A History of Theological Education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate

Declaration

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Abstract

List of Figures and Tables

List of Appendices

Abbreviation and Acronyms

1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
1.1.1 A Brief History of Pentecostalism: History and Context
1.1.2 The Progress of Pentecostalism from the Early Stage via Scandinavia and the Way to Tanganyika
1.1.3 Overseas Missions
1.1.4 Active Global Development Actor
1.1.5 A Brief History of Tanganyika (Tanzania): Social and Political Environments When the Swedish Free Mission (SFM) Started
1.1.6 The Coming of the First Missionaries under the Swedish Free Mission
1.1.7 A Brief History of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Purpose of the Study
1.4 Research Questions and Hypotheses
1.5 Significance of the Study
1.6 Limitations of the Study

2.0 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Approaches to Theological Education
2.3 Perspectives on the Goal of Theological Education
2.4 Bible School: The Church at Work
2.5 Early Theological Philosophies of the Scandinavian Missionaries
2.6 The Biblical Foundations for Christian Education
2.6.1 What is Education?
2.6.2 What is Christian Education?
2.6.3 Education in the Bible
2.7 Educational System in the Church
2.7.1 The Church’s Need for an Educational Program
2.7.2 The Pastor’s Roles in Christian Education
2.7.3 The Purpose of Christian Education
2.8 Theological Education in Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches

3.0 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Research Methodology
3.3. Research Design
3.4. Study Area
3.5. Study Population
3.6 Sampling Procedures
3.7 Data Collection and Recording
3.8 Validity and Reliability
3.9 Data Analysis
3.10 Ethical Considerations

4.0 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The First Mission Stations
4.3 Sylvi Mömmö: “A Missionary of Education”
4.4 Preaching and Teaching
4.5 Literacy and Bible Studies
4.6 The First Bible School and the Formation of Curricula
4.7 Bigabiro Bible School, Kigoma
4.8 Puge Bible School
4.9 Marangu Bible School
4.10 Bukoba Bible School
4.11 Sanjaranda Bible School
4.12 Keza Bible School
4.13 Sumbawanga Bible School
4.14 Handeni Bible School
4.15 Mwanza Bible School
4.16 The Rise of Tanganyikan (Tanzanian) Teachers and Theologians
4.16.1 Harris Kapiga (1913-1995)
4.16.2 Andrea Shimba (1918-1993)
4.16.3 Mathayo Sulemani (?-1995)
4.16.4 Simon Kakete (1907-1997)
4.16.5 Enos Nkone (1931-2018)
4.16.6 Other Theological Teachers and Prominent Church Leaders
4.17 Bible Schools and Colleges
4.18 Holiness Union Mission (HUM) and Interact (Evangelical Free Church)
4.18.1 Introduction
4.18.2 Holiness Union Mission (HUM)
4.18.3 Interact (Evangelical Free Church)
4.19 Church-Based Training: Other Modes of Theological Education in the FPCT
4.19.1 Open Bible School (OBS)
4.20 Theological Education in the FPCT: Interpretation of the Questionnaire

5.0 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYTIC DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Theological Education in the FPCT: Interpretation of the Questionnaire and the Focus Group Discussion Findings
5.3 The Impact of Theological Education on the FPCT
5.3.1 Great Revivals and Church Growth
5.3.2 Protection of the Pentecostal Faith
5.3.3 Sustainable Church Growth through Theology and Social Development
5.4 Overview of Curriculum and Instructional Design Process
5.4.1 Definition
5.4.2 Characteristics
5.4.3 Instructional Design Process
5.4.4 The Hidden and Null Curricula
5.5 Philosophy of Theological Education
5.5.1 Definition
5.5.2 The Current Need for Theological Education in the FPCT
5.5.3 Aspects of the Nature and Diversity of Current Provision
5.5.4 Provisional Thoughts on the Way Forward to Stimulate Further Discussion and Research

6.0 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Conclusions
6.3 Recommendations

ENDNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDICES

DECLARATION

I, Reuben Elia Kabarata, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Whenever I have used materials (data, theoretical analysis, and text) from other sources, I have given due credit to them by citing them in the text of the thesis and giving their details in the references. Whenever I have quoted written materials from other sources, due credit has been given to the sources by citing them.

Reuben Elia Kabarata

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the following people for helping with this doctoral research project: First of all, I want to thank all the members of my family for their patience and encouragement throughout the period of my study. My greatest thanks go to my parents Elia Kabarata and Agnes Mwendi, who have had, from the moment that I was born, unwavering faith in me, supported me no matter what it took, and with extraordinary love and support that gave me the confidence to make dreams reality. This is your achievement as much as mine. My deep appreciation goes out to my wife Hoitha Mlay, and to our lovely children Ebenezer, Baraka, (and Nathanael). I am profoundly grateful for the FPCT leadership for their encouragement and support and for always being so supportive of my work. I am delighted to have worked with you and I look forward to working with you again. I am thankful to all group discussion participants and interviewees, who spent their time giving me an account of their experiences and perspectives of the history and context of Pentecostal theological education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). Their responses went a long way in filling one of the many gaps in the study undertaken. Special thanks go to my officemates and co-workers at Tazengwa Pentecostal Bible College (TPBC), who provided me with a friendly and inspiring environment to work and have fun. I wish you all the best. May God bless you all.

DEDICATION

This Doctor of Ministry Dissertation is dedicated to NATHANAEL REUBEN KABARATA, whom the LORD promoted him from this world to eternity, on 23rd January, 2021.

ABSTRACT

The Church is an excellent arena to promote knowledge and has a strong motivation in its own theology . The author of this study believes that the Pentecostal Movement has a heavenly mandate to spread God’s Kingdom in this world, a duty with origins from Jesus’ commandment to His disciples. This doctoral dissertation concerns itself with a history of theological education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). It covers a substantive period, which begins with the period from the Swedish Free Mission (SFM) to the formation of the FPCT in and around 2000. The FPCT springs out from the Swedish Free Mission (SFM), which was incepted in Tanzania in 1932. The main purpose of this study is to better know what was the motivation for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania to start Bible schools, and how can the FPCT church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth. It aims at understanding what sort of training was offered to ministers, the impact of that training in church growth and spiritual formation of believers, and the contribution of Bible schools in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training. This study can bring important insights into how the Pentecostal movement can do this more effectively.

The study was conducted through personal interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions/interviews, and “attentive readings” to answer the research question. The basic result of the study is that from the beginning, the FPCT church has been training its ministers in various ways and in different levels. Its Pentecostal theology and practice has helped to create opportunities and significant involvement in the ministry. Bible schools and colleges have played a key role in preparing men and women for the practical church aspects of ministry, particularly preaching, evangelism, and church growth. First, they have served well in the protection of the Pentecostal doctrine; secondly, they have helped formation of the FPCT church with trained ministers; they have been helpful in the training of such ministers in line with the denominational norms; and finally they have been helpful in flourishing of genuine higher theological education. The study suggests that if the theological education within the FPCT church will be improved, with a contextualized curriculum, there is a good potential for spiritual formation and church growth. Hence, the church will continue to be an important change agent in the society.

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure 1.1 Organizational Structure of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

Table 2.1 Four Models of Theological Education

Table 4.1 List of Teachers Taught at Puge Bible College from 1957 to 1997

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Questionnaire Concerning Theological Education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

Appendix 2 Questions for Interview Concerning Bible Schools in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

Appendix 3 Questions for Focus Group Discussions Concerning Theological Education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AGM Annual General Meeting

AIM African Inland Mission

ASP Afro-Shiraz Party

CCM Chama xha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary Party)

CCT Christian Council of Tanzania

CMS Christian Missionary Society

CSM Church of Sweden Mission

CUMPT Chama cha Ujamaa cha Makanisa ya Pentekoste Tanzania (Pentecostal Churches Social Association in Tanzania)

EFK Evangeliska Frikyrkan (Evangelical Free Church)

FGD Focus Group Discussion

FPCT The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania

HUM Holiness Union Mission

IBTI International Bible Training Institute

NIV New International Version

NKJV New King James Version

OBS Open Bible School

PCAT Pentecostal Churches Association in Tanzania

PCSAT Pentecostal Churches Social Association in Tanzania

PMU Pingstmissionens U-landshjälp (Swedish Pentecostal International Relief and Development Agency)

SEM Swedish Evangel Mission

SFM Swedish Free Mission

SPM Swedish Pentecostal Mission

TPBC Tazengwa Pentecostal Bible College

TANU Tanganyika African National Union

UMPT Umoja wa Makanisa ya Pentekoste Tanzania (Pentecostal Churches Association in Tanzania)

WW2 The Second World War

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In its beginnings, Pentecostal theological education concerned the education offered to ministers and leaders of churches. Subsequently it expanded to include day and boarding Bible schools, colleges, and other forms of training. It is now an altogether broader mix of institutions and programmes within most of the countries of the world where Pentecostalism has taken root. This dissertation aims at providing an account of a history and context of Pentecostal theological education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). It explores pioneers and early theological educators in the FPCT, considers essential features of theological education offered, and looks into their special contribution to theological education in the FPCT as a whole.

