A laity empowerment program in the Central Zululand pastoral district, Kwazulu-Natal conference, South Africa

Abstract

Since its establishment in 1912, when Pastor James Moya was assigned to look after a few Voice of Prophecy students who had decided to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Central Zululand district has been gradually growing and yet losing a great number of its members due to lack of pastoral care. The very limited involvement of members in ministry has been a constant concern of the church leadership. The Central Zululand district exists to further the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel (Revelation 14:6, 7): 1. To prepare God’s people for the Kingdom. 2. To equip the laity to witness, to share the three angels’ messages with their neighbors, friends, relatives, colleagues, bosses, etc. The main focus and mission of the district has been, and still is, to enlarge God’s Kingdom in the hearts of people in the territory through a balanced and integrated role of pastoral and lay ministry, proclaiming the three Angels’ messages.This paper is a strategic plan for empowering the laity for ministry. It is an integral part of the mission of the Central Zululand district, which aims at assimilating, nurturing, and assigning new members to ministries according to their spiritual gifts. Both the Old and the New Testaments provide us with models of how the laity can be involved. And the equipping and empowering of the laity to serve each is known to reduce apostasies while facilitating natural church growth.