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Citation: Quainoo, James McKeown. “Implementing The Appreciative Inquiry 
Approach to Revitalize The Church of Pentecost Canada.” D. Min., Tyndale 
University, 2020.

***** Begin Content ******



Tyndale University
Implementing The Appreciative Inquiry Approach To
Revitalize The Church of Pentecost Canada

A portfolio
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Ministry
Tyndale University

By
James McKeown Quainoo

Toronto, Canada
September 2020



Copyright © 2020
by James McKeown Quainoo
All rights reserved




ABSTRACT

	The Church of Pentecost Canada is an ethnic Pentecostal denomination
with roots from Ghana. Over the last thirty years she has grown numerically,
spiritually and geographically across Canada. However, the church is confronted
with the need to reflect and explore how to be more relevant to the ever-changing
church and Canadian culture.

	This portfolio reflects the exegesis of the context of ministry of the church
at McKeown Worship Centre in Toronto and the branch in Edmonton. It focuses
on strengths, challenges and opportunities, philosophy of leadership, and a
research project that initially began with a heightened interest towards exploring
soul care and social action. The research project used a guided Appreciative
Inquiry approach to enable participants to identify, design, and implement
integrative initiatives. A greater awareness and urgency for more social
engagements with the wider Canadian community have been created among a
cross-section of church leadership. There is the need to use the principles of
Appreciative Inquiry further to engage the whole church to develop more
contextual and intentional strategic approaches to revitalization.

vi


DEDICATION

This portfolio is graciously dedicated to Emily, the love of my life for thirty-three
years, to my three children, Berylla, Daniel and Kwabena and the Quainoo Clan.

vii



ACKNOWLEDGMENT

	Pursuing doctoral studies is a daunting task. The journey has taken many
turns and twists. However, I am grateful, firstly, to God who graciously gives us
all things—grace, provisions, strength, knowledge, and life. I am thankful to
Tyndale University for the opportunity to have higher theological studies. I
especially thank Dr Mark Chapman, Dr Michael Krause and Dr Bill Thornton for
their immense guidance and advice. I am also thankful to Apostle Dr. Emmanuel
Owusu and the leadership of the Church of Pentecost Canada for granting me the
time and resources for my studies. My sincerest gratitude goes to McKeown
Worship Centre and the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton. They provided the
context for the research. I am particularly thankful to Overseer Daniel Dompreh
and Elder Ben Budu for facilitating the individual interviews and focus group
discussion and transcription of data. Many friends and colleagues graciously gave
honest and constructive feedback on my style of leadership. My sincere thanks to
them all. Without the candid and honest opinion of the participants, I could not
have had some of the vital data for the research project. I am grateful. My
sincerest gratitude goes to Razak Oduro who helped with illustrations of the
research data and Sandra Frimpong for her superb typesetting and editing skills.
My family and friends have been a source of great support and encouragement.
Thank you for the various ways you have impacted me. Emily, you have been by
my side throughout the journey. You have accompanied and spurred me on even
when I felt like throwing in the towel. Thank you for your prayers and daily
encouragement on the journey. I am eternally grateful to God for your love and
sacrifice.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES .... xi
LIST OF TABLES .... xi
DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS .... xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .... 1

CHAPTER 2: CONTEXT .... 17
	Introduction .... 17
	History .... 18
	Practice and Philosophy of Ministry ....21
	Strengths, Challenges and Opportunities .... 24
	Conclusion .... 34

CHAPTER 3: PHILOSOPHY OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP .... 36
	Introduction .... 36
	Definition: What is Leadership .... 39
	The 3 Cs of the Leader: Call, Character and Competence/Charisma .... 42
	The Person of the Leader .... 46
	Leadership Development .... 51
	Shared Responsibility .... 53
	Leadership Succession .... 55
	Influence and Authority .... 57
	Leadership Models and Theory .... 58
	Transformational Leadership .... 59
	Servant Leadership .... 61
	Servant Leaders and Servant-led Organizations .... 63
	Similarities and Differences .... 66
	Models of Servant Leadership .... 66
	Conclusion .... 68

CHAPTER 4: FIELD MINISTRY PROJECT .... 72
	Introduction .... 72
	The Opportunity or Problem .... 72
	Response or Innovation .... 73
	Supervision, Permission, and Access .... 73
	Context .... 74
	Models .... 75
	Project, Methodology, and Methods .... 77
	Field .... 77
	Scope .... 79
	Methodology .... 79
	Methods .... 81
	Data Review .... 82

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	Interviews .... 82
	Tools .... 83
	Phases and Timetable .... 84
	Ethics .... 86
	Findings, Interpretations, and Outcomes .... 86
	Conclusion .... 103

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .... 106

APPENDICES .... 112
Appendix 1: The Organizational Chart of the Church of Pentecost ....113
Appendix 2: Data Sets .... 114
Appendix 3: Information Letter .... 115
Appendix 4: Consent Form .... 117
Appendix 5: Non-Disclosure Form .... 118
Appendix 6: Promotional Script .... 119
Appendix 7: Individual Interview Questionnaires .... 120
Appendix 8: Focus Group 1 Questionnaires .... 121
Appendix 9: Focus Group 2 Questionnaires .... 122

REFERENCE LIST .... 123

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LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figures

Figure 1.0: The National Executive Council .... 5
Figure 1.1: The Church of Pentecost Canada Pastors .... 5
Figure 2: Intercultural Development Continuum: Primary Orientations .... 11
Figure 3: Forcefield Analysis .... 30
Figure 4: The Church of Pentecost Canada Inc Head Office .... 35
Figure 5:0 The Church’s Greatest Strength .... 89
Figure 5.1 Outreach Target .... 89
Figure 5.2 Benefits of the Church .... 90
Figure 5.3 Benefits to the African Community .... 90
Figure 5.4 Soul Care versus Social Action .... 91
Figure 5.5 Future Church Ministries Investment .... 91
Figure 5.6 Better Future Services .... 92

Tables

Table 1: Research Timetable .... 84
Table 2: Emerging Themes From Individual Interviews .... 88

All scripture is from the New International Version of the Bible (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan House, 1984) unless otherwise indicated.

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DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

AI: Appreciative Inquiry is “a collaborative and highly participatory change
methodology that searches for the best in people, their organizations, and the
relevant world around them. It involves the art of designing and asking positive and
unconditional questions to strengthen the system’s capacity to apprehend,
anticipate and heighten positive potential questions” (Stratton-Berkessel 2015, 1).
Assembly: A local church usually under the leadership of a pastor or a team of
elders.

COP: Church of Pentecost

COP-ED: The Church of Pentecost, Edmonton, a local church or Assembly under
the umbrella of the Church of Pentecost Canada.

IDI: Intercultural Development Index

MWC: McKeown Worship Centre is a local church under the umbrella of the
Church of Pentecost Canada, located in Toronto. Membership consists
exclusively of people from Ghana.

PIWC: Pentecost International Worship Centre is a local church of the Church of
Pentecost with a mission to reach people of all nationalities and cultures. PIWCs
are located all over Canada where the Church of Pentecost operates.

Provocative proposals: Focused, imaginative statements or scenarios that
encapsulate and then stretch the church’s greatest strengths, describing these
images as potential futures” (Branson 2004, 26).

Social Action: The ministry of the church where the socio-economic, domestic,
and material needs of people are prioritized. It includes issues of human welfare,

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justice, and advocacy especially on behalf of the disadvantaged and vulnerable.

Soul Care: The ministry of the church where evangelism or the proclamation of
the gospel toward the salvation of the soul and discipleship disciplines of prayer
and Bible studies are emphasized and pursued. Soul care as being used in this
portfolio differs from the traditional use of the term where it refers more to the
spiritual formation of those who are already Christians.

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CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION

	John Maxwell argues that everything rises or falls because of leadership
(Maxwell 2019, 12). He insists that the world, governments, corporations,
churches, and families are where they are today because of good leadership or the
lack of it. The intentionality of the leader’s choices will always have
consequences. Intentional leadership should reflect the reality of the current
context. Further, the context of one’s ministry and leadership need to be clearly
understood and appreciated. Every leader is called, shaped, and equipped with
different tools and resources for a particular assignment and context.

	Leadership makes things happen. Leaders are change agents who are made
over a long period of time. Leadership is about applying one’s influence to move
followers and the organization being led toward a corporate objective or common
objective. Many scholars tend to associate leadership with competence, skills,
and strategic planning. However, even though that assertion is true, authentic, and
effective Christian leadership should include all the aforementioned plus good
character. The character of the leader is essential in attracting the respect of
followers, pulling them toward the common objective and eventually receiving
the commendation of the Lord to whom the leader is primarily accountable. It is
the influence of the church leader rooted in a godly character that will help
motivate members to live and proclaim their faith both in word and by deeds in

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obedience to scripture.

	My leadership journey has been impacted by many influences-people,
places, and life’s experiences. I was born in Sekondi, a mid-size town in the
Western Region of Ghana, West Africa. My parents named me after the founder
of the Church of Pentecost, Rev. James McKeown, an Irish missionary who was
sent to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1937 from the Bradford Apostolic Church
in the United Kingdom. While in Ghana, and since coming to Canada as a first-
generation immigrant in 1994, I have been very strongly associated with the
Church of Pentecost. I have also had the privilege of being part of the executive
leadership of the Church of Pentecost Canada since 1997. Thus, the Church of
Pentecost has been my family church right from infancy. I have lived in many
cities in Ghana and Canada. I have also had the opportunity to travel to many
nations. In addition, I have started and pastored many churches in Ghana and
Canada as well as serving people in the Ghanaian community in Canada. In many
ways, my philosophy of ministry and leadership style have been shaped by that
context.

	The Church of Pentecost Canada initially reached out to Ghanaians and
then later opened up to people of other cultures with varying degrees of success.
Church planting initiatives have often been a replica of the Ghanaian model in
response to the Great Commission according to Matthew 28:18-20. Presently,
more than 80% of the members of the church originally have come from Ghana
while the other 20% are mostly from other African countries or the Caribbean.
Membership from other nationalities has been fluctuating over the years but is
increasing slowly. Adult membership in the church has decreased from 90% in

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1990 to about 45% (Church of Pentecost 2019, 12). As expected, the greatest
demographic shift is in the number of young people, which has risen from 10% in
1990 to 55%. Growth in membership has come about from biological growth,
immigration, international students, the surrounding community, and personal
evangelism as well as transfer of believers from other churches. As always,
growth has come with developmental challenges including the boldness, and
competence of leadership to manage the shifting multi-generational and culturally
diverse composition of its membership. The church was initially led by a team of
lay leaders without any theological training. However, as it grew with an
increasing number of children, teenagers, young adults and people from other
nationalities, a cross-section of church members as well as some of the leaders,
began to realize the need for a more contextualized ministry for its mixed
congregation.

	Thus, the need for a paradigm shift in the church’s ministry to the younger
generation beyond the current predominance of first-generation Ghanaians
became evident. The leadership appreciated that the church could not succeed if it
continued to operate on the premise of constrained ethos of the past. Hence, an
English church was established which would use English as a medium of
communication to connect with the younger attendees. In 2002, the English
church was rebranded as Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC) with
emphasis on a desire to reach out and build a more diverse and multicultural
ministry reflecting the diverse Canadian society. At this time, the church had a
new generation of highly educated and professional members, yet many felt

3




disconnected from the church since many programs and activities were deemed to
be duplications from Ghana. The brewing tension provoked some discussions
which were intended to promote change towards transformational grown (Steinke
2006, 14).

	The leadership of the church in Canada appointed a restructuring
committee to address this anxious development with me as the chair. The mandate
of the committee was to review the missional objective and practices of the
church and offer recommendations toward a more intentional alternative to the
emerging younger generation. The committee started its work with prayer to seek
God for wisdom and the Spirit’s leading. Several months were dedicated to
weekly prayers. The committee also reviewed key church documents, listened to
the concerns of the young people and a cross-section of leaders, and visited other
“Canadian” and ethnic churches to see and learn how they were coping with
intergenerational worship challenges. After six months of meetings, personal and
group interviews, and consultations the committee presented its findings to the
National Executive Council, which is the highest administrative body of the
church (Figure 1.0). The committee presented the awareness of the shift in socio-
cultural realities of the emerging younger generation, the increasing number of
people of other nationalities, an analysis of the risks of losing more young people
to other churches and offered practical solutions which could help the leadership
deal with the growing dilemma.

4




Figure 1.0: The Church of Pentecost Canada National Executive Council (2019)
[ Figure 1.0 is a colour photograph of 8 men in business suits, standing  and sitting in two rows ]

Figure 1.1: The Church of Pentecost Canada Pastors (2019)
[ Figure 1.1 is a colour photograph of 18 men in business suits, standing and sitting in two rows ]

5




	In the past, it has been the practice of the church to send potential
ministers to Ghana for ministry formation and theological training. The thought of
training emerging young leaders in Canadian theological institutions posed a
perceived threat that would make the older people in leadership lose their
influence and authority. Another source of anxiety was that the younger people
would lose their cultural identity and connection to Ghana and reject the cultural
way of Sunday worship.

	The older leaders worried that a church designed exclusively for the young
people would be a church with a strong sense of intellectual assertiveness and
tendency to challenge the status quo. Furthermore, the older people and many
parents who were the pioneers of the church feared that the PIWC would be
turned into an elitist association where only the educated and professionals would
be welcome. They argued that the worldwide Church of Pentecost has historically
been nurtured from the low economic bracket; they feared that educated people
tend to lean more on their academic prowess rather than on the leading of the
Spirit.

	One other source of concern was the fear of the younger generation
deviating from the sound doctrines and practices of the church especially as a
result of post-modernism, social liberalism and secular humanism which tend to
make them compromise their faith and commitment to the Lord and, by extension,
the church. There was also a push back from a cross-section of parents and
guardians who felt that the exclusive use of English as a medium of expression
would exacerbate the loss of attachment to the Ghanaian culture especially for

6




those second and third generation children who have limited fluency in the local
Ghanaian language.

	Thankfully, the PIWCs have come to stay as an emerging trend in the
church with a good mix of both old and young professionals. They enjoy a
varying mixture of contemporary worship and traditional songs from the
nationalities that are represented in its composition. Many younger leaders have
been identified and appointed into various levels of leadership. It is also gratifying
to note that the PIWC churches are the highest financial contributors per capita as
compared with the traditional churches. However, in spite of the above positive
achievements, intentional and contextual formal theological training is still
lacking. This lack has affected the degree of competence of the PIWC church
leadership and impeded the progress of the church’s expansion and ministry
development within the broader Canadian multicultural context.

	Ghana is a predominantly Christian nation. Churches and Christian
ministries are scattered across the length and breath of its landscape. It is
estimated that The Church of Pentecost in Ghana constitutes about 9.3% of the
total population (Church of Pentecost International 2019, 36). Growing up in
Ghana I witnessed joyful and spiritually powerful worship services. However, I
also sadly observed high levels of corruption, poverty, sicknesses and disease,
high infant mortality and unhealthy environments. I wondered whether the gospel
was only able to bring spiritual joy and not much socio-economic transformation.
As I grew up, the burden of seeking the total wellbeing and holistic development
of people became a passion. Again, while working as a petroleum geologist with
the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, I, along with some Norwegian

7




consultants, established GHA-NOR, a non-governmental organization that
mobilized funds to support small business initiatives and sponsor the education of
poor students. Furthermore, the primary purpose for undertaking formal
theological education at Regent College in Vancouver was to help me prepare for
international Christian development initiatives. As the missions coordinator at
Regent College, I was exposed to the concept of holistic development through
contacts with Food for the Hungry and World Vision. My passion for holistic
development and integrative practice of ministry has been pursued as a husband,
father, community leader and a minister. This passion was the motivation for my
research project.

	I started the Doctor of Ministry program in 2017 when I was pastoring
McKeown Worship Centre, in Toronto, Ontario. After going through all the
protocols to start interviewing participants for my research project, I was
transferred from Toronto to Edmonton in August 2018. Thus, the context of my
ministry as described in Chapter 2 of this portfolio was McKeown Worship
Centre in Toronto and the branch of the church in Edmonton. McKeown Worship
Centre and the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton belong to the same
denomination and, hence, share identical set of doctrines, style of ministry and
leadership model. Apart from the geographical location, much of the context,
philosophy, and practice of ministry of both McKeown Worship Centre and the
Church of Pentecost in Edmonton are the same.

	While in Edmonton I changed some aspects of the context of my research
project to reflect my new geographic reality. Two facilitators were appointed, and
they helped me to resume my research. Ten church leaders including five elders

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and five deaconesses ranging from thirty to sixty-five years were recruited and
interviewed as research participants. Individual interviews of the participants
were conducted via phone and in person. These were followed by two focus
group discussions at the church. A guided AI methodology was applied over a
period of about six months. As a church with a hierarchical leadership structure,
AI principles were used to encourage participants to explore and identify their
areas of strength and determine possibilities that can help revitalize the church
and make her more holistic and missional in focus.

	Over the years, the Church of Pentecost Canada has not pursued social
action with as much vigour as she does with soul care. This may be largely due to
the fact that members have been nurtured with a strong consciousness of spiritual
realities and the urgency for the salvation of their souls. Even though the mother
church in Ghana traces its beginning to the 1930s it only started having some
social services like schools and clinics in the late 1960s. Pentecost Social
Services (PENTSOS) was started in Ghana to meet the social needs of church
members. In Canada, PENTSOS was just established in 2018 and as of the time
of writing, no major national social action program has been implemented.