1.1.1 A Brief History of Pentecostalism: History and Context

The Pentecostal Movement grew out of the Holiness Revival of the second half of the nineteenth century. The Holiness Revival produced a hunger for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (a divine empowerment of believers) and for other spiritual gifts promised to the New Testament church such as healing and prophecy.¹ The first “Pentecostals” in the modern sense appeared on the scene in 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas in a Bible school conducted by Charles Fox Parham , a holiness teacher and former Methodist pastor. In January 1901, Parham asked the students at the Bible school to study the Bible to find out the scriptural evidence for receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Using the Pentecost account in Acts chapter two, they concluded that speaking in tongues was the confirmation of receiving the Holy Spirit . Thus the Pentecostal movement began during the first days of 1901 just as the world entered the Twentieth Century. The first person to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit was Agnes Ozman , one of Parham's Bible School students – she spoke in tongues on the very first day of the new century, January 1st, 1901. According to J. Roswell Flower, the founding Secretary of the Assemblies of God , Ozman’s experience was the “touch felt round the world,” an event which “made the Pentecostal Movement of the Twentieth Century.”²

It was not until 1906, however, that Pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention through the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles led by the African-American preacher William Joseph Seymour . He learned about the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a Bible school that Parham conducted in Houston, Texas in 1905. Invited to pastor a black holiness church in Los Angeles in 1906, Seymour opened the historic meeting in April, 1906 in a former African Methodist Episcopal church building at 312 Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles.³ What happened at Azusa Street has fascinated church historians for decades and has yet to be fully understood and explained. For over three years, the Azusa Street “Apostolic Faith Mission” conducted three services a day, seven days a week, where thousands of seekers received the Holy Spirit. Word of the revival was spread abroad through The Apostolic Faith, a paper that Seymour sent free of charge to some 50,000 subscribers. From Azusa Street the revival spread throughout the United States, Europe, and eventually Africa. People from different places who were present at Azusa carried its message back to their churches and countries.⁴

1.1.2 The Progress of Pentecostalism from the Early Stage via Scandinavia and the Way to Tanganyika

Pentecostalism arrived in Sweden in November 1906 with the first missionary to depart from the Azusa Street movement of Los Angeles, a Swedish citizen named Andrew G. Johnson.⁵ He began his work in his home town of Skövde in south western Sweden, where the “Upper Room” of the Elim Church gradually became a centre for the revival. The evangelist Johnson, like other emissaries from Azusa Street, traveled indefatigably from place to place and in a few months had spread the ‘Pentecostal fire’ from Skövde to Örebro, Stockholm, Gothenburg and a number of other places.⁶

In 1910, the Seventh Baptist Congregation, also called the Philadelphia Church (Filadelfiakyrkan), was founded in the capital (Stockholm). A young pastor named Lewi Pethrus⁷ was soon established himself as a leading preacher with strong ties to the New Movement. He established strong relationships with the Norwegian leader T. B. Barratt.⁸ Lewi Pethrus soon also presented a challenge to the other six established Baptist congregations in Stockholm and in 1913 he and the Philadelphia congregation were expelled from the Baptist Association.⁹ It was claimed that the congregation had practiced “open communion,” which in practice meant that they had celebrated Holy Communion with other baptized believers, regardless of their membership. But in reality, “Lewi Pethrus and his entire congregation were expelled from the Swedish Baptist Convention because of their Pentecostal theology and liturgy.”¹⁰ As a result of the expulsions, the Stockholm congregation became a symbol of “the persecuted believers in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit” and stronger ties with other “free” congregations, such as the ones in Adelöv or Skövde, were established.¹¹ Through a series of other expulsions and splits, a new identity naming themselves “Pentecostals” emerged and served to unite free congregations within the New Movement, which in due course were also identified by others collectively as the “Pentecostal movement.”¹² As a pastor, Lewi Pethrus led his own congregation to become the largest Free Church in Sweden and in the Pentecostal world.¹³

1.1.3 Overseas Missions

All Pentecostal denominations have retained an interest in overseas missions. Up until the 1980s, missionary work expanded until around 100 countries were reached by over 1,000 Swedish Pentecostal missionaries.¹⁴ According to Jan-Åke Alvarsson, “Tanzania is the country that has received more Swedish Pentecostal missionaries than any other country in the world.”¹⁵ Since then, the character of the movement’s activities has changed, however, from being missionary-centered to that of a cooperative enterprise, building relations with Pentecostal churches all over the world.¹⁶

The Pentecostal movement is by far the largest and most important religious movement of the twentieth century. Beginning in 1901 with only a handful of students in a Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, the number of Pentecostals steadily increased throughout the world. During the Twentieth Century until by 1993 they had become the largest family of Protestants in the world.¹⁷ It was estimated that in year 2018 Pentecostalism had some 683 million adherents in the world.¹⁸ This number was about a quarter of the world’s Christians. This figure is predicted to rise to 796 million adherents by year 2025.¹⁹

1.1.4 Active Global Development Actor

It is argued that Pentecostal movement is a growing and increasingly active global development actor. This is evidenced by the fact that “it has a strong web of local congregations and is increasingly connected internationally. It has a solid compassion for poverty reduction and social justice and a potential to contribute in the thinking on wholistic engagement in local communities.”²⁰ Pentecostal churches have been successful in mobilizing and empowering people on the grassroots level in the society. Mikael Jagerskog states that

Today you’ll find Pentecostals on various positions in the societies and not seldom in top positions such as in Ethiopia with its prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, a devout Pentecostal that was sworn in during 2018. globally, different parts of the Pentecostal movement run TV-channels and radio-stations, start social development programs, engage with humanitarian assistance, run schools and health clinics, conduct programs for HIV/AIDS-patients, work for women empowerment, engage in peace building initiatives, are in inter-faith initiatives, are mentors to presidents, and in many places fill up football stadiums when meeting up for annual meetings or prayer meetings.²¹

This indicates that the Pentecostal movement is vital and is succeeding in reaching the society. Its impact in the societies is significant and goes beyond the local grassroots level. Its impact is also evident to its global networks. It appears that many expressions of Christianity today are also becoming pentecostalized. This means that many churches are inspired by the charismatic expressions and style of Pentecostal church life. Therefore, Pentecostalism is adapted by more traditional churches. “In many countries, such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Burundi, Rwanda, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, Korea, Myanmar, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria, Pentecostalism is gradually becoming the most common expression of Christianity.²²

1.1.5 A Brief History of Tanganyika (Tanzania): Social and Political Environments When the Swedish Free Mission (SFM) Started

Tanzania is a culturally diverse and largely heterogeneous society that is rich in age-old cultures and traditions. It is said that Tanganyika, the mainland portion of what is now Tanzania, was named by a British civil servant in 1920, from the Swahili words tanga (sail) and nyika (bright arid plain). Thus what was known formerly as “German East Africa” became Tanganyika Territory. Tanganyika had a period of colonization both from early attempts by the Portuguese in the early 1500s to the Germans’ relatively short period from 1875 to 1916. The country was then ruled by Britain until independence on December 9, 1961. Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere became the country’s first president. Zanzibar became independent on December 19, 1963.

On April 26, 1964, Tanganyika was joined with Zanzibar and formed the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania on October 29, 1964. After the Union, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere became the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Sheikh Abeid Aman Karume became the First Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania and the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council. The late Rashidi Mfaume Kawawa became the second Vice President of Tanzania and leader of Government affairs in the National Assembly.

In 1967, President Julius Nyerere issued the Arusha Declaration, which meant that the country would be characterized by equality, socialism, and self-sufficiency. In 1977, President Nyerere merged his Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) with the Zanzibari Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) to create CCM (Chama cha Mapinduzi, in Kiswahili). After Nyerere’s resignation in 1985, there was some liberalization. In 1992, Tanzania adopted a Multiparty Democracy System which necessitated major Constitutional amendments. In 1995 the opposition political parties were allowed in the elections.

No description of the history of Tanzania is complete without mentioning the importance of Christian mission. The missionaries built schools and hospitals and also exposed the slave trade. The first Protestant missionary organization was the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) from England. The Christian Missionary Society began to work in the country in the 1840s through the German J.L. Krapf. In 1914, the first Finnish Pentecostal missionaries were in the area of German East Africa (Tanganyika / Tanzania) as they traversed the lakes between Congo and Tanganyika. During the 1930s the Swedish Pentecostal Mission (SPM), the Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM), and the Church of Sweden Mission (CSM) started work in Tanzania. “In the mid-1950s when the Holiness Union Mission (HUM) started its work, these three Swedish missions had 159 missionaries working in 18 different posts in Tanzania.”²³

1.1.6 The Coming of the First Missionaries under the Swedish Free Mission (SFM)

In 1930s the Pentecostal Churches in Scandinavia ordained and sent out to Tanganyika missionaries under the auspices and name of Swedish Free Mission (SFM). Earlier in November 1929 in a Bible school at Ornskoldsvik in Sweden, Jonas Erland Dahlqvist (very well known as Erland Dahlqvist) and Axel Burman met. Both were burning with the call of God to come in Africa but they did not know which country to go. They spent time in prayer for God to reveal his purpose for them and their calling. After two years of preparation, Erland Dahlqvist and his wife Esther were ready to leave Sweden for Tanganyika. On February 9, 1932 they arrived in Dar es Salaam and started another journey to Shinyanga region by train.

