A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATING MISSIONS INTO THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD, LIBERIA (original) (raw)
The purpose of this research was to investigate the perspectives, practices, and beliefs of people in and out of Liberia on how to integrate missions into theological education in the AGL. Using a mixed methods research approach, the data was gathered from precedent literature and from field research. The field data was obtained from email interviews, focus groups, observational study, and surveys. The findings from the biblical-theological literature revealed mission as the primary theme that runs through the Bible. God has always had a mission to save humankind from sin. The OT reveals that he intended to channel his salvation to the nations through Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites. The entire OT is full of promises of the inclusion of Gentile nations into the family of God. The NT exhibits the fulfillment of this divine anticipation through Abraham’s long awaited seed, Jesus of Nazareth. The findings of the social science literature revealed that to effectively integrate mission into theological education, there must be a transition from pedagogy to andragogy. Pedagogy is teaching and learning principles for all age levels, while andragogy is learning principles specifically for adults. Adults and children do not learn the same way. While children are interested in fact memorization, adults are interested in transferring learning into real life situations. The social science literature recommends transformative learning and mentoring as two ways of enhancing andragogy, and by extension, integrating mission into theological education.
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