	Canada is a mosaic of different cultures, ethnicities, and people of
different socio-economic backgrounds and generations. Political and economic
instability has resulted in an unprecedented global displacement and movement of
many types of human populations. The recent mass influx of Somalians and
Syrian refugees and others from different politically unstable nations serves as
evidence of this fact. These movements have changed the multicultural reality of
major cities in Canada. Again, inter-racial marriages, intergenerational co-

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existence and the pursuit of higher learning have also helped to bring people of
different nationalities and age groups in close relationships. This contemporary
phenomenon has pastoral as well as ministry consequences. Spiritual leaders have
the opportunity to enhance their intercultural competence to be able to reach the
new demographic reality and regard Canada as a new mission field.

	In a recent assessment, my developmental orientation (DO) on the
Intercultural Development Continuum placed me in the Minimization category
(Figure 2). The assessment revealed that I have an overestimation of myself in the
way I engage cultural differences and commonalities. This realization has
challenged me to have a greater interest in intercultural development competence
and to bring some awareness to the church.

	The Great Commission commands all believers to go into the world
and make disciples of all nations (people groups) and bring them into the
Kingdom of God with love.

	Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on
	earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
	nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
	of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
	commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of
	the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

In the past, this command to the church has taken believers from one part of the
world to another. In Canada, as in many industrialized nations, missionaries were
sent to evangelize the “heathens” or “pagans” in the developing countries. The
gospel, which is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16) has been planted
and nurtured in particular cultural contexts. Culture, as learned values and

10




behaviours shared by a group, is passed from one generation to another. In many
cases the cultures of the sending nations were consciously or unconsciously

Figure 2: Intercultural Development Continuum: Primary Orientations
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 2 details. ]

exported as the “must have” cultures of the evangelized with all its
assumptions as the gospel was sent (Cousins 2019, 8). Since every people
group of the world tends to protect its cultural values, the Christian
missionary movement of the past has been afflicted with the tendency for
cultural isolationism, and fear as the gospel crossed cultural boundaries
(Cousins 2019, 9). Thus, intercultural outreaches have not been given the
much-needed attention they deserve in the light of God’s desire for biblical
diversity. Most churches have operated within monoethnic cultures with very

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little conscious effort to reach and integrate people of other cultures in their
communities.

	Churches and especially Christians leadership will need to recognize
and accept the reality that stepping out of their cultural comfort zone into the
ambiguity and uncertainty of embracing people of other cultures, who may be
rightfully deemed as strangers, will always come with emotional anxiety and
discomfort. As class lecturer Robert Cousin indicated, partnering in God’s
mission will require Christians to engage the cultural differences that exist
between the diverse peoples of this world (Cousins 2019, 9). A key to
overcoming such fears is understanding cultures and how to get to the hidden
assumptions of personal and cultural orientations. The church, as a people
called from every nation, has a mandate to bring Christ to every nation. This is
the essence of the Missio Dei (God’s mission) of bringing the blessings of God
to the nations, whether living in our local community or at the ends of the
earth (Cousins 2019, 13). Cousins again proposes that, “the church must be
motivated to step out of its cultural safety zone and be willing to take the risk
of crossing cultural boundaries. This will require missional intentionality and
the commitment to develop intercultural competencies for living and serving
in our multicultural ministry context” (Cousins 2019, 13). The present
multicultural reality of Canadian society requires that Christian mission be
carried from everywhere to everywhere, beginning from our doorstep and
going to the ends of the earth. Church leadership will have to take time to
understand the reality of our changing ministry context and its related impact

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in engaging in the Missio Dei.

	The essence of Canadian multiculturalism is the appreciation of the fact
that multiculturalism is beautiful. However, every culture is unique and
different. To be able to celebrate the diversity of cultures especially in the
church, there is the need for leadership in the church to identify and examine
the hidden assumptions, belief systems, values and functions of every culture
and evaluate them in the light of biblical truth. This is what is referred to as
“critical contextualization” (Hiebert 1984, 290). Critical contextualization is the
intentional unlearning of what worked in the past but has become irrelevant and
adopt more contemporary models that are compatible to the present challenges.
Hiebert has stated,

	True contextualization, whether of word, practice, or institutional
	structure, requires a deep knowledge of the historic and cultural contexts
	of both the Christian message and the culture into which it is to be
	planted. This must include a knowledge not only of the explicit
	meanings of cultural forms, but also the implicit theological assumptions
	upon which they rest. (Hiebert 1984, 295)

Critical contextualization also demands the recognition of stereotypes about
other cultures and developing a willingness to adapt and change. Thus, the
Christian leader will need to be empathetic and willing to see things from
different viewpoints.

	This starts with the need to have greater self-awareness and examination
of one’s own primary cultural orientations in an honest and objective fashion
and unlearning cultural habits that might be counterproductive. Such self-
awareness will need to be grounded with a solid base of cultural knowledge

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about food, clothing styles, political systems, socio-cultural values, funeral and
marriage ceremonies to name a few. For further cultural knowledge one would
need to consult resources such as books and magazines, videos; attend festivals
and anniversaries, and visit places of worship like the synagogues, mosques,
and temples.

	The Church of Pentecost Canada with a multigenerational demography
is presently dealing with some intercultural challenges. Notable among the
challenges are the following:

	Firstly, the church has been led by older first-generation immigrants
since the early 1990s. Many of these leaders are almost at their retiring ages.
They have also led the church with the model they knew from Ghana. Presently
there is an emerging generation of younger people, with higher education and
different cultural context. In addition, people of other nationalities have become
members. However, the leadership of the church, as of now, consists of only
Ghanaian ministers (Figure 1.1). Again, not many of the leaders have formal
theological training or any training in the development of intercultural skills and
competence. There is thus not much appreciation of the different cultural
dynamics that the church represents. This intercultural disconnect is causing a
lot of the young people to drift away from the church to other more inclusive
and youth-sensitive churches where cultural diversity is appreciated and
celebrated more intentionally. The inability to have a mental shift to recognize
the changing the multi-ethnic composition of the church is not enabling
leadership to strategically develop a contextually appropriate set of integrative

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activities and programs that meet the needs of all the members.

	Secondly, because leadership is predominantly Ghanaian, there is little
motivation to reach out to people of other cultures. The low motivation is due,
in part, to lack of exposure as well as intercultural development skills and
competence. Since the beginning of the church, it appears the culture of the
church has been influenced largely by the Ghanaian culture. Many times, people
of other cultures refer to the church as a Ghanaian church. Thus, there is an
unspoken fear from the older generation of losing control over the future and
leadership of the church to people of other cultures.

	Thirdly, from the beginning of the church, the language of
communication has been Twi which is the lingua franca of most Ghanaians.
However, the church has grown beyond its original Ghanaian base and now has
members of other nationalities as well as younger generations. Hence, the
languages of use presently are mostly Twi, English, and French. With this mixed
composition, there is often a tension as to which language and worship songs to
use to conduct the service. Often there is simultaneous translation from Twi to
English or English to French and vice versa which tends to prolong church
services unnecessarily. Lately though, leadership is experimenting with the
possibility of keeping the Twi, English, and French services separate for
effective ministry delivery as well as keeping church services within time. This
is a work in progress but at least there is a recognition of the complexity of the
present ministry context.

	It is anticipated that as the church leadership reflects over her history in

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Canada in the last thirty years, leadership can use the principles of AI to reflect
on her strengths, philosophy and practice of ministry, readiness for change in
order to develop an appropriate contextual leadership model that revitalizes the
church toward a more holistic, inclusive and integrated ministry.

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CHAPTER 2:

CONTEXT

Introduction

	Ministry occurs in a particular context. To be effective in ministry one
needs to identify the specific context where the minister or leader is located. A
proper understanding of one’s context helps to appreciate inherent challenges and
potential resources available for services and outreaches to the church family and
the community. Ray Anderson has stated that while practical theology includes
cognitive reflection on truth as doctrine it should also consider the truth of
experience (Anderson 2009, 23). The experience of every local church is also
defined by its context, history, and ethnicity. No two churches are the same in
context. This chapter explores and assesses the context, strength, challenges, and
opportunities of McKeown Worship Centre, located in Toronto.

	McKeown Worship Centre is a local church of The Church of Pentecost
Canada which is also an affiliate of the Church of Pentecost International with its
head office in Ghana, West Africa. MWC is a homogeneous ethnic church
consisting of Ghanaians who use Twi (the lingua franca of Ghana), as the main
medium of expression. It is a pentecostal denomination with a hierarchical
presbyterian leadership structure consisting of ministers, elders, deacons, and
deaconesses. I was transferred from Montreal to be the resident pastor of MWC
in 2012 and have worked with a team of about fifty lay leaders many of whom

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are among the pioneers of the church. I have had rich interactions with a cross-
section of the leaders of MWC as well as accessing some vital information from
church reports and minutes of meetings.

History

	MWC was started in 1990 by a few Ghanaians, many of whom were first
generation immigrants in Canada (Church of Pentecost 2010, 5). Socio-economic
and political challenges in Ghana in the latter part of 1970 and early 1980s led to
a massive exodus of Ghanaians into other parts of the world. Most of these
people settled in countries that were open to refugees (including Canada). The
two major entry points were Montreal and Toronto. Later some of those who
settled in Montreal moved to other English-speaking provinces including Ottawa,
Calgary and Vancouver because of language challenges, better education for their
children and job prospects. It is estimated that there are between 80,000 and
100,000 Ghanaians in the Greater Toronto Area (Bosco 2015). According to a
pioneer elder, many of the first Ghanaian immigrants in Toronto settled and lived
in low-income neighbourhoods and immigrant enclaves including North York,
Scarborough, and Etobicoke. Presently, members of the church are scattered all
over the Greater Toronto Area including Vaughan, Brampton and Mississauga,
Oakville, Burlington, Toronto Downtown, Scarborough, Etobicoke (Church of
Pentecost 2017, 5). However, most of these first-generation immigrants still live
in the North York Region.

	Among other things, the desire to worship in a culturally contextualized

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environment comparable to experiences in Ghana and to be able to communicate
with one another in a Ghanaian language was the initial reason the church was
started. Many had started attending “white” churches especially of Pentecostal
background. However, all too soon it became apparent that the “white” churches
were not meeting their deep spiritual needs and hunger, and faith development.
About eleven people thus started a prayer fellowship in Scarborough in 1990.
When word went around in the community it did not take a long time to see an
influx of Ghanaians who seemed to have been deprived of their rich Pentecostal
heritage. In a matter of weeks tens of Ghanaians had gathered for fellowship,
prayer, encouragement and for all kinds of support. This prayer fellowship
became a rallying point and a support system for their many needs as new
immigrants including housing, early settlement, career development and
employment, processing of immigration documents and education. The
fellowship moved from Scarborough to several other locations and finally to the
present location at 2256 Sheppard Avenue West (Sheppard/Arrow Road), North
York (Church of Pentecost 2018, 12).

	Some of those who started the prayer fellowship had leadership positions
with the Church of Pentecost back in Ghana and hence assumed initial leadership
roles for the emerging immigrant worshipping community. Since most of the
members of this prayer fellowship also belonged to the Church of Pentecost from
Ghana it became obvious to adopt the name of the Church of Pentecost for this
fellowship. Thus, the Ghanaian Church of Pentecost, North York was born.

	A team of lay leaders initially led this fledgling church. However, when the

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number rose to about two hundred it became necessary to contact the leaders of
the Church of Pentecost International in Ghana to send in a fully ordained pastor
or “missionary” to oversee the growth of the church and provide more efficient
pastoral care. Hence the first missionary, Apostle Alex Osei Bonsu, was sent to
Canada in 1992 (Church of Pentecost 1993, 5) and the church began to grow and
expand from North York to other parts of Greater Toronto, Ontario and later to
other provinces. North York has become the centre of the church’s activities
since the majority of the members live in and around there. In 1995 the Ghanaian
Church of Pentecost, North York was changed to The Church of Pentecost
Canada Inc (Figure 4). MWC has, thus, become the pioneer or mother of all the
other Assemblies or branches of the Church of Pentecost in Canada. MWC was
named after the founder of the church: Rev James McKeown. Presently, MWC
has a total membership of almost 1,200 consisting of a healthy mix of old and
young people as well as children (Church of Pentecost 2017, 2). It has become
the home for all kinds of people regardless of economic and educational
background. Through the ministry of the church many lives have been saved,
families have been united, broken marriages and family relationships have been
restored. Many earlier immigrants whose faith had been lost in the increasingly
secular Canadian culture have been reached and revived and have become useful
vessels in the hands of God.

	As part of a growth strategy, Apostle Osei Bonsu invited Evangelist
Owusu Tabiri from Ghana in 1993 to conduct evangelistic services in the church
(Church of Pentecost 1993). The Lord used these events to add hundreds of new
people into the church. Many who had all kinds of spiritual and demonic

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influences and bondages were set free and many broken marriages and
dysfunctional families were also restored. These meetings brought a new
enthusiasm and revival in the church and created a spiritual momentum that
would begin to move the church far beyond North York.

Practice and Philosophy of Ministry

	A local church is usually under the leadership of an ordained minister
and/or a team of elders. In the case where a team of elders oversees an Assembly,
one of them is elected as the Presiding Elder for a two-year term subject to
reviews for further terms (Church of Pentecost 2006, 46). A Presiding Elder
functions like a lay minister with limited pastoral assignments. For example, the
Presiding Elder cannot officiate marriages and dedicate children. These services
are reserved for ordained ministers. A minister is usually assigned, a minimum, of
one church to shepherd and supervise. Hence, whenever there is the need for
pastoral services in any of the local churches, arrangements are made for a
minister to provide said services. Even though formal theological education is not
required, lay leaders are trained on the job through periodic in-house seminars,
workshops and at prayer retreats by the ministers. Lately ministers are encouraged
to have, at least, a minimum of one year’s theological training to qualify for
ministry in Ghana. Some ministers in Canada have been sent to Ghana for such
ministry development and theological training. There are also periodic leadership
reviews according to terms as described in the church constitution (Church of
Pentecost 2006, 38). This plural leadership style has helped the church to stay

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together without many splits.

	Since the beginning of the church, worship has always been characterised
by joyful and loud singing of Ghanaian songs, clapping of hands, dancing,
playing of musical instruments including guitars (bass and lead), drums, congas,
organ, and tambourines. Worship is corporate and participatory with one person
leading. There are countless records of miracles, healings, breakthroughs in
business initiatives, immigration, and family reunions through the church. It had
been reported that there was a lot of love and support for one another. Many
whose families had not joined them from Ghana enjoyed much comfort,
encouragement, and moral support from one another. There was much
hospitality, visitation of one another and sharing of meals in one another’s homes.
It became a self-supporting community. Members volunteered to provide
transportation to one another; for example, there was a stand-by vehicle available
at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto to pick new Ghanaian immigrants
and settle them within the community. Some families opened their homes for free
food and accommodation to new immigrants. The church thus became an
attractive destination or place for other Ghanaians to visit and feel at home and
hence have a sense of community—a home away from home. It also provided a
secure environment for the whole family. Whenever families arrived from Ghana
the church was there to provide necessary support for their comfortable transition.
In addition, there was a smaller number of immigrants who had come to Canada
since the 1960s primarily for academic reasons. This group typically came to
pursue graduate studies. Some returned to Ghana, but a few stayed, had good
professional jobs, and associated with white protestant and orthodox churches.

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However, over time, some of them became associated with the Church of
Pentecost for various reasons including spiritual support and stronger community
connections.

	The philosophy of ministry of the church in Canada was just like the
mother church in Ghana which included: self-government, self-financing, and
self-propagation. Thus, the church grooms and appoints its own leadership, both
clergy and laity, from within the church without advertising for outside
applicants. One of the strengths of the church is its high degree of loyalty and
commitment of members and leaders. The government and administration of the
church through its various levels of authority (local, district, regional and
national) is carried out by members of the church (Appendix 1). Occasionally,
experts and professionals with specific skills and competence are brought in for
additional support.

	Another area of strength of the church is its ability to raise funds from its
members without resorting to or appealing to external sources to fund its
activities. This practice has made the members and especially the leadership
depend on God and his promises for their provision and sustenance. By the grace
of God, the church has funded all its infrastructural developments from the
beginning to date. Further, the church trains and uses its own membership to be at
the forefront of evangelistic outreaches. Evangelism is done mostly at the local
level even though periodically some other external senior ministers of the church
with differing gifts are invited mostly from Ghana for big evangelistic programs.
Members are trained and encouraged to visit families who are bereaved,
hospitalized and/or when going through some socio-economic challenges or

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crisis. Periodically funds are raised from among the members for infrastructural
development as well as supporting any individual or family that expresses any
need and/or whenever the leadership deems needful to help. One other strength of
the church is its centralized financial administration which encourages every
assembly to contribute net monthly proceeds through the local church to the
national office for its financial management and equitable distribution of funds to
every local church across the nation that expresses need. This practice has
enabled the church and its leadership to send ministers and various workers
anywhere in Canada regardless of the financial ability of the local members.