From Shinyanga they traveled back by train to Bukene railway station, which is in Tabora region. From Bukene they traveled on bicycle to Nzega district. The then local authorities in Nzega district gave them permission to start their mission work at Nhazengwa (later known as Tazengwa) bush area. Chief Ng’wanansali, who was a muslim, was very much interested with the coming of the missionaries Erland Dahlqvist and his wife Esther in the area. He led them to this area (Nhazengwa), which means “a place where it is impossible to build”), about five kilometers South of Nzega town. The area was a thick forest but he led them to a clear area with thickets and grass. There he lifted his two hands as sign to give the missionaries that area as their place to start their mission work. The missionaries found a tree (known as “msungwi” in a vernacular language of the region), where they bowed down and thanked God and prayed for the country. Dahlqvist says, “When we arrived at that place, we knelt under the tree and prayed. Then the Spirit of God came upon us, and we were assured by the power of God that that area was the place where we would establish a first mission station.”²⁴ They set their tent under the tree and started their mission work. All church services took place “under this tree” until they shifted to a bush school classroom, which was later built about a hundred meters South of the tree. From here, the gospel of Christ spread all over the country.²⁵

On December 5, the same year (1932), the couple Erik and Julia Wiklund also arrived in Tanganyika.²⁶ They went directly to join Esther and Erland Dahlqvist’s family in Tazengwa Nzega. After the 1932/1933’s rainy season was over, “they started to build the first houses at Tazengwa in 1933.”²⁷ Of the first construction work at Tazengwa, Wiklund writes, “Praise and glory to God! It’s early in the morning, around 05:00 am. From our small thatched house, we hear voices of people near and coming to our house in our new mission station of Tazengwa, Nzega. It’s Dahlqvist and me, who have just woken up. Our hearts are full of thanks by the unlimited grace of God. Shortly, we are going to start our work.”²⁸ From this very exciting and interesting beginning, the work of God started and continued to expand.

Esther Dahlqvist tells how the two families (Dahlqvist’s and Wiklund’s) got great assistance from the local people of the area. She writes, “At the beginning of our work we got a great help from the local people of the area. First of all, they warmly welcomed us. Then, many of them came to us to look for jobs so that they get money.²⁹ She also tells how the local people of the area began to become believers. She recalls: Sometimes they came to our gospel meeting under the tree and knelt down for confession. They believed that by kneeling down before us and believing in God, they would get jobs easily. Those with such a motive did not go far and continue in the way of God; they quitted after a short time. This prompted us to teach them that it was not compulsory to become a Christian in order to get a job. However, many of them believed in truth and continued in the way of God.”³⁰

Thus the first few missionaries sent by Swedish Pentecostal movement had arrived and the work could begin. During this early beginning important help came from the American missionary society, known as African Inland Mission (AIM).³¹ The Swedes stayed with them and got help with reconnaissance, as well as contacts with colony agencies. The links with AIM were important in the establishment phase. Officially, The Swedish Pentecostal Mission was referred to as Swedish Free Mission (SFM) and was registered as a legal entity in 1938.³²

1.1.7 A Brief History of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT) was founded in 1932 by the missionaries ordained and sent out to Tanganyika by the Pentecostal Churches in Scandinavia under the auspices and name of Swedish Free Mission (SFM). The Swedish Free Mission (SFM) was incepted in Tanganyika in 1932 at Nzega district, Tabora Region, by the early Missionary pioneers commissioned by the Swedish Free Mission in Stockholm, Sweden for the purposes of planting local churches and performing social work. Their mission was to plant churches in Tanzania (Tanganyika by then) and minister to people with social needs. The Swedish Free Mission was incorporated as a Mission Society in 1955 under the Laws of Tanganyika for reasons aforesaid.³³

After Tanganyika’s political independence in 1961, the Swedish Free Mission volunteered to hand over the portfolio and did establish a Trust and executed a transfer of the Mission properties and those of individual missionaries, to the Trustees of the Pentecostal Churches Social Association in Tanzania (PCSAT) or its Kiswahili translation “Chama cha Ujamaa cha Makanisa ya Pentekoste katika Tanzania” (CUMPT). The said PCSAT registered a Trust on 9/5/1964 to manage the Trust properties thereof in accordance with a Trust Deed and Constitution under which the local Churches were run and also under a common Constitution for the Association under which the local Churches were associated. The said PCSAT was registered as a “Society” under the Societies Ordinance and registration No. S.O. 535 on 20/7/1967. The said PCSAT changed its name to be the Pentecostal Churches Association in Tanzania (PCAT/UMPT) and changed its registration number to be S.O. 6640 on the 29/1/1986.³⁴

The concept of “membership” as constituted by the said Association of local churches under PCAT was replaced by the more doctrinal concept of membership within the spiritual Body of Christ. On the 9/12/2000 the registered name changed from Pentecostal Churches Association in Tanzania (PCAT/UMPT) to “The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania,” also known by its acronym of “FPCT.” A new constitution was also adopted on that date. PCAT changed its name to be the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). Local Churches recognized and those to be recognized later by the FPCT Central Board according to this constitution were united together and called the “Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania.” The Swedish Free Mission (SFM) no longer exists in Tanzania as such and all its properties, assets, objectives and functions were legally assumed by PCAT which is now known as the FPCT.³⁵

Presently, the organizational structure of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT) consists of the following organs:

1. Annual General Meeting
2. Central Board
3. Board of Trustees
4. Central Committee of the Central Board
5. Head Office
6. FPCT Departments
7. Regions
8. Local Churches
9. Parishes
10. Branches

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Figure 1.1 Organizational Structure of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

Source: http://www.fpct.or.tz/organisation

The vision of the FPCT is to be a self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating church working in unity as a sign of unity in Christ. The mission of the church is to preach and spread the gospel of Christ by words and deeds, to make disciples of all those who believe, and in that way, fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.³⁶ The FPCT is also involved in social services in the society such as health services, education services, and relief services. The FPCT church is spread in all districts of Tanzania reaching many sub-districts and villages. It has also managed to cross borders and plant churches in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and South Sudan. Efforts are underway to reach other nations.

The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania has around 500,000 registered members today and new churches are still being planted. There are more than 237 mother churches, 953 parishes, and 4,761 branches. There are more than 3000 ordained pastors, 2,737 church elders and other 13,663 church ministers. FPCT’s network of mission work is spread all over the country including in the Isles (Zanzibar and Pemba). In some of the regions such as Singida region and Kigoma region the number of church members is large and the church is found in almost every village. The spread of FPCT in such a way is one of the dynamics of the church of Christ in the world.³⁷

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Theological education in general and institutional theological education in particular has been discussed and evaluated during the recent decades. The discussion has practically touched all aspects: past, present, and future; role and importance; necessity and relevance; content, goals, and learning environment. Certainly, the discussion is necessary and one can only hope that it continues and will continue to be welcomed. This is because this kind of inquiry is part of the nature of education. Education encourages reflection and thus the issue of education itself must be considered.³⁸ The aim of this study is to research for what motivated the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania to start and establish Bible schools, right from its inception. This knowledge is intended to help the church improve its present and future Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth. The study is interested in understanding how the early FPCT Bible schools were organized with a special focus on their purpose, curriculum, teachers (theological educators), and students. A specific question or problem that this study will be seeking to answer or solve is: “What was the motivation for the church to start Bible schools? How can the church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth?” By this it means how the church needs to cooperate more closely with the theological education institutions in terms of planning, curriculum development, teaching, learning, and assessment.

1.3 The Purpose of the Study

Some of the crucial questions regarding theological education are: What do we want to achieve? What is our goal? Whom are we educating, and for what purpose? The main purpose of this study is to better know what was the motivation for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania to start Bible schools, and how can the FPCT church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth. The study aims at understanding what sort of training was offered to ministers; what was the impact of that training in church growth and spiritual formation of believers; and what was the contribution of Bible schools in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training. An equally important purpose of this study is to use the experiences of this study, and the relationships and platforms that are established as a result of it, for future studies.

1.4 Research Questions and Hypotheses

This study analyzes the motivation for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania to start Bible schools, and how can the FPCT church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth. The guiding research questions are:

1.4.1 What was the motivation for the church to start Bible schools?
1.4.2 What sort of training was offered to ministers?
1.4.3 What was the impact of that training in church growth and spiritual formation of believers?
1.4.4 What was the contribution of Bible schools in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training?
1.4.5 How can the church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth?

