Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 32:1 (Oct 2021)
Article: Engaging Youth Worldviews In Africa: A Practical Theology In Light Of John 4
Author: Kevin Muriithi Ndereba

Conspectus 32:1 (October 2021) p. 187

Engaging Youth Worldviews In Africa: A Practical Theology In Light Of John 4

Kevin Muriithi Ndereba

Pan Africa Christian University

About The Author

Mr. Kevin Muriithi Ndereba (PhDc, University of South Africa; to graduate end of 2021) lectures in youth ministry, theology, and apologetics at Pan Africa Christian University. He is the current secretary for the Africa Society of Evangelical Theology (ASET) and has contributed to the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry (IASYM). He worked as an electrical engineer before pursuing his call to pastoral ministry and theological education, currently serving with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. [email protected]

This article: https://www.sats.ac.za/engaging-youth-worldviews-africa

Abstract

This essay problematizes worldview engagement in Africa from a Kenyan context. The author suggests that robust youth engagement must straddle the traditional/animistic, modern, atheistic, and postmodern worldviews. The essay approaches the study using a practical theological methodology, which deepens the interplay of theory and praxis. In particular, the essay is grounded in Osmer’s approach which asks four questions. The first question is the descriptive-empirical question, “what is happening,” that explores the state of African youth ministry; the second question is the interpretive question, “why is this happening,” which unpacks worldview issues in the lives of young people; the third question is the normative question, “what ought to be happening,” and will engage Johannine Christology in John 4. The fourth question is the pragmatic question, which asks, “how can we apply this,” and offers recommendations for youth ministry practice and higher education.

Keywords

Apologetics, Johannine Christology, Practical Theology, worldviews, youth ministry

1. Introduction

The state of youth ministry in Africa is showing a promising trend. There is a growing need and uptake of professional youth workers and pastors. Research in the area of youth ministry has also matched this upward trend, with Aziz, Nel, and Davis (2017) exploring the need for policy in the area of professionalizing youth work in the church. Weber (2017) has also called for the decolonization of youth ministry in Africa given its unique context. Nel (2015) has explored the need for “remixing” in light of inter-cultural realities of youth work, and Cloete (2019) has explored the nexus of technology in religious engagement of young people. In the East African context, Chiroma and Muriithi (2019) have explored how youth mini...