Strengths, Challenges and Opportunities

	Mckeown Worship Center, like most ethnic churches, has a host of
strengths, challenges, and opportunities. As the resident minister for six years, I
have known the context of MWC through personal observation and interaction
with leaders and church members. Everyone I interacted with confirmed that the
future of McKeown Worship Centre, among other things, depends on the younger
generation including children, teenagers, young adults. Three categories of people
have added to the growth of the church: namely, older people and young adults
through active evangelism as well as the youth and children through biological
reproduction. Of the three means of growth in the church, it appears that
biological reproduction and transfer of believers have been the mainstay of the
church’s growth. Presently 55% of the total membership of the church consists of
children, teenagers, and young adults (Church of Pentecost 2016, 28). We thank

24




God for this healthy development. Thus, one other significant area of strength for
the church is its rising number of the younger generation. Thankfully, many of
these young people are highly qualified professionals, like nurses, doctors,
financial planners, bankers, lawyers, teachers, building contractors, and
mechanics who are very well integrated into the Canadian workplace and context.
In the recent past, some of these young professionals have been invited to make
various presentations on their areas of profession to the church and to the women,
men, youth, and children’s ministries. These presentations have helped to
highlight the potential of talents that have hitherto been embedded in the young
professionals but hidden from church leadership.

	Unfortunately, it has also been observed that many of the older children or
teenagers who graduated from Sunday school to the adult service are becoming
increasingly disinterested in the church and finally leaving the church. These
would typically be high school students. Many reasons are ascribed to this
challenge. Some of the teens complain, for instance, of lack of connection or a fun
working relationship between them and their class teachers. Some also complain
of uninteresting or boring topics as well as lack of involvement in the planning
and execution of the programs and activities drawn for them. Lack of well-trained
Sunday school teachers has been an endemic problem that the church has been
grappling with for a long time. Usually, many of the teachers are older members
who just volunteer their time because they are simply available. These volunteers
are usually taken through an annual teacher training program that lasts for about a
day or at most three days. Consequently, these volunteers do not have the level of

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competence and set of skills to diagnose properly the causes of presenting
behavioural challenges, lack of interest and low-class participation.

	In the past, some efforts were made to promote weekly interactions
between Sunday school teachers, children, and the teenagers. Unfortunately, these
attempts were not sustained. Parent-teacher interaction is also extremely low.
Many teachers are not able to reach the parents and have meaningful dialogue
concerning their children and their faith development at the Sunday school. As
part of the solution, a database of over two hundred children, teenagers and their
parents has been developed to facilitate easier interaction and consultation.
Another pragmatic approach has been to invite Sunday school consultants and
officers from the Canadian Child Evangelism ministry to facilitate periodic
training seminars and workshops.

	Based on personal interviews, one other major reason that makes some of
the younger generation leave the church is a feeling of a cultural disconnect
between their postmodern experiences at school and social environment in
Canada and that of the church. They tend to criticize the church for not living in
the realities of the contemporary digital age and not appreciating the challenges
and pressures they go through; hence, they are not taking their needs into
consideration when planning the activities for the church. Several young people,
both men and women, have also left the church for lack of opportunity to express
their ministry potential. A cross-section of those who left have subsequently
become ministers in other churches while a few others have also started their own
ministries. The church leadership is presently taking steps to engage the large

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cadre of young professionals, train, and deploy some of them into various small
group ministries of the church.

	One of the significant ministries in the church is the home cell ministry. A
home cell is considered the smallest unit of the church where not more than
fifteen members meet for fellowship, spiritual development through prayer and
Bible studies as well as a means of social support for one another especially
members living in the same neighborhood or near one another (Church of
Pentecost 2016, 12). Home cells are intended to foster stronger fellowship and
more engaging interaction among members. Historically, it has been observed that
the home cell ministry has the potential to provide a platform for mentorship, and
leadership development. Younger and emerging leaders and their gifts are easily
identified and developed in small groups or meetings. It is also a good place to
learn on the job (apprenticeship), make mistakes and mature disciples over time
through constructive feedback, prayer, and regular interaction. Discipleship and
evangelism training programs are encouraged and conducted to help reach
neighborhoods for Christ.

	Since members of this large church come from all over the greater
Toronto metropolis it is a challenge knowing one another by name and by family.
This problem tends to make some members feel disconnected from one another
during the week except when the church meets. Thus, members of the church are
typically divided into smaller groups according to geographical locations and a
team of leaders, usually headed by an elder who is responsible for their holistic
growth. These home cell leaders who are deemed as community leaders address

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minor issues and refer bigger challenges to the presbytery or leadership of the
church for further action.

	However, over the years the home cell ministry in the church has been
confronted with so many challenges and hence affected its intended usefulness
and effectiveness. One of the greatest setbacks is lack of commitment from
church leaders who are primarily called to oversee the welfare of the members.
This lack of leadership interest and involvement has negatively affected
attendance to Cell meetings. There are also instances where even getting a
meeting place is a challenge. For some reason, many leaders and sometimes
members are reluctant to offer their homes as meeting places. Consequently,
many members feel that their daily welfare issues and concerns are not being met
or addressed as they deserved. Some members also complain about the
multiplicity of programs and activities in the church that leave them with virtually
no other time for their personal and family issues. Hence such members do not
attend the home cell meetings and are thus not well connected to the rest of the
larger church. Others are also not able to participate in the home cell meetings
because of very tight work schedules which make them unavailable for the
meetings.

	After considering all the opportunities, challenges, and concerns regarding
the home cell ministry, the leadership realized that there was still a stronger
desire for the home cell ministry and hence decided to give it more attention as a
necessary discipleship tool (Figure 4). As part of the new strategy and to
demonstrate better pastoral care, a special team, dubbed, Emergency Response
Team, was created, consisting of eight leaders (elders, deaconesses and deacons).

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This team was designed to respond to any member’s need when they arise within
the Greater Toronto Area and reports to the pastor through the Presiding Elder
who would, in turn, follow up and have a thorough assessment of the need or
concern and prescribe the most appropriate short- and long-term response
strategy. Again, leadership has divided the church into small groups where not
more than fifteen members are assigned to an elder who is responsible to call
and/or visit the members regularly under his care. A directory of members in a
group, including their location and contact information has been generated,
printed, and distributed to each elder. In addition, elders are given a logging sheet
on which to record every call and/or visit made to each member with comments
for further action. A monthly review and reflection meeting was scheduled for the
pastor and all elders to discuss and evaluate achievements and challenges thereof.

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[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table on Forces for Change and Forces
Against Change Table details ]
						

Figure 3: Forcefield Analysis

This Forcefield Analysis compares the factors that seek to promote the need for the
home cell ministry and the challenges thereof. The result of the analysis suggested that
there is a strong need for the development of the home cell ministry in McKeown
Worship Centre.

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	McKeown Worship Centre reaches out and ministers to an exclusive
Ghanaian target population. Despite its powerful and rich worship experience and
strong word ministration, MWC is not able to impact the wider multicultural
community in Toronto. Many people of other nationalities who visited have left
because of the cultural barriers. Many of the second and third generation
Ghanaians are also not able to bring their “Canadian” friends to church for the
same reason. In addition, MWC is not deemed to be seeker-sensitive, user-
friendly, and accommodating to visitors of other nationalities. This has been a big
unintended problem in the ministry of the church.

	In one of the church’s regional conventions in 2018 where there was a
fair representation of people of other cultures, the worship songs chosen were
mostly Ghanaian and a few English ones. Most of the songs were also not
displayed on the overhead projector with subscripts in English for others to
follow along. As if that were not enough discomfort, the main preacher for this
convention was a guest speaker from Ghana who preached in the local Ghanaian
language (Twi) with English interpretation. For me as a minister and originally
from Ghana, the message was powerful and interspersed with anecdotal
humour. There were times where the whole Ghanaian membership in the
meeting were laughing so loud and long with great excitement. Unfortunately,
the English interpretation, by the choice of words, did not carry the same degree
of humour and excitement. After a couple of such incidents, a cross-section of
people of other cultures, left the meeting upset. The pastor of their local church
attempted to persuade them to stay but they could not be convinced.

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	Volunteer services into the community like hospitals, shelters, food banks
and soup kitchens, and for environmental clean up, after-school classes, new
immigrant settlement services, English as an Additional Language (EAL) etc. are
not as strong as desired. Thus, there is very little engagement with the wider
community or public. This makes the MWC apparently inward looking and often
self-centred in its programs, activities, and the distribution of its resources.

	Many of the older members of MWC had low to moderate education
before travelling to Canada. Unfortunately, many of these new immigrants did not
take advantage of the many educational opportunities in Canada. This was partly
due to the pressure of making enough money to help families left in Ghana.
Another reason was because they needed to work two or three jobs to be able to
take care of their household needs; therefore, not much time was left for further
education and training. Thus, in many homes children are left without proper
parental attention resulting in dysfunctional homes and challenging relationships.
Such challenges have resulted in domestic crisis including marriage and family
breakdowns, legal separation of children from parents and many other law-related
challenges.

	Canada is a nation known to have a relatively higher literacy rate than
Ghana where all the pioneers of the church came from. To interact with the wider
public, one needs an appreciable level of both formal and non-formal education.
Leadership in the church therefore has not required any formal theological
training and/or preparation since most leaders are given an apprenticeship kind of
training through periodic one- or two-day leadership workshops or prayer retreats.

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This lack of formal theological education affects the philosophy, style and
delivery of ministry and especially handling the needs and challenges of the
younger generation in postmodern secular Canada. It has therefore affected the
ability of the church to reach out to people of other nationalities and keep them
for a long time.

	One other challenge is the aging of the first-generation pioneers of the
church who have faithfully led the church for more than twenty-five years. It is
instructive to note that the Church of Pentecost Canada started with an intention
of providing a culturally relevant environment and style of worship
commensurable with the needs of the pioneers.

	Marriage and family breakdowns are major challenges facing the church
as a community. Many of the pioneers of the church were men who had travelled
without their wives and children and they lived lonely lives for years before their
families joined them. Some therefore got involved with extramarital relationships
as a coping mechanism. A few have still not been able to bring their families to
Canada after several attempts with the immigration authorities which has put a lot
of strain and stress on their emotional life and that of their families. Many of the
children who succeeded to be reunited with their parents would have grown under
the tutelage of relatives, usually grandmothers back home in Ghana. These
children or teenagers go through a lot of tough relational and socio-cultural
adjustments with their parents when they come to Canada. In several cases
strained relationships have become inevitable. The same applies to several
husband-wife relationships. The lack of proper parenting skills, absence from

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home due to long working hours and lack of quality interactions have resulted in
many dysfunctional family and marriages. Unfortunately, it is also reported that
many children of church members are serving various jail sentences.

Conclusion

	The McKeown Worship Centre, which is the mother of all the churches,
has been used by God in the last thirty years to change many lives and bring them
to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It has provided a safe and secured
environment both spiritually and physically to its members and established a very
solid foundation for future expansion. Many of its pioneers are beginning to retire
from active duty both from their secular jobs as well as spiritual leadership in the
church.

	As always church growth has come with attendant challenges in the areas
of integrating the needs of all age groups, developing appropriate ministries,
programs and activities as well as evolving intentional leadership to move the
church forward into a more multicultural, postmodern, and increasingly secular
Canadian society. There are now many young people who are well educated and
professionally equipped who could be brought into leadership to move the church
toward its prophetic mandate.

	Despite the many challenges of the church it is gratifying to know that the
little ethnic Ghanaian prayer fellowship which started in 1990 with eleven new
immigrants now has thirty-five local assemblies in Ontario, Quebec, British
Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia. The total

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membership as of end of December 2019 was 6324 with total assets of over $26
million across the nation. (Church of Pentecost Canada 2019, 16). To God be the
glory!

Figure 4: The Church of Pentecost Canada Head Office in Toronto.
[Colour picture of The Church of Pentecost Canada building with the name McKeown Worship
Centre over the front door ]

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CHAPTER 3:

PHILOSOPHY OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP

Introduction

	Leadership has been studied since biblical times. Research on leadership
development has historically evolved with an emphasis on personality traits,
leader style and behaviour, the group process, and the context of leadership at one
time or the other. Leadership scholars have variously associated leadership with
power and influence, relationships, goals, development of strategy, vision casting
and many others. Leadership studies have also shifted from a focus on what a
leader has, often thought to be inborn traits, to what a leader does or the style and
behavioural functions of leaders. Leadership has been defined differently by
scholars and researchers. There has not been one universally accepted definition.
Understandably, most working definitions of leadership include a combination of
these elements.

	This chapter reflects the theological framework and biblical rationale for
my philosophy of leadership. It includes my preferred leadership definition,
ministry models, and theories that I have learned and embodied in my practice of
ministry. Christian leadership as a calling needs to be grounded in the purposes of
God. Each leader needs to be guided by a philosophy that is theologically sound
and biblically accurate.

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My philosophy of Christian leadership has been consistently applied in all my
leadership roles in the family, community, and church. It instructs me to seek a
balance between charisma and character development. It also encourages me to
desire transformation towards corporate objectives. The choice of my research
topic, participants and methodology were greatly influenced by my philosophy of
leadership. The objective of the project was to bring both individual and
organizational growth and transformation. Thus, leadership roles were shared and
delegated, freedom of participation and theological reflection was encouraged,
and greater ownership of the desired outcome was pursued. Participants were
encouraged to explore their strengths and determine goals within their resources.
My philosophy of leadership was also appropriately situated within a particular
context that enhanced the working relationships among the researchers as well as
the participants.

	Leadership is a very broad and complex phenomenon. It is an important
and necessary aspect of the progress and growth of society. Leaders are agents of
change who make things happen and define the direction and destiny of nations,
families and organizations including the church. Effective leadership exists and
flourishes within a particular context (i.e., culture, history, geographical location,
and available resources). Each context is unique. Leadership is nuanced by
distinctive callings, personality, culture, context, and relationship to other
influencers in the leader’s life. One of the greatest needs of all times, especially
today, is a call for contextual leadership that focuses more on purpose and goals
rather than repeating routine programs and activities. Contextual leadership

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should engage the culture in which it is situated. It is very improbable to find one
leader who can readily and effectively lead all people in all situations regardless
of his or her credentials. In the infinite wisdom of God, He gives certain abilities,
gifts, and grace to certain individuals to fit a particular context and not another
(MacArthur 2004, 168-169). Some leaders lead small churches well but not mega-
churches. Other leaders are able to lead churches with older generations rather
than younger people. Leadership should therefore speak to the cultures and
societies in which it is situated. Otherwise over time leadership becomes
irrelevant and ineffective.

	Leaders who ignore the uniqueness of an organization’s context do so at
their own peril. Thus, it is to the advantage of leaders to have a thorough
knowledge and understanding of the context and history of the organization they
are called to lead. In their book, Leading in Disoriented Times, the co-authors
indicate that “contexts are places in which tradition is so intrinsically part of the
organization that leading innovation is significantly different and a much longer
process than in start-ups or new church development” (Nelson & Dickens 2015,
17). The co-authors contend that one has a lot more liberty and room to operate
over his or her own initiatives than continuing from somebody’s work. Further,
they stress that to successfully lead any organization into a continual process of
reinventing itself while living in their present will require a good understanding of
the context and history of the organization.

	Contextual leadership is sensitive leadership. It requires the unpleasant
first step of unlearning and intentionally questioning all assumptions and models

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that may even have worked in different contexts in the past. Contextual leadership
holds a tension between a respect for the way things are and a vision for the way
things could be (Nelson & Dickens 2015, 114). Effective and mature Christian
leaders can knowingly avoid much conflict and unnecessary blunders by taking
time to learn and humbly orient themselves within the context of the organization.
Quick decisions, and well-intentioned innovations could be frustrated by invisible
power brokers in the organization. On the other hand, applying principles from
Appreciative Inquiry on the assets and resources of an organization could
contextually unearth its potential strength, capabilities, and resources. Each
Christian leader should therefore identify and adopt a philosophy of leadership
that is theologically and biblically sound and operationally relevant to its context.
For the Christian leader, his or her philosophy of leadership should be patterned
after Jesus Christ, who is the example of transformational and servant leadership
par excellence. He laid down his life for the salvation of others, even those who
hated him. Christian leadership should be transformational in its objective and
must also have a servant attitude.

Definition: What is Leadership?

	Many people have different definitions emphasizing influence, persuasion,
motive-driven, and achieving goals. Robert Clinton defines leadership as “a
dynamic process in which a man or woman with God-given capacity influences a
specific group of God’s people toward His purpose for the group” (Clinton 2012,
14). He argues that leadership is not about titles, position, or formal training. In

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their book, Spiritual Leadership, Henry and Richard Blackaby gives a much
simpler definition: “Spiritual Leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda”
(Blackaby and Blackaby 2006, 12). I agree with their definition. They insist that
the objective of every authentic Christian leadership should be influencing
followers through a transformational process toward God’s agenda for that
specific group, organization, or church. Leadership should have a specific vision
and goal to pursue. The need for intentionality and purpose cannot be
overemphasized. The objective becomes the motivation and a desire for
excellence and success. The leader is also defined as “a servant who uses his or
her credibility and capabilities to influence people in particular context to pursue
their God given direction” (Malphurs & Mancini 2004, 56). Though many other
authors have different definitions of leadership they almost invariably agree that
leadership is a process, which takes time to develop and it involves a person who
uses his or her influence. Again, from the definitions above and many others,
there seems to be a consensus that the essence of Christian leadership is service,
not status. Leaders do not lead for what they can get from the system but what the
followers can get out of it that will promote holistic growth and development both
for the individuals as well as the organization and finally glorify Christ.