A hypothesis is defined as “the tentative prediction of outcome of the results. It is the statement of the expected results.”³⁹ Hypotheses can be stated in two ways: null or research hypotheses and alternative hypotheses.⁴⁰ While a null hypothesis is a one that is stated in negation, i.e., it indicates “no” relationship between the variables, an alternative hypothesis is stated to indicate the actual expectation or relationship.⁴¹ This study will utilize the alternative hypothesis. The study seeks to research the motivation for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania to start Bible schools, and how can the FPCT church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth. It aims at understanding what sort of training was offered to ministers, the impact of that training in church growth and spiritual formation of believers, and the contribution of Bible schools in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training. Therefore, in this research, it is proposed to test the hypothesis that if the theological education within the FPCT church will be improved, there is a good potential for spiritual formation and church growth. Hence, the church will continue to be an important change agent in the society.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The hope is that this study will generate a research report with academic quality, building on the empirical data from the field. The study will be useful for learning, encouraging, and enhancing theological education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania. The study will also create learning opportunities for all concerned stakeholders in theological education research.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

The research will be carried out within the free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). Its focus will also be limited to some local churches in the country. The study will be conducted with members from the Free Pentecostal Churches of Tanzania: Bible school / college teachers, graduates from Bible schools and college, Bible school / college students, church leaders, and church members. Focus group interviews and the semi-structured questionnaire will be used to answer the research question. The responses will be also subject on the personal knowledge and experience of the respondents with regards to how the FPCT is viewing and acting on issues relating Christian education and theological education. These and other confounding circumstances may limit objectivity of the results. The findings might therefore not be similarly applicable to other countries and other churches. The research is of course too limited to draw any general conclusions, but the theories used in the study will confirm the results of the research. It would be of great interest to further deepen this kind of research.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

Review of the literature refers to the “reading and incorporating previous studies which are related to the study. It is the systematic identification and analysis of documents containing information related to the study.”⁴² Emil Chandran defines literature review in the context of a research as simply relating the already acquired and available knowledge from other existing sources to the current research.⁴³ This chapter represents literature review drawn from various studies on Pentecostal theological education and Christian education. However, the main discussion in this chapter is an analysis of the various approaches to the study of spiritual formation (Christian spirituality) and Christian education. It analyzes these approaches in their Old and New Testament foundations. It relates the spirituality of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit to these biblical foundations and the various approaches to spiritual formation. It compares the beliefs, convictions, and practices of past spiritual formation. It also analyzes the major Christian traditions and explains the various ways that lead to reform and renewal. Finally, the paper explains the relationship of the experiential to various cultures and social settings in the context of history.

A few people have written concerning a history of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania. In their works, they have concentrated much on how the Swedish Free Mission (SFM) started the mission work in Tanzania (Tanganyika by then) in 1932, and the spread of the gospel to various places in the country. Nobody has written a history of theological education in the FPCT, particularly, a history of Bible schools within the FPCT. However, the following is just some examples of previous research that relates to the topic of my dissertation. Elias Shija wrote “Miaka 60 ya Mafanikio ya Injili Tanzania (1932-1992): Historia Fupi ya Makanisa ya Pentekoste katika Tanzania” (The 60 Years of the Success of the Gospel in Tanzania (1932-1992): A Concise History of Pentecostal Churches in Tanzania.) ⁴⁴ It is a summary of a history of 60 years of the Scandinavian Pentecostal mission in Tanzania, from 1932 to 1992. His work is written in Kiswahili and he wrote it in celebrating a Jubilee of 60 years of the Scandinavian Pentecostal mission work in Tanzania. Jonas Kulwa Msubi has written an inspirational book entitled “Historia ya Utume kwa Kizazi cha Leo” (A History of Missionary Work for Today’s Generation). ⁴⁵ It is written in Kiswahili. In it, he describes and briefly explains the beginning and development of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania, from SFM to FPCT. He encourages a young generation to learn from the past and enter into the mission work – reaching the unreached.

Jan-Åke Alvarsson’s article on “Research on Pentecostalism in Sweden” is another literature, which provides insights on Pentecostalism and theological education. In his work, Alvarsson aims at orientating and introducing potential researchers into Swedish Pentecostal movements, and to those who wish to provide an overview of Scandinavian Christianity. Alvarsson is giving a brief summary of the history of Pentecostalism in Sweden and an overview of the main academic monographs that have been produced on this particular branch of Christianity. His idea is to highlight areas where one can find relevant research and to point to areas into which there has been little or no investigation. Commenting on academic research on Pentecostalism in Sweden, Alvarsson states, “The body of academic research on Pentecostalism in Sweden is notable, but far from exhaustive. In comparison with the profusion of works on, for example, the Swedish Lutheran Church (Svenska kyrkan), research on Pentecostalism is in fact very limited.”⁴⁶ After writing an introductory brief historical sketch on Pentecostalism and a note on spirituality, Alvarsson then, gives us a review of some thirty major academic works on the subject that a potential researcher would need to take into consideration. I found this article relevant to my research since The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT) sprang out from the Swedish Free Mission (SFM), which was incepted in Tanzania in 1932. Jan-Åke Alvarsson is a Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Uppsala University, Sweden.

Christian Education: Foundations for the Future is a book edited by Robert E. Clark, Lin Johnson, and Allyn K. Sloat. Its focus is in the future and it represents two significant convictions. The first conviction is that Christian education ministry must find its essential heart and direction from the written Word of God. The second conviction is that the fullest development of God’s people demands a viable Christian education ministry. This is for both as individual believers and as productive members of the Body of Christ. In a biblical perspective, this volume views contemporary Christian education, which is concerned with today’s believer, his family, and his church. It is also concerned with the biblical faith that one seeks to build and share. It provides a comprehensive overview of the Christian education field. Its survey also includes biblical education related to the family, school, and cross-cultural setting.⁴⁷ Therefore, theological education in our Bible schools and colleges must have its foundation in the Word of God.

On a large scale, this study will make use of information from a master’s thesis written by Andreas Dagernäs. His research paper was originally in the Swedish language entitled as “Att ikläda sig ansvar: Inhemskt aktörskap i Skandinavisk Pingstmission i Tanganyika 1932-1945” (“To take on responsibility: Indigenous Agency in the Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission in Tanganyika 1932-1945”), which he has recently translated it into English language. In it, Andreas Dagernäs investigates the agency of the indigenous people in the Scandinavian Pentecostal mission in Tanganyika from the year 1932 to1945. By the term “agency,” he means the role of the Tanganyikan people as initiators, leaders, co-players in a historical process, and interactors in interaction with the missionaries on different levels.⁴⁸ His thesis highlights the roles and areas of their participation, whereby the Tanganyikan people played a crucial part, such as evangelization, church planting, and the forming of contextualized theology. As the main question of his research, Dagernäs wanted to know what the role of the local leaders was in the initial stages of the Scandinavian Pentecostal mission in Tanganyika in the years 1932-1945. He wanted to know the impact and contribution of Pentecostal theology and practice in the formation of a Tanganyikan theology. The fact that most of the SFM historical documentation was written in the Swedish language, makes Dagernäs’ thesis to be a resourceful tool to my study. The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT) itself is the Church movement that has sprung out of Swedish Free Mission (SFM). Since he is a Westerner and former Swedish missionary in Tanzania, he was able to investigate his research problem by using a rich Swedish historical documentation available in his disposure. This includes information from magazines, diaries, letters, and interviews. He got also a lot of information from Carin Holmkvist Nyström’s book “Svensk Pingstmission i Tanzania” (Swedish Pentecostal Mission in Tanzania). The good thing is that he was also able to interpret his findings as a reflection of the current situation.

Methodologically, Dagernäs performs his survey in three steps. First, he makes a description of Swedish Pentecostal mission theology and practice with a focus on the Pentecostal movement in Sweden at the time around his survey. Second, he describes and analyzes the missionaries’ work. His description and analysis includes the missionaries’ theology, practice, and attitude toward Tanganyika. The aim is to see the extent to which theology and practice had an impact on the missionary work. Third, he describes and analyzes the activities of the Tanganyikan believers at the early stages of the SFM work in Tanganyika. He describes and analyzes the roles and tasks the Tanganyikans had, and why they got these roles. He also examines the extent to which Pentecostal theology and practice have been contributing factors to the Tanganyikans’ activity.⁴⁹

In conclusion and specifically, Andreas Dagernäs highlights three important areas of agency, where the Tanganyikans contribution can be seen as significant, and also areas that rarely appear in a general mission depiction. These areas are evangelism, church planting and theological agency. With regard to the evangelism, he shows how Tanganyikans’ contribution was crucial. He describes how Tanganyikans were main actors in the spreading of the Christian faith. Secondly, he shows how Tanganyikans conducted church planting activities at an early stage. His study shows that Tanganyikans preached, led groups of believers, and built churches themselves. Thirdly, he demonstrates the signs that the leading people in the young movement contextualized the Christian faith and addressed theological questions by their own initiative.⁵⁰ He states that in these areas, the Tanganyikans played a more important role than merely being the helpers of the missionaries. Dagernäs’ thesis, in a special way throws new light on the initial stages of Scandinavian Pentecostal mission in Tanganyika. It reflects on what took place later in the FPCT beyond the period of time for his investigation (1932-1945). Therefore, Dagernäs’ thesis is a very crucial source of historical information to my research question. On a few occasions, however, I use information from the interviews I conducted to several people as a primary source.

