of the world's Christians in each continent on a map. 31
Figure 6. Africa: Share of Global Poverty by Country 2022," Statista, July 15, 2022 39
Figure 7. Children in Poverty. 40