	In the Old Testament the verb, “to lead,” appears to have the concept of
shepherding (Bell 2014, 12). God, the father, is a shepherd according to Psalm 23.
Moses spoke of the need for someone who will lead the people of Israel out and
bring them in so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep without a
shepherd (Numbers 27:17). In Psalm 78:72, the psalmist indicated, “So David

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shepherded them, according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them with
skillful hands.” The scripture records that David grew up as a shepherd from his
youth and was called from being a shepherd of sheep to be the shepherd of God’s
people, Israel (2 Samuel 5:2-5; 1 Chronicles 11:2-3; Psalm 78:11-12). Ezekiel
calls the leaders of Israel as shepherds (Ezekiel 34:5, 8). Jesus Christ, the Messiah
described himself as the “good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). Apostle Peter also
later referred to the soon-coming Lord as the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4).

	It appears that the metaphor for leadership in both the Old and New
Testament is that of a shepherd. The commodity then that the leader, as the
shepherd, deals with in the church is the sheep. Apostle Paul admonished the
elders of the church at Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of
God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28, emphasis mine).
The shepherd is called to take care of all of the people of God, and not some.
According to the parable of Jesus, even when one of the sheep strays, the good
shepherd goes out of his way to search diligently for the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7).
Thus, the people should matter and be of primary concern to the shepherd. The
Christian leader should not sideline any of the people (sheep) who do not agree
with him or her. This tendency of ignoring some people in the church creates
division and promotes the formation of cliques. The shepherd is called to know
the people by name, family, residence, education, profession as well as their
struggles and challenges (John 10:3-14). Further, the shepherd is entrusted with
the responsibility to care tenderly for, nurture and feed, protect and lead the sheep

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under their care (1 Peter 5:1-3). God’s sheep do not need a chief executive officer;
they need a skillful shepherd.

	Bell again indicates that apart from the verb “lead” which refers to
“shepherding,” it includes other terms such as lord/master, ruler, tribal chief,
noble, prince, judge, king, priest, prophet, leader, commander, and captain (Bell
2014, 12). The functions of these leaders may be translated in such expressions as
rule, judge, govern, supervise, direct, subdue and have power over. However, the
primary call of the Christian leader is to take care of God’s people and with the
help of the Spirit present them back to Him as a radiant bride without spot or
wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27).

The 3 Cs of the Leader: Call, Character and Competence/Charisma

	Christian leadership is a special calling that God endows on individuals
who would be empowered to move or direct the people of God toward His
agenda. Throughout the Old and New Testament God has called men and women,
into leadership for specific assignments at particular times and seasons. It is a
sacred calling and not just a job (Hebrews 5:1-5). To qualify, the potential
Christian leader would have to go through the experience of being born-again,
experience the love of God, identify with the death of Christ on the cross through
water baptism and encounter the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. No
authentic Christian leader can succeed without having this call and relationship
with God.

	There are two kinds of calling. The first and most important is the

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“general” call of God from the world into His Kingdom. Apostle Peter captures
the essence of the general call of God to His people when he wrote: “But you are
a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that
you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Apostle Peter explains that the church, (ecclesia),
is a people called out of the world by God unto Himself. This is the first and
general call that draws the potential leader toward his or her leadership
assignment. It is the regeneration of the pre-believer by the power of the Holy
Spirit to become like Christ. This is otherwise referred to as the born-again
experience to which Jesus invited Nicodemus (John 3:3-5). For the potential
Christian leader this is a necessary first step.

	In addition to the general call, there is also the “specific” call where God
calls individuals from among all believers, molds, equips and sends them into the
world on His behalf for specific assignments. The call to leadership reaches the
emerging leader as an expression of the grace of God and not because of any
special inherent abilities, family background or self-righteousness (Ephesians 4:7-
8). My specific calling as an apostle, pastor and teacher is manifested by the
display of special and unique spiritual gifts, abilities, and competencies including
planting new churches, teaching and raising leaders, communicating and applying
my influence toward change and transformation.

	The Holy Spirit endows Christian leaders with various gifts, grace, and
charisma for effective ministry. The scripture says that, “when he ascended on
high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people” (Ephesians 4:8). In

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scripture, there are many manifestations of the gifts and grace of God in the
believer (1 Corinthians 12:1-12; Romans 12:1-5; 1 Peter 4:10-11). The Spirit has
an inexhaustible store of gifts and He chooses to give to anyone according to His
own determinate will and counsel. These are supernatural spiritual endowments
that the risen Lord confers on individuals who are called into Christian ministry.

	It is interesting to note that of the criteria of qualifications that Apostle
Paul prescribed for the call into leadership (eldership) in the local church, there is
the glaring absence of talent, giftedness, or charisma (1Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-
9). The list is almost exclusively about character:

		Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer
	desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to
	his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
	not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a
	lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his
	children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.
	(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take
	care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may
	become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must
	also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into
	disgrace and into the devil’s trap. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

		An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose
	children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and
	disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be
	blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to
	drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be
	hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright,
	holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it
	has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and
	refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:6-9)

Character is critically important for Christian leaders because they face many
challenges and special dangers. Many times, our talents, giftedness, and charisma
as leaders have the potential to take us further than our character can sustain us.

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Though talent and giftedness are often seen above the waterline, as in an iceberg,
they are supposed to be supported underneath by a great depth of character. For
the scripture says that many charismatic leaders may use their charisma to
perform even great miracles yet could be denied entry into the Kingdom of God
(Matthew 7:21-23). The reasons from the biblical narrative seem to suggest their
lack of saving faith in Christ and hence godly character. Good character is a
fundamental virtue in the Kingdom of God. Jesus was very strong when he
declared:

		Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the
	Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who
	is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not
	prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your
	name, perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never
	knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

	Apostle Paul’s prescribed qualification for leadership in 1 Timothy 3 may
seem to downplay giftedness and competence and render them unnecessary for
Christian leadership. However, they could also be implied and/or taken as
presumed. Competence is the leader’s grasp of what he or she is doing and the
skills to do it well (Malphurs & Mancini 2004, 56). The question then becomes:
Should the Christian leader have character without charisma, giftedness, talent,
and competence or vice versa? No one works to deserve God’s gifts, grace, or
charisma. However, it is a necessary factor for effective ministry. Jesus delegated
power and authority to the apostles and disciples whom he recruited and deployed
(Luke 9:1-2; 10:1-19). It is true that Jesus himself operated with the anointing and
power of the Holy Spirit and overcame Satan and all evil spirits (Luke 4:18; Acts
10:38). He also endowed His church with power and authority for effective

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evangelistic ministry and to confront satanic and demonic powers that oppress
people (Acts 1:8; Mark 16:17-20; Matthew 28:18-20). However, charisma
without character could have disastrous consequences and ruin one’s ministry and
life. On the other hand, character without charisma could render the Christian
leader impotent and stale. It is my strong conviction and belief that the Christian
leader must have both character and charisma for effective and authentic ministry.

	For an effective and impactful ministry, the Christian leader needs to
acquire leadership techniques, skills, and competence. Skills and competence such
as communication, commanding presence, and intercultural relationships are very
important. These abilities and other gifts are often used by God when He calls
people to leadership roles. However, the defining qualities for great leaders in the
church are character-driven, an outcome of building mature disciples (1 Timothy
3:1-13; Titus 1:5- 9). MacArthur forcefully argues that “character, not style,
strategic planning, technique, methodology, should be the true biblical test of
great leadership” (MacArthur, 2004, 177). Moral scandals, personal greed,
cheating and stealing both in political realms and in the church attest to the
inadequacy of just competence as necessary criteria for authentic leadership.

The Person of the Leader

	Whether leaders are born or made has been debated for centuries. The
Great Leader Theory posits that leaders are born (Drury 2003, 6). Proponents of
this theory insist that “God calls leaders ... and there is nothing we can do about
it” (Clinton 2012, 10). Others believe that leaders are made and with the right

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technique and training, we can produce them. Further still, many others believe
that God always raises up leaders to the church and His Kingdom: “For exaltation
comes not from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the
judge: He puts down one and exalts another” (Psalm 75:6-7).

	My personal leadership philosophy embraces both. Leaders are both born
and made. The Levitical priesthood was a kind of leadership that was by
inheritance and not necessarily on acquired and earned competence.
Unfortunately, there are several instances in scripture where the priests, for
example the sons of Eli, became a shocking disappointment and a disgrace to the
order (1 Samuel 2:27-30). There are other examples of individuals who were not
born as leaders or into any leadership ancestry but proved to be competent and
effective transformational leaders. Examples include Joseph, Nehemiah, Esther,
and Daniel. Whichever position one takes it, is important to realize that leadership
potentials must be developed. Leaders must grow over time in their respective
callings, character, and competencies. A close study of scriptures indicates that
there are processes that God subjects the individuals He would use as leaders to
lead His people.

	Every leader is a person, and even though God is sovereign and almighty,
on earth, He chooses to use human beings. Since creation God committed the
maintenance, wellbeing, productivity and further progress of the earth and
humankind into the hands of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28-31). Adam and Eve
thus became God’s regent on earth and co-creators. Yes, God works through
individuals. The person of the leader is thus a very indispensable instrument in the

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hands of God. Effective spiritual leadership and ministry flow out of being, and so
God is concerned about our being (Clinton 2012, 13). Leadership starts from self-
awareness. Leaders lead themselves first and others from who they are. Our
greatest leading comes by leaning into our God-given abilities, talents and
giftings. Nelson and Dickens put it beautifully: “Meet yourself in the pain of
failures so that you meet the strength you have been given to rise beyond your
failures. Lead from who you are, not as someone you wish you were or as the
person a board or church might ask you to be. Meet yourself and lead the way”
(Nelson & Dickens 2015, 14). Nelson and Dickens argue that the very meaning of
the verb “to lead” suggest that leaders are people who walk “ahead” of their
followers. Thus, they insist that:

	Leaders are individuals who are engaged in a process of deep
	transformation in themselves and in the organization they represent. As
	they lead themselves through their own transformative experiences, they
	invariably develop new skills, capabilities, insights, and understandings
	which enable and equip them to lead others effectively. (Nelson &
	Dickens 2015, 23)

	According to the admonition of Apostle Paul, Christian leaders should
take care of themselves (self-care) first and their families before they would have
the morality and authority to extend their leadership onto others (Acts 20:28).
Again, his rhetorical question to Timothy is worth considering when he asked: “If
anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of
God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:5). Thus, the leader should make sure that his own
spirituality in the area of personal devotions to prayer and bible study is strong.
He should have, firstly, an excellent vertical fellowship and relationship with God
and secondly, a good horizontal relationship with every human being within the

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sphere of his leadership. The following admonitions are instructive to the
Christian leader: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them,
because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy
4:16).

	The leader should take care of his or her physical body by eating a well-
balanced diet, resting, and having a good night sleep, watching his or her health
by having regular medical checkups as well as having some form of physical
exercise. Emotionally, he or she should be strong and guard him or herself against
soul-killers like anger, bitterness, jealousy, low self-esteem, and unforgiveness
(Proverbs 4:23). It is also important for the leader to invest in him or herself
through both formal and informal, online, and in-house education through
lectures, seminars, and conferences. Continuous growth and increased maturity
could also come through mentorship and apprenticeship when the leader subjects
him or herself to the more experienced. It is important to understand that just as
the teacher needs to be taught, in the same way, a leader needs to be led. Christian
leaders who shepherd God’s flock should again understand that they are also
sheep to the Good and Chief shepherd of our souls (John 10:11, 14; 1 Peter 5:4).

	An additional area of great significance is the role and work of the Holy
Spirit (John 16:8-15) in the life of the Christian leader. The work of the Holy
Spirit includes the following:

i.	Teachings, guidance, comfort, and instruction (John 16:8).

ii.	Convictions, rebukes, and discipline (John 16:8-11).

iii.	Periodic revelations, predictions, and direction (John 16:12-13).

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iv.	Baptism, endowments, and empowerment (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:11).

	Moses was an example of a person who was protected from birth and
prepared by God for the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt after 430 years of
slavery: “So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the
Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). According to Acts 7, Moses’ life could be
broken into three forty-year segments (Barton 2008, 56-58). The first forty years
were spent in royalty as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. The second forty years
was spent in the desert as a wandering shepherd. It was during these forty years
that God drained out all self and pride and filled him with divine power and
leadership skills. It was also the last and final forty years that God used him as the
deliverer to accomplish His own purpose (Acts 7:23, 30; Deuteronomy 34:7).

	Again, in Luke 6:12-16, it is recorded that after Jesus had spent a whole
night praying on a mountain, he chose twelve disciples whom He designated as
Apostles. It is important to emphasize the need for prayer, meditation and critical
reflection before leaders are called or appointed into Christian service. It is
equally interesting to realise that even though the calling was divine, the selected
people were not particularly special. The team consisted of ordinary fishermen,
who later became the pillars of the church. The rest included a tax collector, a
political activist, and even a thief! The sons of Zebedee, James and John were
called “Boanerges” which means “Sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). The reference to
this nickname may well be due to their thunderous preaching or perhaps to a trait
of character such as that reflected in Mark 9:38 and Luke 9:54 (Brooks 1991, 72).
There is thus no perfection in the instruments that God calls and uses. He rather

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perfects and qualifies the called.

	According to Mark 3:14-15, the primary reason for the calling of the
twelve apostles was that they might be with Jesus which was one of the most
important elements in being a disciple (Brooks 1991, 71). The other reason for
their call was for him to train, prepare and send them out to preach, and finally to
have authority to drive out demons. Christian service should not be undertaken
without the necessary accompaniment of divine power and authority. No one
should take this honour unto him or herself unless he or she is called of God
(Hebrews 5:4).

Leadership Development

	Each leader has a set of knowledge, skills/competence, and character that
are unique for the specific job God has in mind to be accomplished within a
particular context. Leaders are to be nurtured and shaped by intentional holistic
education and by experience (Clinton 2012, 15). This kind of nurturing should be
much broader than just leadership training which often has a narrow focus
primarily on learning skills. The major thrust of God’s development is inward.
The real training program is in the heart of the person where God is doing some
growth testing (Clinton 2012, 31).

	In Building Leaders, the co-authors define leadership development as “the
intentional process of helping established and emerging leaders at every level of
ministry to assess and develop their Christian character and to acquire, reinforce,
and refine their ministry knowledge and skills” (Malphurs and Mancini 2004, 15).

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It is the expansion of a person’s capacity to be effective in leadership roles and
processes—setting direction, creating alignment, maintaining commitment in
groups of people who share common work. Leadership development includes all
of life’s processes and experiences, not just formal training. It is a never-ending
process that requires patience and perseverance. The process should not be rushed
or avoided since every aspect of the leader’s past is redeemable for his or her
growth. The process could take different trajectories for each individual. Again, as
an ongoing process the emerging leader must be made aware of his or her own
self-understanding of the call of God on his or her life. They also need to identify
and free themselves of every past vulnerability or obstacles, orient themselves
toward the goal and vision of their calling and sustain the same over time. The
process should also be holistic, thus involving the full development of the
spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical potential of the leader. Each leader is
uniquely different and hence must be developed within the context of his or her
specific calling.

	Leadership development involves work. It includes study, theological
reflection, praying, following the admonition of mentors and the leading of the
Spirit. Apostle Paul in his instructions to his son and co-worker, Timothy wrote:
“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a
good work” (1 Timothy 3:1 [NKJV]). The New International Version Bible
translates “good work” as “noble task.” Leadership also takes time and energy,
and the effects are not always easily measured, and are not always immediate.
That is why, leadership is also neither for the novice, immature or the new

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believer (1 Timothy 3:7). Christian leaders must have a proven record of
effectiveness. Leadership is always a commitment to human beings who are often
unpredictable (Sinek 2014, 214).

	Scriptures encourages a building process of discipleship which includes
equipping the saints for leadership roles in the church (Ephesian 4:7-12). This
pattern of discipleship is what Apostle Paul seemed to have had in mind when he
admonished Timothy to entrust the “pattern of sound teaching” to faithful men
and women who were able to transfer this same truth to another generation of
Christians (2 Timothy 1:11-2:2). The scripture clearly encourages the deliberate
and intentional equipping of every believer (Colossians 1:28-29). Actually,
authentic discipleship should include both equipping leaders and assisting
Christians who may not yet be ready for a leadership role. Jesus adopted an
incremental leadership development approach. Growth occurs when Christians
are made to trust and obey God and assume responsibility for others. This
leadership responsibility does not have to be an official church office. It may be
simply the casual, but definite role of a faithful believer working hard to
encourage others.