2.2 Approaches to Theological Education

Glen G. Scorgie, suggests two approaches that can be used in the study spiritual formation. The first approach is the descriptive and the second one is normative. The descriptive approach has an emphasis on the historical, phenomeno-logical, and psychological analysis of spirituality. The normative approach emphasizes the theological, philosophical, and application-oriented approach.⁵¹ However, other scholars discern four methods to the study of spirituality: the theological, the historical, the anthropological, and the appropriative.⁵² Still others classify “possible approaches according to their degrees of openness to interdisciplinary understandings of spirituality, and the datum of science and religious experience.”⁵³

In surveying the various approaches to studying the theological education, Evan Howard recommends that a cautious interdisciplinary approach that looks these approaches be adopted. He notes this when he writes, “We have seen a number of goals presented in this volume— deification, perfection, holiness, sanctification, kingdom of God, love of God and neighbor. I applaud them all! My suspicion is that each goal is interconnected with the others such that our ability to receive from one another in humility is necessary for the fulfillment of any.”⁵⁴ Boa acknowledges the centrality of Christ as the focal point of Christian spirituality.⁵⁵ He also acknowledges that the role of the Holy Spirit in developing the character of Christ in the followers of Christ is the major foundation of Christian spirituality.⁵⁶

Ulf Strohbehn has edited a book titled “A Manual for Starting and Developing Bible Schools: Appeals and Cases for Paradigm Shifts in Spiritual Formation.” ⁵⁷ The book is about christian education, in particular about training systems for pastoral ministry and missionary preparation. Expressing the handbook character of the chapters, he write, “This book is meant for those already serving as theological educators and for those who are thinking of starting training in their churches or of starting future Bible schools.”⁵⁸ The book addresses pastors and church leaders, educators, Bible teachers and principals of theological institutes, theologians and denominational leaders of evangelical and pentecostal churches and charismatic churches. On the importance of Bible schools, Strohbehn recommends, “Bible schools are an important aspect in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training.”⁵⁹

2.3 Perspectives on the Goal of Theological Education

Teaching plays an important role in education. The concept of the goal of education has been widely discussed during the past decades. There are four typologies of theological education which have been developed during this discussion. These typologies are a helpful way to categorize and summarize the different goals theological training might have. The typologies use the names of four cities: Athens, Berlin, Jerusalem, and Geneva. The cities’ names are symbols; they represent a certain understanding and a goal of theology. They also represent the role of the instructor and the core of theological education. In 1993, David Kesley used Athens and Berlin as symbols for two types of educational paradigms. In 1999, Robert Banks added Jerusalem to these symbols. In 2005, Brian Edgar added Geneva to the group. The following table indicates the core ideas of the four models.⁶⁰

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Table 2.1: Four Models of Theological Education

In this typology, “Athens” represents classical Greek educational model, in which the primary aim was to transform the thinking and character of an individual. Theology is understood as the knowledge of God. The instructor acts as a model and guides the student to the needed spiritual disciplines. “Berlin” stands for post-Enlightenment idea which emphasizes intellectual vocational education through rational reasoning and critical research. Theology is a way of thinking about the world, and the instructor is a knowledgeable researcher to enhance the student’s knowledge and analytical skills. “Jerusalem” stands for mission education with an emphasis on action. Theological education is a dimension of mission with the aim of making disciple-makers. In this model, theology is missiology, and the instructor is an experienced practitioner who prepares the students for witnessing in different cultural contexts. “Geneva” stands for ecclesial education with the goal of knowing God through a particular Christian tradition. Theology is knowledge about God, and the instructor stimulates the students’ theological thinking in order to understand the nature and character of God. In addition, the teacher has a supervising role to make sure that denominational doctrines are understood and followed.

In other words, “Athens” is an academy. It is the classical school that relates to the context of the academy and focuses on individual transformation through gaining the wisdom of God (theologia). It involves study of scriptures. “Berlin” is a university. It is the vocational school that relates to the context of the university and focuses on strengthening the church through training its leaders in knowledge skills (scientia). In this approach, theology is stripped of its spiritually transforming role and given an academic definition; its goal is now to train ministers and leaders to provide professional leadership to the church. “Jerusalem” is a training center. It is the missional school that relates to the context of the community and focuses on converting the world through emphasis on missiology. Theological education is seen as a dimension of mission. Missiology is considered as the mother of theology. “Geneva” is a seminary. It is the confessional school that relates to the context of the seminary. It focuses on knowing God through the study of creeds and the confessions, the means of grace, and the general traditions that are utilized by a particular faith community (doxology).

All these different types of education represented by these cities’ names are important and needed. There is no one school or academy in the world that falls exclusively into one of these categories. Yet, the typology serves as a good tool to bring out different characteristics of theological institutions. According to Ulf Strohbehn, to Pentecostals, “Jerusalem” and “Athens” look like the most appealing options. Yet, the preferable solution is the inclusion of all models instead of selecting only one or two of them. We cannot do theological education without “Berlin” and its emphasis on thinking, intellect, and theory. We cannot forget “Jerusalem” because we would be rejecting the reason or justification for existence of the Christian church. Similarly, we need to focus on “Athens,” because all of us need to grow into the likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). Lastly, we need the perspective of “Geneva” as well. This is because we do not live in a vacuum, but within our particular Christian tradition. In addition, all of these educational philosophies work best in a cooperative relationship with the others, but suffer if one or two are emphasized over and against the others.⁶¹

Theological education must be holistic by nature, in every sense of the word. However, despite this need for holism and balance, it is likely that in specific contexts, one or a maximum of two models is given priority. Brian Edgar concludes that “The nature of the mix is what makes a particular program distinctive.”⁶² One will also agree with Perry Shaw that “our approach towards theological education has to be holistic and multi-dimensional.”⁶³ But, a cursory glance at the diagram above should not fail to suggest that theological education needs an interblending of all the models presented above. Theological education should aim the transformation of the individual, understanding of doctrine in light of history, context, and dogma; it should also not fail to provide ministerial training with development of theoretical and practical ministry skills and to enhance an understanding of Christian mission in the world.

2.4 Bible School: The Church at Work

It should be obvious to all that the church is an educational institution and the Bible school is the church at work. Jesus said, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (John 6:44-45). Only those who learn of Christ can come to Christ! It is only through the gospel that the God exercises his power to draw lost souls unto himself. Paul affirmed that all are called to God through the gospel which he preached (2 Thess. 2:14). Indeed, the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16).

The primary reason for the existence of the Bible school is to guide and equip students to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). The Bible school must be made for students, not students for the Bible school. It is to prepare effective leaders for the kingdom of God. This can go in line with the words of Jesus when he said: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). It should be observed that after making disciples and baptism, there must be a perpetual teaching and grounding in the Savior's teaching. Here is the divine mandate for the Bible school, mid-week service, gospel meetings, and whatever else may be needed and useful in carrying out the imperative to teach the baptized to do all Christ commanded. In giving leadership to his church, the Lord also defined the mission of the church. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelist, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). It should be noted that apostles and prophets were temporary leaders. They were inspired men who gave us the New Testament (1 Cor. 2:11-14; 1 Cor. 13:8-13). However, evangelists, pastors and teachers are permanent leaders in the church who continually work to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Thus, the mission of the church is not only to preach the gospel to the lost, but also to edify the saved. Edification is used in a figurative sense to build something up. In this case, the thing being built is the Christian. Thus, Paul admonishes, “Let all things be done for edification” (1 Cor. 14:26). Therefore, the Bible school is truly the church at work. It is a way to reach the lost, and develop the saved. It is a planned program for accomplishing worthy spiritual goals such as bible study, evangelism, stewardship and service. Thus, every Christian should take an active part in the Bible school.

2.5 Early Theological Philosophies of the Scandinavian Missionaries

Tanzania is the country that has received more Swedish Pentecostal missionaries than any other country in the world. ⁶⁴ The early theological philosophies of the Scandinavian missionaries included an emphasis on spiritual experience, faith healing, speaking in tongues (glossolalia), adult baptism, and a delight in all kinds of musical expression. ⁶⁵ For most early Pentecostals, speaking in tongues was associated with spiritual power and with an anointing to serve rather than spiritual perfection . “Speaking in tongues was seen as one of the signs of the reception of the Spirit, often in association with prayer, praise and worship, but sometimes even visions and revelations.”⁶⁶ Most Scandinavian Pentecostal missionaries put much emphasis on the Second Coming of Christ. This led to cautionary sermons on the pursuit of wealth and the acquisition of material things in this world. For example, wealth was generally demonized as constituting the greatest obstacle to spending eternity with God. Philipp Öhlmann et al state that There are testimonies in Africa of people abandoning their university education to preach the gospel, because, for them, the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. The early African Independent Churches and the classical Pentecostal Churches that came after them stressed the eschatological importance of Christianity to the neglect of its existential relevance for the lives of people in this present existence.”⁶⁷

Andreas Dagernäs also states that “The missionaries had a distinct eschatological perspective typical for the Pentecostalism of their time. They expected Jesus to return at any time soon and therefore wanted to work as effective as possible.”⁶⁸ He quotes Berta Johansson, who wrote: “Perhaps the time we have left here is short, but still the doors are wide open.”⁶⁹ He also quotes Erland Dahlqvist, who wrote in an article from 1937 that “We live in a very serious and critical time. The political events in the world show that our working day from now on is short.”⁷⁰ They perceived politics and national events to be dangerous diversions. They often stood in opposition to the prevailing contemporary attitudes toward wealth, recreation, and dress. Although diversity characterized their beliefs and theology, Pentecostals were centered on soul-winning. “Dahlqvist stood in the forefront on these issues among the missionaries, and he was personally close to Paul Ongman ⁷¹ and Lewi Pethrus. ⁷² It is reasonable to conclude that Dahlqvist was directly influenced by the mission theology that existed in World Pentecostalism, which had inspired Barrat and Pethrus.” ⁷³

Early in the Swedish Pentecostal history, John Ongman,⁷⁴ the founder of the Örebro Mission, started the Örebro Mission School (Örebro Missionsskola, ÖMS) in 1908. ÖMS became the first Swedish Pentecostal School of higher education ever. Today the ÖMS hosts the Örebro Theological University College (Örebro Teologiska Högskola) and is recognized by the Swedish authorities as an establishment of higher theological education.⁷⁵ In the early stages of the SFM mission work in Tanganyika, the missionaries used the education model from their countries. However, they adjusted it to the current situation. They adapted the education methods to the current circumstances. They were flexible and used pragmatical work approach. For example, the early contacts with African Inland Mission (AIM) are such an example where they used the channels available to start their mission.

2.6 The Biblical Foundations for Christian Education

This section examines the biblical foundations for Christian education, which is crucial for guiding Christian educators’ thoughts and practices. It defines the meaning of education and the meaning of Christian education in a biblical and a scholarly point of view. Also, this section explores the Scripture to see what the Old and new testaments teach us about the nature and role of Christian education.

Eleanor A. Daniel and John W. Wade assert that, the Bible is the centre of the Christian faith. It serves as the primary text book for Christian education. The Bible supplies the content of instruction, model of education, methods of education and the rationale for Christian education. For this reason the Bible is the primary lens through which Christian education is perceived. Furthermore the Bible is seen as foundational to Christian education for its claim of revelation and inspiration (1Tim.3:15-17, RSV). It is therefore the essential source for understanding Christian thought and practice in education.⁷⁶

In order to think responsibly about and practice Christian education from a distinctly theological position, Christians and in particular, educators, must carefully examine the biblical foundations for Christian education. It is crucial that Christian educators’ thoughts and practices be guided by God’s revealed truths as they seek to be obedient to Christ in the task of education. A good exploration of biblical foundation provides an essential standard for judging education and also provides a dynamic educational experience. All educators have models or paradigms that guide their thoughts and practices. In most cases these models remain unexamined. The challenge for Christians in this era is to examine their models for education to make them explicit and to undergird them with biblical foundations. Gabriel Fackre contends that models suggested by various biblical foundations provide guides with which to consider past, present and future educational efforts. Several foundations of education can be identified in the Old and New Testament.⁷⁷

2.6.1 What is Education?

For us to be able to arrive at a clearer understanding and meaning of Christian education there is the need to have a good understanding of the word “education.” William R. Yount referring to a debate with Terry, an educational expert in a philosophy class in 1974 postulated that the term education has its etymology in Latin roots: “educare,” which means “to train or to mold,” and “educere” meaning “to lead or draw out.” “Educare” emphasizes the preservation of knowledge and the shaping of the next generation in the image of their parents and that calls for direct instructions, subject mastery, and becoming good, reliable worker. “Educere” emphasizes the preparation of a new generation for changes that are to come.⁷⁸

“Educere” calls for questioning the givens, and creating new ways of seeing the world. Yount further submits that maybe education was supposed to draw out the natural gifts from students. In this sense education is an endeavor of drawing something out of students. It is defined as an endeavor that leads or draws the student out of something. That “something” could be ignorance, poverty, lifestyle, attitude, unhappiness, and even sin. However, it is argued that the word education is often used today with an expanded meaning to cover the opposite process as well. Today, by education, it does not only mean what is drawn out of someone. It also means what is put into someone which could be called indoctrination. This means that they are both addressed to the whole person, not to only part of the person concerned.

In a broader sense, the word education covers both that which is taken out of someone which God had previously put into them as well as that which is being implanted in someone from God’s world. Education, therefore, is a process of encouraging the development of knowledge and virtues in human beings and by incorporating them into his personality from outside. Randolph Crump Miller then rightly describes it as a process whereby the accumulated wisdom of society is passed on to its members, and at the same time, a process whereby members of a society reach out for new knowledge. Education is not information or knowledge.⁷⁹

Rajesh K. Aggarwal quotes Whitehead that “a merely well-informed person is the most useless bore on earth.”⁸⁰ This means that education is not synonymous with just receiving of information and knowledge. One’s mind is not to be stuffed with all kinds of knowledge. Information and knowledge should lead to constructive thinking and application to daily living. Aggarwal continues to explain that by education we mean whatever broadens our horizons, deepens our insight, refines our reactions, and stimulates our thought and feeling. It includes all influences - cultural, economic, geographical, political, religious, social and spiritual. An educator, therefore, is one who does not just impart knowledge and information but one who facilitates to lead people to constructive thinking, such that one’s horizon is broadened, insight is deepened, reactions are refined and thoughts and feelings are stimulated.

Thomas Groome cites Cremin by defining education as deliberate, systematic and sustained effort that transmits, evokes or acquires knowledge, attitudes, values, skills or sensibilities as well as outcomes of that effort. The strength of his definition is in his emphasis on education as “a deliberate, systematic, and sustained activity.”⁸¹ With Groome’s words “deliberate” and “intentionality,” he raises another important aspect of educational work. To approach something deliberately means to give a careful thought. To be intentional means to plan for something to happen.

2.6.2 What is Christian Education?

In dealing with the concept of Christian education, the most important question to consider is what Christian education is. Michael Tye believes that it is important to consider such a question because it determines what we do in the name of Christian education. That is to say, our understanding of what it is will influence and shape what we do, why we do it, and how we go about this vital ministry of the Church.⁸² Tye cites Melchert that “If we are unclear about what it is or what we are looking for in the process, the best we can hope for is to get to where we are going part of the time by accident. Our people and our God are entitled to expect more from us than that. The Church’s educational ministry should not be carried out by accident. We need to have some clarity about what we are doing.”⁸³ If one does not understand a concept, attaining its objectives would be very uncertain and it could only be attained by accident. It is therefore, very important to have a clearer meaning of Christian education.

Having considered what “education” stands for, now we are to deal with the concept and the meaning of Christian education. It is instructive to note here that the term education in “Christian education” has a very different meaning but there are some aspects of the definition of education which are relevant to what Christian education really is. Christian education has been diversely defined over the past half century. In 1963, Randolph Crump Miller commended a simple definition by Adelaide Case: “Christian education is the effort to make available for our generation – children, young people, and adults – the accumulated treasures of Christian life and thought, in such a way that God in Christ may carry on His redemptive work in each human soul and in the common life of man.”⁸⁴ This means that Christian education involves all age groups, and the task is to bring all these age group of Christians into the right relationship with the God of Jesus Christ and his fellows, so that by grace the individual may do the task to which he is called. Our own definition then begins with affirmation of what others have said. Christian education is also a humanitarian discipline which extracts and develops those gifts given by God to each person. It inculcates and develops those special graces, general virtues, and general items of knowledge to be communicated from God to every person. This has to be done in accordance with Jesus Christ as the incarnate Word of God in consonance with Scripture as the written Word of God.

Very often when the words “Christian education” are mentioned, people think automatically of “Sunday school,” and education for children. Christian education means more than that. Christian education should be understood as the effort to introduce people into the life and mission of the community of Christian faith. Persons offered that introduction may then decide whether they will adopt that life and mission. It is then a process of continuous introduction. It is the work of the entire Church in all of its life; and it brings to people the opportunity and demand to make a decision. Christian education involves every person in the community of faith.