Shared Responsibility

	Biblical leadership is a shared responsibility. No one person, no matter
how gifted can do it all alone. Thus, in my project I both trained and shared the
research work with two other facilitators. Again, as the regional head of the
church, I have often delegated some of my duties to other colleagues in order to

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expose them to practical ministry and develop their leadership skills. In Exodus
18:19-23, there is a biblical leadership principle, otherwise called, the “Jethro
Principle” which emphasizes delegation of responsibilities and mentorship.
Jethro, who was a priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses visited Moses who
was serving the Israelites as a judge; people surrounded him from morning to
evening. Jethro advised Moses to train and delegate some of the work to other
capable leaders with good character and that he, Moses, should handle the most
difficult challenges. This Jethro’s principle of leadership proposes division of
labour, shared responsibilities as well as training and mentorship of emerging
leaders. Every leader should have a mentee and a mentor to ensure smooth work
and protection of legacy. The principle also helps to minimize unnecessary
burnout in ministry. It is said that a load shared makes it lighter. Jethro
admonished Moses:

	Have them serve as judges for the people at all times but have them bring
	every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves.
	That will make your load lighter because they will share with you. If you
	do this and God so commands you will be able to stand the strain, and all
	these people will go home satisfied. (Exodus 18:22-23)

	In the New Testament, the church is described as a body with many parts
and each part playing different and distinctive roles (1 Corinthians 12:12-28;
Ephesians 4:11-16; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11). The different offices, grace
and giftings in the church should therefore complement each other and not be in
competition. John MacArthur argues that the pattern for church government in the
New Testament is a plurality of God-ordained individuals who lead the people of
God together (MacArthur 2004, 167). Apostle Paul instructed Titus “to appoint

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elders in every city” (Titus 1:5); he also met with the elders of the church in
Ephesus (Act 20:17) and “James and all the elders” (Acts 21:18). It does appear
evident that anytime elders are mentioned in scripture in connection with a
church, it was plural, pointing to a possible standard practice of having multiple
elders to oversee each church. MacArthur insists that multiple elders, team
leadership and shared responsibility should be the biblical pattern of Christian
leadership (MacArthur 2004, 169). He further argues that “shared leadership
burden increases accountability and also minimizes decision making that are self-
willed and self-serving” (MacArthur 2004, 169). However, this does not diminish
differences in personal levels of influence based on an individual’s giftings, office
and area of ministry. Expectedly, one leader could be a more gifted teacher or
evangelist than another and could confer on him or her a greater influence over
her followers. MacArthur exhorts that “such differences should rather be
celebrated in humility and with greater appreciation of the manifold giftings of
God in the church” (MacArthur 2004, 169).

Leadership Succession

	One of the benefits of shared leadership is the potential of raising leaders
who will outlive the current leadership. To a large extent, a leader’s work could
be measured by his or her successor. Leadership succession is thus a process
whereby current leadership intentionally identifies and develops potential
leaders who can replace out-going leaders when they leave, retire, or die. It entails
developing emerging or potential leaders while the current leaders are still alive.

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This process is important as it gives current leadership the opportunity to identify,
recruit, develop the right skills, capabilities, and experiences of potential leaders.
Knowingly or unknowingly, potential leaders could be groomed and nurtured through an
intentional apprenticeship and mentorship program. Shared leadership gives the
opportunity for emerging leaders to make their own mistakes and hopefully learn and
grow from them.

	Moving toward God’s agenda as a church requires visionary leadership
and orderly transitions of authority. In my church there is a well-defined
constitutional provision for the term a leader has to serve in an office as well as
who qualifies to be a successor. Often there is a lot of consultation, prayer and
discernment in the process of choosing a successor. Without continuity, people
become confused and fearful. Further the work of the ministry and leadership
structures fall apart resulting in ineffective workers, “like sheep without a
shepherd” (Numbers 27:17). It takes time to equip and groom a potential
successor. Poor leaders may be afraid to equip someone capable of succeeding
them, but great leaders like Moses, take time to develop successors long before
they exit their office. Preparing for an effective successor requires much prayer
and divine guidance. Other biblical examples include Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings
19:15-18).

	In the New Testament, Christ initiated the process of leadership
succession for the Christian church by selecting and developing the apostles, who
later selected and developed others. Apostle Paul also worked with a team
including Timothy, Titus, and Silas whom he trained, worked with, and
occasionally deployed toward the evangelization of the gentile world (2 Timothy

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2:1-2). Apostle Paul, like Christ, gave encouragement, created opportunities, and
shared their personal vulnerabilities with their mentees. It is very important for
mentors to connect mentees consciously and intentionally to the ultimate source
of grace.

Influence and Authority

	Leadership is influence (Maxwell 1998, 11). Influence is needed to move
people. The life and character of the leader should motivate people to follow.
Leadership draws its authority primarily from the strength of a righteous example
much more than family ancestry, prestige, personality or position. Unfortunately,
the world and “the rulers of the gentiles” apply a more transactional leadership
approach which is full of manipulation of people by threats and rewards. Real
leadership should motivate people by an appeal to the heart and not so much of
external pressure or coercion. For the Christian leader, the primary source of
influence and authority should be the Holy Spirit and the word of God. The
authority we have is derived from: “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). To be an authentic witness,
the believer and for that matter, the leader, ought to receive the power of the Holy
Spirit. Apostle Paul strongly advocated that the source of all authority is from
God (Romans 13:1-2). This is the vertical source of authority. The horizontal
source is from the appointing authority. No leader can just assume any leadership
role in any human organization including the church unless that authority is

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constitutionally conferred on him or her. Therefore, to exercise authority, the
leader needs to submit to authority. The influence and authority of the Christian
leader is compromised when he or she resists the very authority he or she is
appointed to represent. It is the influence of the leader that can help move the
church toward a holistic objective. Further, in a hierarchical leadership system
like the Church of Pentecost, it will take the influence of a strong leader to
educate, mobilize and sustain a process of integrating soul care and social action
initiatives.

Leadership Model and Theory

Leadership models and theories have progressed through a focus on personality
traits, leadership style and behaviour, the group process, and the context of
leadership. They were based on a combination of a power relationship, the
exercise of influence, an instrument of goal achievement, or the initiation of
structure (Drury 2003, 4). Since there is not only one context within which
leadership happens or is applied it is difficult to adhere to one leadership model,
philosophy, or theory as the one and only. Again, due to changing environments
in a church, leaders become necessary agents or channels to help navigate through
situational shifts and eventually bring some change. Just as there are shifting
situations, so there are many theories and philosophies to guide the practice of
authentic and effective leadership. Of the many models and theories, my
philosophy of leadership is to lean more toward Transformational and Servant
Leadership.

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Transformational Leadership

	Transformational leadership was initiated by James McGregor Burns (1978)
and later developed by Bernard M. Bass (1985). It is a comprehensive approach
that seeks to change or transform followers to transcend their own short-term
needs for their long-term self-development, the good of the group, the
organization and society (Drury 2003, 18). In essence, transformational leadership
is a process of building commitment to organizational objectives and then
empowering followers to accomplish those objectives with the hope of enhancing
follower performance (Stone et al 2004, 350).

	Drury indicates that the transformational leadership model generally
includes four factors that are concerned with transforming behaviours. They are:

Transformational Factors:

1.	Charisma or idealized influence.

Leaders are strong role models and make others want to follow their vision.
Transformational leaders thrive on a strong supernatural charisma, unction or
anointing from God. That becomes their source of spiritual authority.

2.	Inspirational Motivation.

Leaders communicate high expectations and use emotional appeals.

3.	Intellectual Stimulation.

Leaders challenge followers to develop innovative ways of problem-solving.
Transformational leaders should encourage and equip their followers to think
outside the proverbial box and develop their own creative and innovative

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solutions.

4.	Individualized Consideration

Leaders pay attention to individual needs and assign meaningful projects to help
followers grow personally. They should have the development of the individual’s
spiritual formation as its primary objective more than just operationally growing a
church. Transformational leaders sometimes apply a transactional approach by
negotiating with followers about what needs done and then reward for meeting the
objective. This promotes positive reinforcement. The research volunteers were
willing to participate in the project because of my unique influence and
knowledge of people outside the church community.

	Transformational leaders do not shout commands at people they lead.
Rather they listen and embody the deep sentiments and opinions of the team.
They exude confidence in themselves and the others around them. According to
Nelson and Dickens, when the possibilities and giftedness of people are nurtured
and are invited to be part of the vision and solutions to the challenges facing the
organization it is then, and only then that the culture of the organization begins to
adjust and adapt (Nelson & Dickens 2015, 98). Transformation of any
organization will start by painfully unlearning some of the things of the past. The
co-authors argue that unlearning is the intentional questioning of all our
assumptions, values, and models and having the humility to admit that some past
assumptions that drove and shaped the organization may have been flawed or
sincerely wrong (Nelson and Dickens 2015, 19). They insist that “unfortunately,
many of such unchallenged assumptions are often shaped by sentimentality and

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deep emotion” (Nelson and Dickens 2015, 20).

	On a more positive side, transformational leadership has the benefit of
intuitive appeal and has been the subject of extensive research. It also has the
potential of turning followers into leaders. Many pastors operate with a
“multiplication mentality” and thus desire to raise up and mentor many younger
emergent leaders through the principles of transformational leadership. It has
however been argued that more research needs to be done on leaders at lower
levels since the majority of research has been done on big corporate executives
(Drury 2003, 18). Another downside of this model is the possibility of it being
abused by using it to influence people’s values in the wrong direction.

Servant Leadership

	The Bible contracts two different forms of leadership: power leadership
and servant leadership. They emerge from two contrasting root attitudes.
Underlying servant-oriented leadership (servant leadership) is the root attitude of
a “servant’s heart” and power leadership from a root attitude of pride and haughty
spirit (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18, 29:23). From Jesus’ perspective, leadership is first
and foremost about being a servant (diakonos), and ultimate submission, as a
slave (doulos).

Jesus called them together and said:

	You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high
	officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever
	wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever
	wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come
	to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
	(Matthew 20:25-28)

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The use of doulos by Jesus in the New Testament suggests that the true leader
must be willing to forgo all sense of identity, all sense of personhood, in service
of others (Nelson & Dickens 2015, 33). Leadership demands service, sacrifice,
and selflessness. It is not about greatness or who occupies the highest position. It
is about humility and dependency (Matthew 18:1-4). The leader must first
recognize that he is a follower and a sheep (1 Peter 5:1-3; John 10:11-15).

	Robert Greenleaf is credited for introducing the term “servant” into
current leadership literature. He stated:

	The servant leader is servant first. It is a call to service as a servant or
	slave and begins with the natural feeling and a desire that one wants to
	serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is:
	do those served grow as a person; do they while being served, become
	healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to
	become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society;
	Will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived? (Greenleaf, 1977,
	13)

Greenleaf clearly states that in servant leadership, service comes before leadership
and that servant leaders must first meet the criteria of a servant before they can
meet the criteria of a servant leader. He insists that leadership must primarily meet
the needs of others. Hence the focus of servant leadership is on others rather than
upon self and on understanding of the role of the leader as a servant (Greenleaf
1977, 13). Again, he argues that self-interest should not motivate servant
leadership; rather it should ascend to a higher plane of motivation (Stone et al
2004, 352).

	The ministry of servant leadership is a precious gift from God Himself.
The servant leader is characterized by service to God and to others. Such a person

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does not need to be in a position or office or responsibility to exercise leadership.
It comes from a wholehearted, willing-spirited personal relationship with God, for
example, Caleb (Numbers 14:24). It is marked by humility and a total dependence
on God, not self (Bell 2014, 20). The theory or model of servant leadership
emphasizes the need to build an environment that not only serves the needs of the
organization, but also provides a conducive environment for its workers and
followers to grow and develop as human beings. It is further argued that “Serving
is not the means by which to get results, but the behaviour of serving is the result”
(Drury 2003, 21-22 author’s emphasis).

	In 1995 a list of ten critical authentic characteristics of servant leadership
based on Greenleaf’s writings was published by Spears. The list included
listening, empathy, healing, persuasion, awareness, foresight, conceptualization,
commitment to growth, stewardship, and community (Focht & Ponton 2015, 45).
These characteristics seem to be the most common when addressing servant
leadership.

	The following is also a functional definition of servant leaders and
servant-led organizations (Laub 1999, 3).

Servant Leaders and Servant-led Organizations

•	Value People - by listening receptively, serving the needs of others first, and
trusting people. Leaders must value people or the followers for they are God’s
treasured possession. Consequently, listening to the people is very important since
God also speaks through individuals of the covenant community and not only

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through the leader.

•	Develop People - by providing opportunities for learning, modeling appropriate
behaviour, and building up others through encouragement. Church leaders must
be people-developers more than program-pushers.

•	Build Community - by building strong relationships, working collaboratively,
and valuing individual differences.

•	Display Authenticity - by integrity and trust, openness and accountability and a
willingness to learn from others. People follow authentic leaders with trustworthy
integrity.

•	Provide Leadership - by envisioning the future, taking initiative, and clarifying
objectives.

•	Share Leadership - by creating a shared vision, sharing decision-making
power, status, and privilege at all levels of the organization. Leaders must
encourage the people to identify and follow the agenda of God directly and not
just from the leader since they are equally filled with the same Holy Spirit.

	The above values were incorporated in the planning and execution of the
research project as participants were encouraged to express themselves freely and
share in the prospects of determining what was possible.

	Whereas transformational leaders build commitment in followers toward
organizational objectives the servant leaders’ highest value is the people, and
organizational results are secondary outcomes (Drury 2003, 21). Nelson and
Dickens reaffirmed this position by indicating that becoming a servant leader is
about people; it is about inspiring people to work toward something bigger than

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his or her own passions. Nothing lasting really changes in an organization unless
the people within the organization change. Structures and systems do not change
organizations. It is the people that change structures and systems and hence the
organization. People make visions and possibilities realities (Nelson & Dickens
2015, 49).

	However, people are not machines that can be programmed and expected
to behave accordingly. They are living, adapting organisms that come together in
sometimes unpredictable ways and produce surprising results (Nelson & Dickens
2015, 3). Thus, in leading people there is the need for a lot of patience, self-
control, wisdom, and tolerance. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “whom you
would change, you must love” (as quoted by Nelson & Dickens 2015, 48).
Leadership should identify potentials in people, give them the liberty or freedom
to build themselves up and allow for failure and also content to take its own
shape. In his book, Leaders Eat last, Simon Sinek declares:

	We need to build more organizations that prioritize the care of human
	beings. As leaders, it is our sole responsibility to protect our people and in
	turn, our people will protect each other and advance the organization
	together. As employees or members of the group, we need the courage to
	take care of each other when our leaders do not. And in doing so we
	become the leaders we wish we had. (Sinek 2014, 18)

	Despite it being my most preferred leadership model, servant leadership
still remains an intuitive-based theory. There is also very little empirical evidence
of servant leader behaviour (Northouse 1997, 245). Drury has also argued that the
two words, “servant” and “leadership” may seem incompatible but put together
the model of a servant leader as exemplified by Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-7;
Matthew 20:28). It is more than the sum of the words (Drury 2003, 21).

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Similarities and Differences

	Both transformational and servant leadership models incorporate
influence, vision, trust, respect and credibility, risk sharing or delegation,
integrity, and modeling. They both emphasize the importance of appreciating and
valuing people, listening, mentoring, or teaching and empowering followers.
(Stone et al 2004, 354). The primary difference between the two leadership styles
is the focus of the leader. The servant leader focuses more on the service to the
followers, whereas the transformational leader has a greater concern for getting
followers to engage in and support organizational objectives (Stone et al 2004,
349). Max De Pree states that the measure of leadership is not the quality of the
head, but the tone of the body. He insists that the signs of outstanding leadership
appear primarily among the followers; in other words, when the followers reach
their full potential, they change with grace and are learning and serving (De Pree
2014, 41). It is also important for servant leaders to know when to lead from the
front, walk by alongside, share in the task, while at other times, push others
forward from behind to enact and lead the task (Nelson & Dickens 2015, 45).

Models of Servant Leadership

	Qualities and habits associated with servant leadership include integrity
(Job 2:3, 9) courage (Joshua 1:5-9), trust in God’s ability to deliver (1 Samuel
14:6), empowering presence of the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6; Genesis 41:38),
vision casting and motivating others to follow (Nehemiah 2:17, 4:6), and focus on
the word of God (Joshua 1:8). The servant songs of Isaiah 42-53 representing the

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suffering messianic servant embody servant leadership. It comprises the call of
the servant and empowerment by the Spirit (Isaiah 42:1-9), the commission of the
servant with a mission to bring God’s people back to Him (Isaiah 49:1-13), the
commitment of the servant who refuses to be discouraged, afraid or ashamed and
looks up to God’s ultimate vindication (Isaiah 50:4-11), the career of the servant
regarding His vicarious suffering on behalf of sinners and the assurance of final
victory (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). These songs alternate in reference to the corporate
servant (Israel) and the individual servant referring to the promised Messiah (Bell
2014, 22-24). Jesus’ example of washing the feet of the disciples, a menial job
reserved for servants, was to demonstrate the full extent of His love.

	The New Testament synoptic gospels see the fulfilment of these songs
fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 8:17, 12:18-21; Mark 10:45; Luke 2:32, 4:16-30,
22:37) and recognizes that the life of the messianic servant provides a model of
servant leadership for Christian leaders (Acts 13:47, 26:18; Romans 15:21; 2
Corinthians 6:2; Galatians 2:2; Philippians 2:16). Jesus modeled and practiced
servant leadership.

	Transformational leadership and servant leadership are two models that
have influenced my style of leadership as a minister, husband, father, and
community leader. They, together, embody almost all the traits and characteristics
of the leader who is desiring to be like Jesus Christ, the greatest leader in applying
all the elements of leadership including developing relationships, use of authority
and influence, servitude and desiring the wellbeing of his followers as human
beings and finally bringing the followers closer towards God’s agenda. Drury

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strongly states: “The church of the man who wrapped a towel around himself to
wash His own disciple’s feet as His final lesson to them certainly cannot reject
servant leadership as a proper approach to leading others” (Drury 2003, 22).

	I believe transformational and servant leadership are not just the most
desired leadership models but also have great potential to effect lasting and
positive change. Transformational and servant leadership together have the
potential to empower followers and move them in obedience to the word of God.
The focus of these two leadership models will also enable the church to make
disciples of all nations in obedience to the Great Commission and prioritize the
integration of soul care and social action in the lives of the followers. These two
models are the bedrock of my philosophy of Christian leadership.

Conclusion

	Leaders make things happen either for good or bad. Nations, organizations
including churches and the family are where they are because of effective
leadership or the lack thereof. Where there is good leadership there is progress.
On the other hand, lack of good leaders has been the bane of many human
systems. In our present disoriented postmodern world with its dynamic and
increasingly shifting contexts where there are no guarantees for the future there is
the clarion call for effective contextualized leadership to guide and move various
human systems, organizations and groups toward some objective or vision. This is
needed to prevent a chaotic world where everything is left to chance,
meaninglessness and disorder.

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	In the church, there is an equally desperate need for effective Christian
leadership which emanates from a Christlike character. Having leadership
competence and skills, knowing various techniques and strategies are very
necessary tools for the Christian leader. Charisma can take leaders to places, but it
will take character to sustain and authenticate their ministries. The much-needed
influence that the Christian leader needs to move people or followers comes from
a long commitment to internal character transformation. However, it is also
believed that the Christian leaders will be most effective and authentic when they
operate with both character and charisma. Influence may not necessarily be
connected to position or family of origin but more on the degree of our
submission to God and relationships to the people among whom leaders minister.

	Though God is sovereign, he works on earth through human beings. The
leader is a person. Further, even though anybody could be endowed with some
measure of leadership gifts, talents, and skills, it is always beneficial and needful
for the emerging leader to be developed intentionally through life’s challenges,
discipline of the Holy Spirit, teaching, apprenticeship, and mentorship. Nothing
happens by accident! God has historically called individuals, sometimes, out of
obscurity, and transformed him or her over a long period for a special assignment
on earth. It is important therefore to allow the Christian leader to go through this
process of spiritual formation and transformation. Attempts to short-circuit this
process of leadership development have often proven repeatedly unproductive.

	The objective of Christian leadership is change and transformation toward
a common vision. Effective Christian leadership should employ its God-given

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influence and move people or followers toward the agenda of God.
Transformational leadership principles and a servant leadership attitude has a
great potential not only to achieve the corporate goals and objectives but to
witness the desired positive change in the lives of the people. Thus, at the end of
the day, authentic Christian leadership should bring transformation to both the
corporate system and organization as well as the people who make the
organization. Anything less than that is a leadership failure. Leadership should be
transformational. The Christian leader should first be a servant before he or she
can lead.

	Leadership is always situated in a particular context. Effective leadership
always takes into consideration the culture, and history of the context.
Contextualized leadership works with the consciousness of its resources,
challenges, and opportunities. It is important therefore for every Christian
organization including the church to appreciate the shifting contexts of its
growing membership and strategically re-orient herself to its present context,
unlearn what does not work, make the necessary paradigm shifts, and equip her
emerging younger generation into a relevant leadership model towards her God-
given mandate in Canada.

	The Church of Pentecost in Canada is presently a work in progress with a
relatively large immigrant population having a high percentage of younger people
as well as a growing number of other nationalities. The awareness of a shift in
demography and multicultural reality cannot be denied with its attendant sense of
anxiety to leadership. The perceived fear of ceding power and authority to the

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younger generation and loss of the Ghanaian culture in the church are
understandable. However, for the church to remain relevant and contextually
purposeful toward the future, leadership has to, in varying degree, appreciate the
challenge of the present realities and make every necessary effort including
intentionally recruiting and developing a cadre of leadership that can navigate the
paradigm shift and shape the church to become more inclusive and multiculturally
sensitive.

	It is hoped that as the church carefully and prayerfully seeks for her own
hybrid of transformational and servant leadership model, she will be shaped in its
praxis to become part of the sign, a foretaste and instrument of the in-breaking
reign of God as indicated by the missiologist Leslie Newbiggin (Branson 2011,
39). The members of the church would also have the opportunity and liberty to
worship God in acceptable ways that are theological and biblically relevant as
well as reflect the reality of their contemporary cultural context. The Church of
Pentecost Canada needs to develop transformational and servant leadership that
will intentionally make disciples of all nations in obedience to scripture as well as
develop strategies to integrate soul care and social action in its ministry. In the
light of this hope for a paradigm shift, one of the most eloquent leaders of the
church has forcefully stated:

	Transformational leadership aims at renewing the way one thinks. It involves
	changing the status quo. It involves helping people of the organization to
	become strategic thinkers and look for new or different approaches to what
	they do and how they do it. It is said that the best definition of insanity is
	trying to get different results by using the same procedure. And you cannot be
	what you must be by being what you have been. Church members being
	transformed into the image of Christ is the spiritual revolution and Christian
	formation Christian leaders are expected to bring about. (Amoah 2013, 10)

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CHAPTER 4:

FIELD MINISTRY PROJECT

Introduction

	A field ministry project is part of the standard for higher theological
training. It enables a leader or ministry practitioner to engage in a terminal
research project that explores an area of interest with a hope of gathering data that
will promote greater understanding in the nature and practice of ministry both for
the researcher and the participants. This chapter is a report on a research project
that was done with ten of the leaders of the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton,
Alberta as the primary participants. The project explored the possibility of
integrating soul care and social action toward the development of a more holistic
ministry. A guided AI methodology was used. Individual interviews were
conducted with the participants and two follow-up focus group discussions were
organized. Two proposals were presented to the leadership of the church. After
reviewing the proposals, the leadership accepted and implemented them.

The Opportunity or Problem

	In the past, the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton was deemed to have over-
emphasized evangelism and the salvation of souls, otherwise referred to as soul care
over the call for social action. Most of the church’s programs and activities
include in-house fasting and prayers, camp meetings, in-house revival services,

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in-house retreats and leadership training programs. The church rarely organizes
social action activities like visiting and developing relationships with the
neighbours, offering volunteer services at hospitals, prison visitation and
distribution of food and clothes to the vulnerable in society. This style of ministry
seemed to have diminished the church’s impact and influence in the wider
Canadian society outside the church community in Edmonton.

Response or Innovation

	This research applied the AI principles to examine the strengths, theology,
philosophy and practice of ministry and missional objectives of the Church of
Pentecost in Edmonton. Furthermore, participants were encouraged to determine
and design a specific program that would facilitate the development of a more
integrated ministry.

Supervision, Permission, and Access

	Though I am the Area/Regional Head who supervises the Western Canada
Area/Region and the resident minister of the COP-ED, I still needed the
cooperation and consent of the local presbytery for time and resources to carry out
this research. In addition, I also needed their permission and support to access
vital church minutes and reports. Both time and resources as well as consent to
access church documents were graciously granted by the leadership of COP-ED. I
am grateful.

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Context

	The initial context of my research was with McKeown Worship Centre in
Toronto, Ontario (Chapter 2). However, as per practice and policy of the Church
of Pentecost Canada, I was transferred from Toronto to Edmonton in August 2018
to oversee the churches in Western and Central Canada, stretching from British
Columbia to Manitoba provinces. The church in Edmonton was originally started
in 1998 by Africans (mostly Ghanaians) who, like the parent church in Chapter 2,
wanted to have a contextualized style of worship. It has a pentecostal belief system
with a hierarchical presbyterian leadership structure consisting of elders, deacons,
and deaconesses. MWC and the Edmonton Assembly share the same statement of
faith, style of ministry, leadership structure, policies, and practices. Presently, I
work with the resident minister and a team of elders, deacons, and deaconesses.

	COP-ED is the pioneer church of three other branches of the Church of
Pentecost in the Edmonton metropolitan area. Presently, it has a total membership
of almost 500 consisting of a healthy mix of old and young people as well as
children. It has become the home church for many people of different nationalities
the majority of whom are of African descent. Members come from different
socio-economic and educational backgrounds. They are scattered all over the
Edmonton metropolis with most of them living at the West and South side of the
city.

	COP-ED, like all other assemblies of the Church of Pentecost Canada,
places a lot of emphasis on prayer, worship, and evangelistic outreaches to the
unsaved. As indicated in Chapter 2, its worship services are usually characterised

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by joyful and loud singing of traditional and contemporary songs. Worship is
corporate and participatory. Through the ministry of the church many lives have
been saved, set free from all kinds of spiritual bondages, families have been
united, broken marriages and family relationships have been restored. There is a
strong evidence of spiritual formation in the lives of the members. However, there
seems to be an over-emphasis on the proclamation of the gospel and in-house
“spiritual” activities and programs that feed more of the soul than takes care of the
socio-economic needs of its members and the general community outside the
church. Thus, there seems to be paucity of sustainable programs and activities
toward social action and related services.

Models

	My past ministry experience includes managing a non-governmental
organization, Kairos Development Mission (KADEM), as the founder and
president. KADEM has been mobilizing medical supplies and sending them to
Ghana in collaboration with international Christian development agencies. It was
initiated to help and integrate the provision of healthcare into the evangelism
activities of the Church of Pentecost. The separation of evangelism or soul care
from social action in carrying out the Great Commission, has resulted in an
apparent disproportional overemphasis and attention on soul care. This has tended
to influence budget allocation and human resources deployment in the ministry of
the church. The Board of KADEM have always contended that a proper
appropriation of God’s love as evidenced through the incarnation of Christ must

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impact the total lives of the recipients of the gospel.

	Reformed theology contends that the objective of Christian mission should
not be directed exclusively to evangelism as if the human being consists only of a
bodiless soul. The gospel must seek the total welfare of the body as well as the
good of the soul in the community (world). John Stott, the British theologian
states that:

	A Christianity which has lost its vertical dimension has lost its salt and is not
	only insipid in itself, but useless for the world. On the other hand, a
	Christianity that would use its vertical pre-occupation as a means to escape
	from its responsibilities for and in the common life of humankind is a denial
	of the incarnation and of God's love for the world manifested in Christ.
	(John Stotts 1989, 21)

	Roger E. Hedlund also argues that the gospel is not merely a compensation
for present challenges and that it goes beyond what any social action could produce.
He agrees that the church should be able to insert the values of the gospel into human
relationships both personal and structural but wonders whether there could be actual
realization of the Kingdom on earth without redemption through the Lordship of
Christ. Hedlund notes again that social concerns should not be made to diminish
redemptive concerns. The two should be kept in biblical balance (Hedlund 1985,
156). According to co-authors, Don Posterski and Gary Nelson, “a one-sided faith
fails the test of Christian and biblical integrity” (Posterski and Nelson 1997, 24).
There is the need for a critical balance in the ministry of the church on earth.
Michael Griffiths also agrees with the Lausanne Covenant Statement which states
that:

	Although reconciliation with man is not reconciliation with God, nor is
	social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless
	we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of
	our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of

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	God, and man, our love for our neighbour and our obedience to Jesus Christ
	... The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our
	personal and social responsibility. Faith without works is dead. (Griffiths,
	1980, 46)

Theologian Karl Rahner has said, “The number one cause of atheism is Christians.
Those who proclaim God with their mouths and deny him with their lifestyles are
what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelieving” (Posterski and Nelson 1997,
10).

	Thus, the proclamation of the gospel in word should not be disjointed from
practical acts of mercy and deeds that promote the socio-economic wellbeing of its
hearers. This is the spirit and essence of the Kingdom of God entering human history
on earth and the purpose of Christ’s incarnation.

Project, methodology, and methods

	The following describes the specific location, duration, resource
personnel, methodology and methods that were used in the research project.

Field

	This project took place at the Church of Pentecost, Edmonton, Alberta over
a period of approximately eight to nine months between August 15, 2018 and May
31, 2019. I was the primary researcher. Overseer Daniel Dompreh, the associate
minister and Elder Ben Budu were appointed and trained as facilitators with the
criteria for recruiting potential research participants. The two facilitators in turn
recruited a team of five elders and five deaconesses who are all part of the
leadership of COP-ED.

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	The research participants were mostly married adults between the ages of
thirty-five and sixty-three and were selected based on the basis of gender
inclusiveness, cultural diversity, levels of literacy, intellectual capacity, and open-
mindedness. The research wanted to have broader opinions of both males and
females as well as people of other nationalities. A moderate to high level of
literacy was considered necessary to enable participants to read, understand and
respond to consent forms given to the participants. Again, a moderate to high
intellectual capacity was necessary to engage participants in the interview
questions as well as the focus group discussion. The participants also needed to be
open-minded so they could think freely and objectively about the questions being
asked and respond without fear or intimidation emanating from my presence as
their pastor. They were also a mixture of Canadian citizens and permanent
residents originally from Africa who have lived in Canada for between two to
thirty years. Although I worked with them as their pastor, I encouraged open-
mindedness and frankness in their interaction with the facilitators and myself. I
urged them to see this project as an independent activity which does not carry my
authority as a pastor over them. I assigned various roles and assignments to some
other volunteers based on their areas of expertise and competence. Overseer Daniel
Dompreh and Elder Ben Budu were further trained to facilitate the one-on-one
interviews and focus group discussions to help minimize power difference
concerns.

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Scope

	The central theme explored in the project was:
“How could The Church of Pentecost, Edmonton, promote the integration of soul
care and social action toward the holistic development of her members and the
African community in Edmonton?”

The hope in asking this question was to examine the theology and practice of
ministry of the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton and explore the prospects of
integrating soul care activities and social action for the holistic growth of the
church members and the broader community outside the church.

	The project was not directed toward a full-scale review of all the ministry
practices of the church since a study of that magnitude would be well beyond the
limits of the Doctor of Ministry requirement. The focus was on steps church
leadership could identify and consider toward the integration of one or two social
actions into its practice of ministry.

Methodology

	A guided AI was the main methodology used in this project. The AI
approach helped to facilitate the art of asking and designing positive and
unconditional questions to strengthen the reflective capacity of the participants. It
also encouraged leadership participation in the research process. The participants
were taken through a process of multiple individual interviews and focus group
discussions each one arising from reflections on, and assessment of, the previous
interviews, while narrowing or extending the scope and refining the innovation

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steps. The hope was to effect positive individual and leadership transformation
and develop transferable knowledge.

	AI stipulates that the choice of particular questions tend to shape our
future. Thus, by asking the appropriate questions we can recall the memories,
perceptions, thoughts, and visions of a motivated and dynamic reality (Branson
2016, 46). I therefore implemented AI initiatives using the “4-D Cycle”
(Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny) approach that allowed the church
leadership to identify its positive core strengths relative to the topic being
addressed and initiate concrete operational steps to achieve desirable objectives.

Discovery: Participants were urged to discover experiences and identify strengths
and capabilities of the church which add up to the positive core.

Dream: They imaginatively and collectively envisioned what else was possible.
Design: They were encouraged to co-construct what could be done to build
capacity (practically) and what should be done (morally).

Destiny: They were also urged to commit to the iterative exploration of learning,
innovation, and delivering results all stakeholders care about.

	AI assumes that all organizations including churches have significant life
forces, and these forces are available in stories and imagination. When we bring
these resources into the church’s conversation and planning, major changes can be
implemented. The basic idea was that by discovering the best and most valuable
narratives and qualities of the church, participants can construct a new way that
has the most important links to the past and the most hopeful images of the future.

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Methods

	The following were the sequential description of the methods I used as a
guide in designing the process of this study (Table 1).

i.	Previous church data was accessed with permission and reviewed with the
	help of six volunteers (Appendix 2).

ii.	I appointed and trained two church leaders to help facilitate the interviews.
	They in turn recruited ten research participants and helped them to
	complete consent forms (Appendix 4).

iii.	Two facilitators conducted individual interviews with ten participants.
	Each individual interview was conducted with a set of seven
	questionnaires (Appendix 7) for a period of about forty-five minutes but
	not exceeding one hour.

iv.	Three questions based on emerging themes from the individual interviews
	were generated by me and the two facilitators for a focus group discussion
	(Appendix 8). A second follow-up reflective focus group discussion was
	conducted with a set of two questions generated by me and the two
	facilitators (Appendix 9).

v.	Individual interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed,
	analyzed, and coded.

vi.	Emerging themes were categorized, reflected upon and recategorized.

vii.	Two provocative proposals were generated from the focus group 
	discussions by the participants.

viii. Two separate teams were formed to review and implement provocative

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	proposals.

ix.	A preliminary report on research findings for peer review was both
	interpreted and prepared.

x.	The final research project report was written.

Data Review

	Previous church data, including minutes from presbytery meetings,
reports, and letters to and from the church from January 2012 to December 2017
were accessed with permission and reviewed (Appendix 2).