More recently, Mark Lamport observed that the primary difference between secular education and Christian education is the adjectival descriptor “Christian.” He stated, “To be Christian, Christian education must have God’s esteem for the human being, sense the task to be a whole-life experience of growth and maturity, and give opportunity for service through experiential action.”⁸⁵ What seems obviously from both of the above definitions is the absolute link between Christian education and theology. In this respect we refer to Christian education rather than religious education. The distinction falls not between New Covenant and Old Covenant truth, but the difference comes in articulating an education distinctly based upon theological propositions derived from the text of Scripture rather than education developed to perpetuate and propagate the tenets of a designated religious system.⁸⁶ Christian education owes a great debt to the social sciences and in the framework of a secular university, which would be its normal home. But a secular university cannot provide the natural habitat for Christian education; its absolute link to Scripture pushes the social sciences to step-child status.⁸⁷ Perhaps one of the best recent discussions of this linkage is that which was prepared by Jim Wilhoit. He stated: Theology is crucial to Christian education. Often Christian education has been accused of drifting far from orthodox theological teaching, particularly in regard to the Christian view of human nature and spiritual growth. This drifting is unfortunate, for Christian education is lost unless grounded in biblically based teaching. No matter how much zeal a Christian educator may have, it is of little use without an awareness of the essential theological underpinning of the faith.⁸⁸

Christian education is a ministry that engages people in the understanding of Jesus’ commandment to love God and to love their neighbor so that one will be responsible to his environment. It attempts to help people experience life in Christ and as a result people transmit a witness of love to the world. Christian Education addresses the whole human being and that it involves body, spirit, and mind. It involves not only the whole person, but also all of God’s creation as it moves people to learn how to relate to God, neighbor, and all of God’s creation. Specifically, in the local Church we think of Christian Education as encompassing every activity, which attempts to spiritually uplift the members of the congregation and it is not restricted to any one learning environment. For us then Christian education involves prayer, singing, Bible study, and virtually all activities that take place in the congregation. Christian Education therefore involves events that form and transform people and their environment. Our definition of Christian education expands to include activities and events that call together communities for the purpose of strengthening the Church through the strengthening of individuals and groups spiritually and in their daily walk with Christ.

Therefore, it should be stated that Christian education is multidisciplinary in nature and that any attempt to define it depends on subjectivity. It is therefore not possible to give one universally accepted definition of Christian education. One significant fact to note about Christian education is expressed by Michael J. Anthony. According to Anthony, Christian education requires a lifelong learning and is best accomplished in the context of a caring community that meets periodically in both small and large assemblies. Small group activities allow for personal accountability whereas larger assemblies facilitate corporate worship, fellowship, prayer, and exercise of spiritual gifts. Christian education is more than merely teaching Christians.⁸⁹ It can be concluded that Christian education refers to nurture, religious instruction, teaching, spiritual growth, socialization, conserving the faith, faith development, conversion, good character formation, moral development, transformation and schooling.

2.6.3 Education in the Bible

The Bible is the Word of God; it is the foundation and the final authority for the goals and content of Christian education. In it the Christian finds his heritage from the past and his hope for the future. He discovers that he is a part of a great teaching tradition. The Hebrews used instruction effectively to perpetuate their faith and their way of life. They taught through the parents, the priest, the wise men, the prophets, the Temple, and the synagogue. Jesus Himself was the Master Teacher; His disciples spread the Good News through preaching and teaching. “God honors such teaching with His grace. Biblical principles of education challenge us to perform our teaching tasks with total commitment. We cannot rest content until all men come to know Jesus Christ whom to know is life eternal. To love Him, to be like Him, to serve Him, is the fulfillment of Christian education.”⁹⁰

The basis for Jews’ ethical, moral, and religious conduct is pointed back to Moses and the Torah. The Torah, or Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch), is the central source of Jewish law and ethics, a guidepost for thought and conduct and for the relationships between God and humanity among the people.⁹¹ The Torah becomes the body of laws, the constitution, and the governing code. Thus the record of Jewish identity begins in the books of Moses. The first book of Torah, Genesis, deals with creation and the lives of the patriarchs. In this book the destiny of the people as people of the Covenant is anticipated and founded. God tells Israel and the world that he is the creator and, therefore, the owner of his creation, entitled to distribute it as he pleases. The first commandment is given (Gen. 2:15-17), and the significance of law and commandment as tools for moral decision is clearly demonstrated. God is seen to establish a nation out of one obedient man, Abraham and he promises to bless him and his descendants (Gen. 15:18).

Exodus, the second book of Torah, presents the emergence and unification of the nation of Israel in the foreign land, Egypt. The nation is moulded within a hostile environment, where they are made slaves and tested in their perseverance. From a miraculous situation, Moses developed and matured while living in Pharaoh’s palace during the first forty years of his life. Stephen, in Acts 7:22, states that Moses “was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” Then the people are redeemed and find their way back to the Promised Land. As God-centered people, they receive a God-given law, the Ten Commandments. These commandments form the core of this law, encompassing the relationship of humanity to both God and man. The Ten Commandments are found twice in the Pentateuch: in Exodus 20:1-14 and in Deuteronomy 5:6-18). Encompassing God and humanity, action and thought, law and ethical motivations, the Ten Commandments are indeed the core of Torah.

The third book of Torah, Leviticus, sets up sacrificial service, which is entrusted to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. These were assisted in secondary functions by the Levites. The priests were entrusted with the official copy of the Law (Deut. 31:24-26). They were also responsible for the writing of all subsequent copies (Deut. 17:18-19). The provisions of Deuteronomy 33:10 indicate that the priests were “to teach the toroth of Yahweh to Israel and the priest as a teacher is a messenger of Yahweh Saboath.”⁹² Under the Mosaic Law, in order to be a priest it was necessary to be a descendant of Levi and also a descendant of Aaron, Moses’ brother. It is in Leviticus where holiness and love are strictly commanded (Lev. 19:2, 18). Love, the observance of God’s unchanging law, makes human beings holy; it is a universal commandment.

The fourth book, Numbers, starts with the assumption that the people are now ready for their march into the Promised Land. Their multitudes are numbered and the marching orders are given. The “solemn blessing” which the priests are to pronounce to the people in God’s name is exactly formulated in Numbers (6:24-27). This blessing has become universal: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them. (NIV)

In preparation for entry into the land, the festive offerings are once more explained. Moses views the land from the distance and apportions it. A census of the new generation is taken. On God’s command, Moses ordains Joshua as his successor.

Deuteronomy, the fifth book of Torah, is characterized by Moses’ great farewell speech to his people. He relates to them their whole past and impresses them to not let the past fade from their minds. Once more, Moses reviews the Ten Commandments for them. His great affirmation, which has remained central in Jewish life and worship, is significant in every word: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and all with your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates (Deut. 6:4-9).

Then, Moses steps up to Mount Nebo, where he is given a glimpse of the Land which he is not to enter. He is called to rest and God himself buries him. Without doubt, as Trepp states, “Israel is not to make saints of anyone, even Moses: The living spirit is the monument.”⁹³

It will be remembered that Israel was (and is) God’s chosen nation and Moses was their specially-prepared leader. Education in Israel which was at once religious and national served to bind the people together and aided their survival through centuries. Before the tabernacle, the temple, and the synagogue, the home was the first educational institution among the ancient Hebrews. The responsibility for educating young children rested primarily on the parents. God assigned the family the principal responsibility of communicating to future generations his nature, the contents of his statutes and judgments (Deut. 4:1-2), and his expectations for the chosen people. Moses was instructed to insure that God’s directions are communicated in order that the people “may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children” (Deut. 4:10). Most of the religious content which the parents were commanded to teach is specified in what the Jews call the Shema (Sh’ma).⁹⁴ Deuteronomy 6:6-9 seems to be the central passage within the Pentateuch relative to teaching children. In these verses God charged the parents with the responsibility for communicating to their children the twofold commandment: (1) that there is only one true God and (2) he is to be loved with all of one’s being.

Within the family unit, children acquired knowledge of the traditions and observances of their religion as well as training in the practical duties of everyday living. Through this means they learned traditions, laws, proverbs, and songs. They became active participants in the festivals, rites, and family and social institutions of the nation. They were also trained in morals and manners which evolved from their religion. All educational activities were centered in the home with parents as primary instructors. This is the picture which continued during the time covered by the Pentateuch. The principles of Hebrew education that were followed in the home included the following:⁹⁵

1. The child was a gift from God.
2. Education of the child was a priority.
3. Education should begin early in the life of the child.
4. The real center of education was the home.
5. Education of the child was the responsibility of parents, especially the father.
6. Hebrew education was practical education that prepared children for a trade.
7. Jewish education was education in holiness.
8. Jewish education focused on religious training.
9. Instruction consisted of oral teaching, repetition, and daily living.
10. Children participated in religious rituals, feasts, and festivals, which were used as educational vehicles.

Children were seen as a gift and divine blessings from God. The Old Testament records many supplications of women for the gift of a child. These include the intense prayer of Hannah, “Give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD” (1 Sam. 1:11, NKJV); Rachel, “Give me children, or else I die” (Gen. 30:1); and other women such as Sarah, Rebecca, Ruth, and Michal. The conception of a child was perceived as a manifestation of Yahweh’s will. “The more children, especially males, the more blessed the family.”⁹⁶ Other scriptures such as Psalm 127:3-8a speaks of children as a gift from the Lord:

Behold children are a gift of the Lord;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

For the Jew, the child was the most important person in the community. Education of the child was a priority because it was meant to aid him or her throughout life in relation to the covenant relationship of the society with the Lord, Yahweh.⁹⁷ Such Rabbis sayings as “The world exists only by the breath of school children” and “Dearer to me is the breath of school children than the value of sacrifice,”⁹⁸ provide evidence that education stood very high in the list of Jewish priorities.