Interviews

	The four basic AI processes that focus on the positive experiences of the
participants were applied. Hence, the facilitators and I chose the positive as the
focus of inquiry by asking the participants to identify the areas of strength of the
church. One of the facilitators conducted individual interviews with five male
elders and the other with five deaconesses. Each individual interview was
conducted with a set of seven questionnaires (Appendix 7) for a period not
exceeding one hour either on the phone or in person at the church. Emerging
themes from the responses of the participants were identified and selected for
further inquiry.

	Following the individual interviews, three questions were generated by me
and the two facilitators for a focus group participatory discussion (Appendix 8).
Twelve volunteers including some of the research participants and other church
members who showed interest in the research topic participated in the focus group

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discussion. A second follow-up reflective focus group discussion was conducted
with a set of two questions generated by me and the two facilitators after
reflections from the previous focus group discussion (Appendix 9). Eleven
volunteers participated in the second focus group discussion. Both focus group
discussions, which were conducted in one of the Sunday school classrooms, were
recorded by video and audio respectively with permission.

	Individual interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed. The
transcribed data were coded with in vivo, descriptive and values coding (Saldana
2015, 25). The coded data were categorized according to emerging themes from
the interviews and focus group discussions. Two provocative proposals were
generated from the emerging themes by the participants. Subsequent to the
proposal, two teams consisting of church leaders were formed to review and
brainstorm on the provocative proposals. Finally, recommendations on how to
implement the two provocative proposals were presented to the leadership of
COP-ED who further explored innovative ways to achieve them (Branson 2016,
26).

Tools

	Data was recorded in field notebooks and by audio-video recordings with
permission. Recorded audio-video data were stored in an electronic format,
summarized, transcribed, and filed both electronically and on hard copy. A
personal journal was kept for hunches, insights, and concerns.

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Phases and Timetable

The entire research project took about nineteen months (Table 1).

Table 1. Research Timetable
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 1 details ]


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Table 1. Research Timetable (Continued)
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 1 details ]



Table 1. Research Timetable (Continued)
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 1 details ]

Phase 3	September 10- October 18, 2018	Coded and categorized questions based on emerging themes for focus group discussions	Researcher, Overseer Daniel Dompreh and Elder Ben Budu  Researcher trained Overseer Daniel Dompreh and Elder Ben Budu to facilitate discussions	PAR method using Appreciative Inquiry approach

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Ethics

	Participants were not named, and sensitive details were withheld from
public documents. Keeping confidentiality was emphasized. This was necessary
due to the small number of participants and to prevent the church community to
infer the identity of some of the participants. My role in this research process was
very well explained and distinguished from my pastoral position and relationship
with the participants. Two volunteers were trained to facilitate the individual
interviews and the focus group discussions. This was to help minimize power
difference concerns.

	Individual names and data were not released to the public. Participants in
the focus group discussions were asked to keep every shared data with the highest
degree of confidentiality. However, it was explained that findings gathered from
this project may form the basis of a report or other forms of publication or
presentation.

	All written records, questionnaires, audio tapes and all electronic data
were stored electronically on a secure server with strict accessibility only to the
researcher and select volunteers. All other paper documents (e.g., Consent forms,
non-disclosure forms) have been secured in a locked office until they are scanned
and stored in a secure computer and later destroyed.

Findings, Interpretation, and Outcomes

	The review of previous church data did not provide any evidence of prior
discussions or report on integrating soul care and social action as an intentional
strategy in the church’s ministry. Much of the previous video or audio records

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gave emphasis to soul care activities in the areas of evangelism, prayer and
healing services, church picnics, and youth camps.

	Two facilitators were appointed because of their positions in the
leadership, academic knowledge, and analytical skills. They subsequently
contacted and recruited ten participants including five elders and five deaconesses
who graciously agreed and signed the consent and non-disclosure forms.
Individual interviews were arranged and conducted for each of the ten participants
and audio recordings were made with the consent of participants. Overseer
Dompreh interviewed the elders while Elder Budu interviewed the deaconesses.
The interviews were conducted either at the church office or by phone at the
convenience of the participants. Transcription of the ten interviews were
completed by volunteers recruited by my facilitators. I listened to the recorded
interviews and made summary notes from each of them on separate sheets. The
interview responses were thus summarized, coded, and categorized. The table
below gives a summary of major emerging themes from the individual interviews (Table
4).

	Based on the responses and emerging themes from the individual
interviews a set of three questions was developed for the first focus group
discussion (Appendix 7). Eleven volunteers, based on their availability and
willingness to support the research process, including seven of the participants
participated in the focus group discussions. It was held in one of the classrooms of
the church and video-recorded with permission. Copies of the video recording
were given to volunteers for transcription. The two facilitators and I shared notes.

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Table 2. Emerging themes from individual interviews
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 2 details ]


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Figure 5.0: The church’s greatest strength
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.0 details ]

Figure 5.1: Outreach Target
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.1 details ]

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Figure 5.2: Benefits of the church
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.2 details ]

Figure 5.3: Benefit to the African Community
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.03 details ]


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Figure 5.4: Soul Care versus Social Action
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.4 details ]

Figure 5.5: Future Church Ministry Investment
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.5 details ]


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Figure 5.6: Better Future Services
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5.6 details ]

	Two questions (Appendix 9) were crafted out of the emerging themes
from the first focus group by the researchers and used in a second focus group
discussion conducted two weeks later. This time, it was not video recorded due to
unavailability of recording personnel. However, Cell phones were used to audio-
record with permission and notes were made by me and two facilitators.

	After receiving all the data from the individual interviews and two focus
group discussions I and the two facilitators reviewed them together for clarity,
integrity and interrelations or interconnections. A preliminary report on the
research findings was prepared and presented for peer review during the January
2019 winter residence.

	Based on the data collected from the individual interviews the majority of
the participants (eight) agreed that the greatest strength of the church is in
activities like evangelism, preaching of the word of God, various forms of prayer
and discipleship which are all related to soul care (Figure 5.0). They reasoned that

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it is the primary vision of the church and insisted that evangelism, prayer, and
preaching should continue to be the core calling of the church. One participant
quoted the scripture that says, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world
yet forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:36). Two participants agreed that the church’s
greatest strength is in its network as family and friends.

	Four of the participants agreed that even though evangelism is the primary
calling of the church, the leaders have not developed a consistent plan for regular
effective evangelistic outreaches. They insisted that evangelism activities in the
past have been ad-hoc and sporadic. One participant even lamented that zeal for
evangelism, especially personal evangelism, is going down. Many of the
participants passionately urged for an evangelistic plan which will be followed
consistently and well-funded. Such a plan should have short- and long-term goals
which could be measured and monitored over time.

	Prayer was also emphasized to be a means of protection from evil and
demonic forces. From the individual interviews all ten participants agreed that
much of the activities of the church, especially prayer, were in-house, self-
serving, and inadvertently directed more to the spiritual needs of members most
of whom are immigrants from Africa with high consciousness of the spirit world.
Two other participants believed that the church’s greatest strength is in its support
system and network as family and friends.

	Again, from the individual interviews all ten participants agreed that the
church is called to preach and reach every unbeliever and all nations and bring
them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Figure 5.1). However, it was

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admitted that despite the aforementioned, the church gravitates more towards
Africans especially Ghanaians who were the pioneers of the church in Edmonton.
Somehow, it has become customary for outsiders to refer to the church as a
Ghanaian church. Hence the overshadowing Ghanaian cultural influence tends to
dictate the kind of ministry activities and services that the church offers. Thus,
even though participants had some appreciation of the need to reach out and be a
witness to the wider African or Canadian community outside the church, they
have been subsumed and preoccupied with their own needs and challenges. They
seemed to be struggling with a compartmentalized mindset that ended up
providing services to themselves. This research has, thus, helped to rekindle a
greater awareness of the urgency to include well planned and consistent outreach
programs to the wider community outside the church.

	All ten participants affirmed that the church is like a family to them and
that they have all benefited from the love and care of the church (Figure 5.2). All
participants wholeheartedly admitted that the church is their family home. Again,
all ten participants affirmed that the church has been a strong support system and
that they have been helped in various times of bereavement, sickness, marriage,
and baby christening ceremonies. One of the participants further indicated that the
church is a “a place of belonging and a spiritual anchor.” Another participant also
appreciated the church as a place where her culture is upheld and reinforced
especially to her children. One of the elders became very emotional when he
narrated how the church has always been there for him especially when he lived
alone and to his family since they joined him in Canada.

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	Unfortunately, all ten participants lamented that the church does not have
much social impact on the larger African and/or Canadian community outside the
church except on a few occasions in many years where the church financially
contributed toward victims of a fire outbreak and the bereavement of a pastor in
the city of Edmonton (Figure 5.3). It was also realized that even benevolent
activities of the church were directed mostly to members only when needs are
expressed. It was reported that in some few occasions leadership has also
identified and attended to some needy situations. Generally, the research revealed
that many significant social welfare needs of church members are usually met
when identified or expressed. However, it was also realized that there has not
been any intentionally organized and consistent system or structure of social
intervention which is ongoing and supervised. It is more on an ad-hoc basis.

	Participants suggested more out-door outreach to shelters, hospitals and
prisons where the gospel could be preached, and physical and social needs of the
target groups would be provided. Some of the participants also suggested out-door
barbeque gatherings, in the neighbourhood of the church as well as finding
particular locations in the downtown core of the city of Edmonton to the benefit
of the most vulnerable (e.g., the homeless, drug addicts and prostitutes).

	Five of the participants insisted that the church devotes more of its human
and financial resources to social action rather than to soul care albeit within the
church (Figure 5.4). This split in opinion on whether the church is committed to
soul care or social action could possibly be a reflection on the ambiguity of the
church’s commitment to an intentional missional mandate. It could also be due to

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how they understood what soul care and social action meant to them. This
research has helped catalyze the necessity for the church to institutionalize an
intentional holistic set of programs that seek to integrate soul care and social
action activities.

	Of the many future services that participants desired that the church could
provide for the members of the church community, the two most prominent were
concerns for the children’s ministry and an evangelistic outreach into the wider
community (Figure 5.5). Specifically, participants expressed a strong desire for
better facilities and educational resources, bigger classroom space as well as
professional development for the teachers. Sunday school teachers should be
trained to incorporate more fun, intellectually stimulating, and interactive
activities in the children's curriculum. More than half of the participants reasoned
that the children are the future leaders of the church and hence there is the need to
equip and train them to become responsible Christian adults and to make the
church an attractive place where they would be proud to stay and nurture their
future families. Participants also suggested that children should be involved and
encouraged to participate in the worship service, so they learn and inculcate the
discipline of prayer and Bible studies which in the past has often been reserved
for adults. It was indicated with deep concern how sporadic evangelistic activities
have been carried out and mostly without a consistent plan. There was the strong
desire and suggestion to integrate the children and the youth in the evangelistic
outreach of the church into the community (Figure 5.6).

	From the first focus group discussions, the following themes were

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identified as specific and practical ways to carry out evangelism activities
especially to people of other nationalities:

i.	There is the need to create a strong desire and awareness for evangelism as
	a core goal and objective of the church which will help grow the church.

ii.	The church should have a desire to invest more in evangelism which will
	lead to planning and funding of evangelistic activities.

iii.	Sporting activities should be organized to encourage the youth to invite
	their friends.

iv.	Interdenominational musical concerts should be organized together with
	other churches and singing ministries outside the church community. This
	will increase the visibility of the church.

v.	The resident minister together with the hospitality ministry members
	should make time to chat and interact with visitors and new-comers and
	find out what their needs are.

vi.	The use of social media should be encouraged by everyone in the church
	to reach friends and family members outside the church.

vii.	There is a need for practical training on how to evangelize especially
	through developing relationships with friends and family as well as
	meeting the felt needs of the vulnerable in the community.

The following were also identified to help with the church’s intentionality to
reach the wider African and Canadian community:

i.	Giving free food hampers during the Christmas season to residents around
	the church neighbourhood.

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ii.	Organize cultural activities where the cultures of the members in the
	church are displayed, for example, national flags, festivals, food, and
	costume.

iii.	English language should be the common medium of expression instead of
	mixing it with Ghanaian local languages.

iv.	Visitors and newcomers should be treated with more respect, attention and
	must be followed up in the week.

v.	There is the need to learn and be sensitive to people of other cultures and
	how to relate to them in culturally appropriate ways.

vi.	Worship songs could have subscripts to make it more user friendly and
	encourage mass participation.

vii.	Leadership should be more punctual and sensitive to time.

viii.   There is the need for a resource team to help with resume preparation,
	English as an Additional Language (EAL) classes and job search.

Specific ways to develop an effective children’s ministry should include the
following themes:

i.	Separation of the children into appropriate age groups and classes.

ii.	Need for more classrooms.

iii.	More qualified teachers need to be recruited, for example, volunteers with
	Early Childhood Education certificates.

iv.	Quarterly workshops and appraisals for the teachers needs to be organized.

v.	Setting achievable and realistic goals for the teachers to accomplish.

vi.	Having a desire to invest in the children’s ministry and hence creating a

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	budget for it.

vii.	Having computers and/or tablets for interactive games.

viii. Starting a children’s magazine and inviting the children to contribute to it.

	The second focus group discussion was based on two questions that were
generated from the first focus group themes. The first of the two questions
focused on specific and intentional social action activity that COP-ED could
embark on as part of its evangelistic outreach to the wider community. The
following finally emerged:

i.	Annual socks-drive for the homeless in Edmonton downtown core. Apparently,
	the associate minister had been involved in a similar outreach ministry in the
	previous years. He was willing to share his expertise toward this new initiative.
	Pairs of socks were to be collected or donations of ten dollars or more for socks
	were to be taken.

ii.	Organizing garage sales during the summer and using funds raised to support the
	evangelistic outreaches to the homeless.

iii.	Exploring the prospects of partnering with other existing organizations and
	churches towards the socks-drive.

iv.	Mobilizing everyone in the church including children, teenagers, youth, and
	adults as integral members towards the new evangelism outreach into the wider
	community.

The second question focused on more specific ways to develop an effective
children’s ministry. The following were the main themes derived from the
discussions:

i.	The need and desire to have a budget for the Sunday school ministry and raising
	funds for bigger facilities, equipment, and resources.

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ii.	More teacher training and human resource development.

iii.	The need for more space to accommodate the growing number of children.
	Presently, there are only two rooms for Sunday school children.

iv.	Separation of the children into different age groups; for example, two-four, five-
	six, seven-eight, nine years and above.

v.	Develop a paging system to contact parents when kids are crying or need some
	help.

vi.	Schedule teachers to run on a rotation so everyone has an opportunity to be part
	of adult service at least monthly.

vii.	Have Sunday adult worship services together with all the children at least once a
	month.

viii.   Institute verbal and material appreciation for teachers as a means of motivation

ix.     Involve the children as volunteers in ministry, order of service, and evangelism
	outreaches as part of their discipleship training and spiritual formation.

Two provocative proposals were made by the participants from the focus group
discussions for possible experimentation. The first provocative proposal was as
follows:

	Following the commitment of the church to evangelism, the church should
	consider starting an outreach program by soliciting and donating pairs of
	socks to the homeless and needy in the community.

	The first proposal was drawn from the need for the church to plan, raise
human and material resources, and strengthen the evangelism team to begin
reaching out to the people outside the church community, especially the
vulnerable (like the homeless). Giving out socks was intended to create an
opportunity to demonstrate genuine practical concern for that target population

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and also demonstrate the love of God in simple practical ways. Further, it was
also hoped that as the socks are being distributed, it would provide opportunities
for the development of fellowship and new relationships.

	The second provocative proposal was as follows:

	Following the realization that the children and teenagers are the future
	leaders of the church, it is proposed that a projected amount of $50,000 be
	raised within the next six months for further teacher training, creation of
	more classrooms, and the acquisition of study materials and equipment.

The second provocative proposal was to encourage leadership to plan, raise funds,
re-invigorate the Sunday school children and teenagers as active members.

Further, it was anticipated that as part of the process of integration, the curriculum
for training would be improved to include a discipleship program that will
sufficiently equip the children, teenagers, and youth to be involved in the
evangelism outreach activities of the church.

	These two proposals were submitted to the church leadership who
subsequently deliberated and thankfully accepted them. After the submission of
these provocative proposals two formative teams consisting of a cross-section of
the participants and other church leaders, as well as some leaders from the
children’s ministry, were created to discuss the experimentation and possible
implementation. The team for the children’s ministry met, discussed, and
presented their recommendations including a budget of $50,000 to the leadership
of the church. A fund-raising program was planned and an initial amount of
$27,000 was raised by May 31, 2019. Other specific recommendations from the

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team included converting a conference room into a toddler’s classroom, engaging
professionals from the Child Evangelism Ministry in Edmonton for teacher
training and leadership development. After announcing the proposal to the church,
some members have also donated electronic equipment like smart televisions and
children’s furniture.

	The evangelism outreach formation team also presented an initial proposal
of collecting an ambitious target of 2000 pairs of socks to be donated to the
homeless. Announcements were made at the church soliciting for members to
donate pairs of socks or donate twenty dollars to buy the socks. Two boxes were
thus prepared and designated for the socks drive and placed at the entrance of the
church. As of the end of April 2019, 500 pairs of socks had been collected. The
evangelism ministry mobilized volunteers including children and teenagers,
conducted training sessions for greater effectiveness, and donated the pairs of
socks in groups to the homeless in downtown Edmonton in the fall of 2019. The
children and teenagers were excited that they had been integrated into the
church’s outreach program. All those who participated in this new initiative
testified how receptive the homeless were, beneficial it was to overcome fears of
caring for people outside the church community, and rewarding it was to begin to
develop relationships with the most vulnerable in society.

	Members in the newly formed teams became enthusiastic about the
prospects of the two proposals. Somehow, it was also realized that many of them
had longed for some change in the style and focus of ministry in the church and
now through this research, have greater awareness, and opportunity to be part of

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an experiment that has a potential to influence future church activities.

	I have learnt how to craft and re-craft questions out of answers given from
individual interviews and from the focus group discussions. I have also developed
my skills on “thick descriptions” as I explored hidden meanings behind words,
expressions, and emotions during the interviews. In addition, I have learned how
to triangulate different data sources of information by critical examination of
evidence from the sources.

Conclusion

	Through the guided AI methodology, the research has helped the
leadership of COP-ED with a clearer understanding of the church’s missional
purpose toward her members and more especially to the wider Canadian
community in Edmonton. Further, it has helped them to identify their strengths
and thereon enabled them to examine and explore areas in the ministry of the
church where practical steps could be pursued toward the integration of soul care
and social action. It has specifically helped the leadership to start a process of
restructuring their children’s ministry including raising funds to help acquire more
educational materials, funding teacher training programs and developing
programs that will integrate the children in the overall ministry of the church.

	Through this research project, Church resources, including time,
personnel and funds were allocated to activities that reflect a more integrated
ministry. It also has created stronger awareness and an urgency for the church to
have a well planned and integrated program of evangelism outreach to the

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vulnerable people outside the church. This awareness has resulted in a socks
collection drive. The first collection of socks was donated to the homeless in the
fall of 2019. The awareness of the church toward greater community engagement
has thus been created. This research has given much energy to the participants to
engage in some form of social engagements with the wider community.
Leadership of the church anticipated that these initiatives would be a catalyst
toward a fresh awakening toward the need to integrate soul care and social action
activities especially to the wider African and Canadian community.

	It has also become apparent through this project that moving people from
one paradigm to another, changing people’s worldviews and getting them to
embrace change requires a lot of prayer, patience, time, and strategic planning.
Most of the participants expressed their frustrations regarding the inability of the
church as an organization to embark on intentionally coordinated and sustained
soul care and social actions. The greatest perceived challenge seemed to be an
apparent lack of boldness and consistent strategic planning to sustain social action
initiatives with much of the existing soul care disciplines.

	There is the need for a shift from just doing ministry to making time to
work on their vision of ministry through periodic appraisals and evaluations.
Again, the church members need encouragement and education to shift from mere
cognitive awareness of their responsibility to taking practical intentional
initiatives. This will require a theologically well-informed leadership and
goodwill to go beyond the comfort of the church community. Again, it became
quite apparent from the interviews and discussions that when leaders are

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empowered to tap into their own strength and envision a better future for
themselves and the wider community the excitement is pronounced and the
resolve for greater works becomes stronger. Participants enjoyed and benefited
from the exchange of ideas and different perspectives during the discussions.

	The experience from this research, authenticates the benefits of AI as an
extremely helpful research methodology. It is therefore recommended that
participants, who are leaders of the church, engage the whole church using the
principles of AI and mobilize their collective strengths and resources, review
their philosophy and practice of ministry and intentionally integrate both soul care
disciplines and social action services albeit in small ways.

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CHAPTER 5:

CONCLUSION

	The Church of Pentecost Canada is a predominantly ethnic church that has
grown from its humble beginnings in 1990 with a few immigrants in North York,
to become a fairly large national church with assemblies scattered across Canada.
She presently has a relatively higher percentage of younger people as well as an
increasing number of other nationalities. She has provided a secure environment
for worship, evangelization and reaching many people especially of Ghanaian
origin. So far, the church has been able to establish a very solid foundation and
infrastructure for future expansion. Most of the pioneers of the church are
beginning to retire from their employment and spiritual leadership in the church.

	The awareness of a shift in demography and multicultural reality cannot be
denied with its attendant sense of anxiety to leadership. The perceived fear of
ceding power and authority to the younger generation and loss of the Ghanaian
culture in the church are understandable. In the light of these, I, as the Area Head,
plan to engage the pastoral team in the Western Canada Area to appraise the
objectives of the church for its present context and strategize toward the future.

	Through the research project, a greater awareness of the church’s
responsibility to the spiritual and social needs of people outside the church
community has been rekindled in the participants who are the core of
leadership of the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton. The awareness created

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highlighted the need for strategic planning including having a budget for
activities that promote the integration of soul care and social action
activities. Subsequently, the church leadership has had an opportunity to
agree, plan, and raise funds for an improved Sunday school ministry which
will promote discipleship, faith development and active participation of the
children and teenagers in the church’s ministry. They also were able, for the
first time, to reach the homeless with the love of God. Participants of the
research have been given a fresh understanding of the urgency to
intentionally incorporate a set of programs that seek to integrate soul care
and social action activities albeit in small ways.

	Due to my relocation from McKeown Worship Center to
Edmonton, I did not have much quality time to engage the participants in
more individual follow up interviews and focus group interactions.
However, I plan to re-engage the participants and expand the emerging
themes from the research in Edmonton. I had also hoped for a more dramatic
change and more integrated social action into the church’s ministry within
the timeframe of the research project, but it appears a little seed was rather
sown. In my future undertakings, I would increase the number of
participants, involve them in the design of the interview questions and allow
the focus groups to formulate the provocative proposals out of the emerging
themes. Again, I would engage the entire leadership and the whole church at
Edmonton with the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to identify the
collective strength of the church especially from its current cadre of

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emergent younger leadership and involve them in healthy dialogue toward
the future and intentionally explore further the prospects of integrating soul
care activities with more social action initiatives together. Even though the
church presently provides for some social needs of members, I would use
my influence, as the Area Head, to involve all the churches in the Area to
apply the principles of AI, in order to identify and determine additional
social action initiatives to benefit people outside the church community
especially the most vulnerable. I also plan to establish a task force that will
identify resource personnel, like doctors, nurses, social workers and
teachers, within the church who will become channels and bridges to target
communities like the indigenous people of Canada and young people in
prison.

	With an increasing number of the younger generation, I, together with the
pastoral team in the Area, would design an intentional continuous educational
program to train potential leaders especially in the youth and children’s ministries.
This online educational program would have flexible schedules and curricula for
both clergy and lay ministers. One of the objectives of this training would be to
develop an appropriate and contextualized transformational and servant leadership
model that will meet the manifold needs of the church members, developing them
to become Christ-like in their relationship to one another and to the general
Canadian society.

	As a church that is becoming increasingly multicultural, I would use my
membership in the National Executive Council and as the Area Head to advocate,

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influence and intentionally teach on the need to shift from ethnocentrism to
ethnorelativism. This would promote the need to shift behaviours and attitudes
that entrench one’s cultural frame of reference to behaviours and attitudes that
adapt to different cultural contexts. Again, in my teachings I would make every
effort to reach out with a contextualized message of the gospel and build
relational bridges into different cultures without being judgmental. As part of the
process toward the development of cross-cultural skills and competence, I would
incorporate the following in the training:

i.	Ability to listen.

ii.	Need to learn the language and art forms of people of other cultures.

iii.	Regularly review assumptions about people of other cultures.

iv.	Appreciate cultural differences and adapt into the realities of other
	cultures without letting go one’s own proven cultural values.

	As the former chairman of the church’s constitution review committee, I
would advocate for the inclusion of policies that are more inclusive of cultural
diversity in keeping with the growth of the church. The constitution review
should consider issues of gender and cultural representation in the appointment
of leaders. In addition, I would advocate for the review of some of the inherent
institutional privileges that either consciously or unconsciously undermine and
inhibit intercultural development.

	As a member of a predominantly immigrant church I would strongly
recommend to the church leadership and personally undertake a research project
to study the history of ethnic churches in Canada and hopefully derive some

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insights and lessons from it. Such research could help leadership to stay away
from unnecessary mistakes of the past and promote the process of adaptability
into the future. In addition to pursuing academic research, I would increase my
visits to some of the existing ethnic churches in Edmonton and develop mutual
partnerships toward holistic and inclusive ministry.

	In the light of the multi-generational and multicultural realities of the
church, and to enhance better practice of ministry, I would strongly support and
encourage leadership in the Area to continue the practice of having two parallel
services, one for traditional worship and the other for the PIWCs. The traditional
worship will continue to provide services with Ghanaian cultural elements, while
the PIWCs provide worship services to the international community.

	Pursuing this doctoral study has given me the opportunity to have a
greater sense of self-awareness and a sincere appraisal of my philosophy of
ministry and leadership. The feedback from the 360 survey and the other
leadership assessment instruments have been sobering as they helped me to
identify myself more and to have some “leader-shift.” I have undergone
personal transformation in many areas of my leadership including the need
to work on my leadership philosophy and style of ministry instead of just
doing ministry. I have also learnt to share some of my leadership roles with
my colleagues and mentees. Furthermore, the doctoral study has helped me
to be a lot more discerning of God’s heart and purpose for my leadership
role in the church. It has also reminded me that I am an integral part of the
Missio dei through constant reflection and engagement with the changing

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world.

	I have learned that changing the culture and practice of a church
does not happen easily and overnight. It requires a lot of prayer,
discernment, humility, and patience to wait and walk alongside the people I
lead. Again, I have been convinced that people can be moved toward a
common objective when they are properly motivated and empowered. Thus,
a leader-shift from just having head theological knowledge and a good idea
to taking practical missional steps and action is possible.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1:	The Organizational Chart of the Church of Pentecost Canada
Appendix 2:	Data Sets
Appendix 3:	Information Letter
Appendix 4:	Consent Form
Appendix 5:	Non-Disclosure Form
Appendix 6:	Promotional Script
Appendix 7:	Individual Interview Questionnaires
Appendix 8:	Focus Group 1 Questionnaire
Appendix 9:	Focus Group 2 Questionnaire

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Appendix 1: The Organizational Chart of the Church of Pentecost
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix 1 details ]


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Appendix 2: Data Sets
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix 2 details ]


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Appendix 3: Information Letter

This is an information letter regarding a research taking place at the Church of
Pentecost, Edmonton, Alberta by Pastor James Quainoo and a request for your
consent to participate in the study. The focus is on the integration of soul care and
social action.

	In the past the Church of Pentecost, Edmonton - which is predominantly
an ethnic African church, seems to have over-emphasized the salvation of souls
(otherwise referred to as soul care) over the call for social action. Hence, soul care
and social action have not often been done with much of the needed critical
integration in ministry and for the holistic development of its members. This has
also diminished the church’s witness in the community where she has been called
as light and salt.

	This project will apply Participation Action Research (PAR) methodology
and using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach to identify the inherent challenges
and factors that influence the integration of soul care and social action in the
ministry of COP-ED in Edmonton and how the findings could possibly be a
platform for the development of a more intentional and well-integrated holistic
ministry to the benefit of the African community in Edmonton.

	To accomplish this task, I would conduct personal interviews and
coordinate focus group discussions to help identify possible ways toward the
integration of soul care and social action in the church. I am looking for 10 church
leaders (Elders and Deaconesses) as participants. Your role as a participant will
be to meet once or twice for a period of about 45 minutes each and you will be
required to answer a few interview questions and participate in a focus group
discussion. This study shall be conducted under the supervision of the Project
Research Advisor, Dr. Mark Chapman, Director of Program, and Dr. Michael
Krause, Project Thesis Coordinator in the Doctor of Ministry Department at
Tyndale University, Toronto.

	This study shall conform to all the requirements of Canadian ethical
guidelines as clearly outlined in the document, Tri-Council Policy Statement:
Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans and the Tyndale Research Ethics
Policy Manual

	Participation in this study is completely voluntary and participants will be
free to withdraw at any time without consequence. You are not required to waive
any of your legal rights and your consent will always be sought before data is
collected and/or used.

	This study will take place between May 2018 and April 2019. The
outcome of this study shall be made available to all participants at a post-research
gathering as mutually arranged, hopefully, by December 2018 during when the

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completed study shall be given to students for peer review and to the faculty of
Tyndale University for approval. The final thesis will be presented to the faculty
at Tyndale University around August 2020.

	There is no known risk to you for participating in this research.
Participants’ privacy will be protected by using pseudonyms and all data collected
will be electronically stored on secure servers. Total anonymity in this study may
not be guaranteed because of the small number of participants and the church-
based context. You may choose not to participate in this study if you want to
remain anonymous.

	If you have any questions please direct them to, James Quainoo, at
jmquainoo@gmail.com or 416 732 7878. If you have any concerns of questions
about the ethics of this study, please direct them to the Chair of the General
Research Ethics Board at Tyndale University at reb@tyndale.ca.

	Thanking you in anticipation of your participation in this study that seeks
to promote the integration of soul care and social action in the church. God bless
you.

Sincerely,

James Quainoo

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Appendix 4: Consent Form

PROJECT TITLE: Integration of soul care and social action in the Church of
Pentecost, Edmonton.

Name (Please Print):

I have taken time to read and understood the above information letter which
outlines the purpose of this research and have also had the opportunity to ask any
questions.

I understand that I will freely and voluntarily participate in a research that may
involve sharing personal information, participate in one-on-one interviews as well
as in a focus group discussion to be supervised by Ps James Quainoo and led by
two other church leaders, including Overseer Daniel Dompreh and Elder Ben
Budu.

I fully understand that my participation in this project is purely voluntary and that
I am free to withdraw from the research study at any time without consequence or
legal obligation.

I understand that the researcher shall make every effort to maintain the
confidentiality of the data now and in the future.

I understand that data gathered from this project may form the basis of a report or
other forms of publication or presentation and that a copy of the findings will be
made available to me upon request.

I understand that my name will not be used in any report, publication, or
presentation and that every effort will be made to protect my interest, privacy, and
confidentiality.

I am aware that if I have any questions about my participation, such questions
should be directed to James Quainoo at jmquainoo@gmail.com or 416 732 7878.
And that any concerns or question regarding ethical issues should be directed to
the Tyndale Chair of the General Research Ethics Board, at reb@tyndale.ca.

I have read the above statement with full understanding and feely consent to
actively participate in this study:

YES ____________  NO ________________

Signature _______________

Date _____________________

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Appendix 5. Non-Disclosure Form

Project Title: Integration of soul care and social action in the Church of

Pentecost, Edmonton.

The plan for this study has been reviewed for its adherence to ethical guidelines
and approved by the Research Ethics Board of Tyndale University. Questions
regarding participant rights and ethical conduct of research should be directed to
the Research Ethics Board at reb@tyndale.ca

Name (Please Print): ____________________________________

Role: ________________________________

I agree to:

■	Keep all the research information shared with me confidential by not sharing or
	discussing the research information in any form or format (e.g., transcripts, tapes,
	disks etc.) with anyone other than James Quainoo.

■	Maintain confidentiality by not discussing or sharing verbal or written
	information from the personal interviews with anyone other than James Quainoo.

■	Keep all research information in any form or format (e.g., transcripts, tapes, disks
etc.) secure while in my possession.

■	Return all research information in any form or format (transcripts, tapes, disks
	etc.) to James Quainoo after I have completed the research tasks.

■	Erase or destroy all research information, in any form or format (e.g., information
	stored on computer hard drive, journals, transcripts and any other notes on paper),
	after consulting with James Quainoo, regarding this research project that are not
	returnable to him.

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Appendix 6: Promotional Script

The following will be stated as part of the promotion and recruitment process of
participants in the Church of Pentecost, Edmonton.

In preparation toward the possibility of integrating soul care and social action in
the Church of Pentecost, Edmonton, Pastor James Quainoo, who is the resident
minister and a student at Tyndale University, is conducting a research project.
Overseer Daniel Dompreh and Elder Ben Budu will be trained to interview
participants in this study. They are looking for 10 adult volunteers who are Elders
and Deaconesses. The study will involve personal interviews and focus group
discussions. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ps James
Quainoo or Overseer Daniel Dompreh for more information. Thank you.

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Appendix 7: Individual Interview Questionnaires

1.	What would you consider to be the greatest strength of the church and why?

2.	Who are the outreach target group(s) for this church and why?

3.	In what ways have you and your family, as immigrants, benefited from the
	ministry of the church?

4.	How has the African community in Edmonton benefited from the activities of the
	church?

5.	In which area does the church spend a greater amount of financial and human
	resources: Soul care or social action? Give reasons.

6.	Which areas of the church’s ministry would you want the leadership to invest a lot
	more human and financial resources and why?

7.	In what ways would you and your family want the church to be of better service
	in the future? Give reasons.

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Appendix 8: Focus Group 1 Questionnaires

1.	How or in what specific and practical ways can the Church of Pentecost in
	Edmonton carry out its evangelism activities especially to all nationalities and
	become truly inclusive?

2.	How or in what ways could the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton become more
	intentional in its outreach to the wider (African or Canadian) community in
	Edmonton?

3.	How or in what specific ways can the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton develop
	an effective children’s ministry?

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Appendix 9: Focus Group 2 Questionnaires

1.	What specific and intentional social action activity would you want the Church of
	Pentecost in Edmonton to develop for the benefit of you and your immigrant
	family?

2.	How or in what specific ways can the Church of Pentecost in Edmonton develop
	an effective children’s ministry?

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