Instruction of the child began at a very early age. Even before the child could comprehend the meanings, his attention was directed to the various rites and symbolic apparel in the household. When the child learned to speak it was the time to be taught the first verse of the Shema (Deut. 6:4) before learning additional verses concerning the Law, prophets, and wisdom literature. Barclay adds that “As for actual instruction, as soon as he could speak the child was taught to memorize and to say the two texts: “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one,” and “Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.”⁹⁹ The Shema may be well defined as the “most important set of precepts in the Pentateuch after the Decalogue.”¹⁰⁰

The home was the very center of the education of the child. Education offered was not of academic or technical knowledge, but it was education of holiness. All education was entirely religious education though it was seen in its many facets. Ashby states that “The family continued to be the channel through which the will of God should be first made known to a child, and be put into effect in living.”¹⁰¹ The responsibility of educating the child was laid fairly and squarely on the parents. The home was the only school, and parents the only teachers. The father and mother were commissioned of Yahweh to be teachers with the responsibility of educating the child. “And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons” (Deut. 6:6-7).

Fathers considered the teaching of their children their most important task. They encouraged children to memorize and repeat, without error, the Mosaic Law and oral traditions. The father also taught the children to write, and all children could read the Holy Scriptures. Mothers taught children, especially girls, while performing household duties. They related the stories of the patriarchs and other national heroes and heroines and of acts of God in history. The family was important, and apparently training occurred in this context with an emphasis upon ethical conduct. With the father as the absolute ruler, the children participated in both practical activities and religious rituals. The learning of a trade was an essential part of a boy’s education and was regarded second only in importance to the study of the Law. To the Jew education was not education in any kind of academic or technical knowledge; it was education in holiness. All the ordinances dealing with education dealt with it in its larger aspects as a preparation for the moral and religious life, as a means of developing character.¹⁰²

It has to be always remembered that Jewish education was entirely and essentially religious education, almost exclusively conducted within the family context. All primary education was preparation for reading the Law; all higher education was the reading and the study of it. Teaching techniques included symbolization, oral teaching, repetition, memorization, questions and answers, and daily living. Every religious festival was a period of training in connection with worship; in connection with many of them definite provision was made for religious instruction. The Law had to be read to the people regularly during the cycle of the year, on Sabbath days, holy days, and every Monday and Thursday. Monday and Thursday were known as market days when the farmers came to town and thus could receive instruction in conjunction with their business.¹⁰³ Therefore, from the Pentateuch, one will learn that education for the early Hebrews focused on learning about God.

The Levites and priests had several educational roles to play in the Jewish community. The Levites, who were supported by the tithes of the other Hebrew tribes, were the nation’s educators. This task was laid upon the Levite men. They were to train those who followed them in the ritual observances required by the Law. They were to train the people in the Law, especially in those laws concerning worship, sacrifices, festivals, and other religious duties. They were to teach people regarding the beliefs and concepts about God. Another responsibility of the Levites was to teach the people to live together. They advised people and interpreted God’s will for the people in practical terms, particularly concerning ethical and civic duties. People looked to them for their education and guidance.¹⁰⁴ Priests had a mediatory function that was not permitted to any other group in Israel. The head of the whole priesthood was the high priest.

The example of the Hebrew parents, especially the father, in the Hebrew family challenges parents to be actively involved in training their children. Parents of today as well as parents-to-be, and especially Christian parents, have to take the same obligations of the Hebrew parents. This is because even today the child is still a gift from God, and his or her education should be given a priority. Education should begin early in the life of the child. Moral virtues to be taught to children from early their life include those that were taught to the Jewish children. These include obedience, reverence, brotherly love, charity, compassion, hospitality, temperance, chastity, truthfulness, industry, thrift, prudence, patriotism, patience, meekness, loyalty, diligence, and perseverance, and mercy.¹⁰⁵

The home is still the primary source of education for the child though our secular schools are fast taking over. Parents should be aware of this. For example, what can be observed in my cultural context is parents leaving the entire responsibility of educating their children upon the church Sunday schools and secular schools. Parents are busy with looking for good clothes for their Sunday school children, looking for the best secular school to send the child, and looking for school fees. While these endeavours are worthy seeking and being considered positively, however, a number of parents lack taking time to teach and train their children in their homes. The home is the best possible place for parents to teach their children. It must be the nursery of all Christian virtues. Parents must be willing to take the time to do as the Hebrew parents did. Parents have to present Christ’s love to children in a concrete form, to re-evaluate their life’s meaning in relation to Christ’s expectations, and to be willing to take the time to convey that meaning to their own children. The joint effort of both the father and the mother must help each child to discover the truth of God’s Word.

In the historical books little new truth surfaces regarding the teaching-learning processes of God’s people. All the elements developed in the Pentateuch are retained to a greater or lesser extent, but now different kinds of teachers appear. Judges rule and prophets proclaim. Eli teaches Samuel, who in turn teaches Israel’s first two kings: Saul and David. By the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, scribal emphasis on education had developedto an extensive degree. We learn the secret of Ezra’s success in one poignant verse: “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Some scholars suggest that Ezra’s ministry may have been a turning point in the whole pattern of Jewish education.¹⁰⁶

In the wisdom literature the moralizing and humanizing trend in education not only continues but expands. The focus changes and a prevailing lifestyle emerges. This change is seen devotionally in Psalms and practically in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. The point of reference continues to be God and His revelation. According to Robert Clark et al, “three-fifths of the references to wisdom appear in the wisdom literature.”¹⁰⁷ The Greek words from which we get the word philosophy mean “the love of wisdom.” These words are philo, which means “love of” and sophia, which means “wisdom.” The Greek word sophia may also denote skill in art or craft, economic shrewdness, or governmental ability.¹⁰⁸ But in wisdom literature, most commonly, the word sophia “reflects the godly behavior that enables one to master life (Prov. 8:32-36). Wisdom takes on a personal connotation as the mediator of revelation (Prov. 8:1-21), who calls people to learn (Prov. 1:20; 8:32; 9:1).”¹⁰⁹

Prophets served as the teachers in Israel before, during, and after the Exile. Israel that had been taught by God and given His truth for its individual and corporate life, now faced national judgment and temporary forgetfulness because they had rejected God’s teaching. Isaiah moans, “The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand” (Isaiah 1:3). In Jeremiah 8:8 we read: “How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?” From this verse, we learn of the role of the scribes, the professional class of teachers in Israel whose task was to preserve the written and oral traditions of the nation.

Leadership in the Jewish educational system, especially in the synagogue, was vested in the scribes and rabbis. Scribes were known as Soferim. The term “soferim” referred to a group of teachers, a group of great scholars.¹¹⁰ They were very learned men, experts in Jewish laws and Jewish history. They had great influence in social, political, and religious matters. The aims of the scribes were simply to interpret and apply the teachings of past Israel’s teachers to the life and needs of their own day; to rear up a nation in conforming to the demands of the Torah; and to train disciples who would become teachers to carry on the work and realize in the life of the nation the will of God, as defined by the law.¹¹¹ These were the copiers and interpreters of the Jewish books. They were also responsible for copying both the scrolls that contained Jewish laws and the Hebrew Bible. Thus, scribes became the teachers of the schools and had an important role in the history of Jewish people. They became the guardians of the Law. “They became copyists, editors, and interpreters of God’s truth (and man’s fallible interpretation thereof).”¹¹² According to A. Elwood Sanner, “The teaching methods of the scribes included public discussion, questions and answers, memorization, the exact verbal reproduction of the teacher’s words, stories, oral laws, precepts, proverbs, epigrams, parables, beatitudes, and allegories.”¹¹³

The rabbis appeared during the Post-Exilic period of Judaism. They arose out of the scribal tradition. The term rabbi literally means “teacher.” Its original meaning was “my master.”¹¹⁴ It is the term that was apparently not used distinctively as teacher’s title until after the time of Christ. Rabbis were very learned teachers that were chosen by a group of seventy rabbis called the Sanhedrin, an academy of scholars. They were teachers and scholars who thoroughly studied the Torah in order to teach it to their students. Also, at times, rabbis served as judges and “officiated such ceremonies as marriages and funerals for which they were paid a fee.”¹¹⁵

After the darkness of Exile and the period of silence (the Inter-Testamental Period), the stage was set for the dramatic entry of Jesus Christ into human history. “God selected earth to be ‘the visited planet,’ and genuinely Christian education, as we attempt to understand and practice it today, was initiated at the coming of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son.”¹¹⁶ What Isaiah prophesied concerning Zebulun and Naphtali can be said of all those who saw His arrival: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matt. 4:16).

New Testament develops the concept of Christian education. Christian education must be biblical. To be entirely biblical, it must center in Christ. This is precisely what makes it Christian. The presence and power of Jesus Christ dominate the first four books of the New Testament. “While Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection are essential, His modeling and mentoring role as the Master Teacher has provided Christian educators a poignant demonstration for almost two thousand years. Forty-five times the gospels call Jesus “teacher,” and fourteen times they refer to Him as “rabbi.”¹¹⁷

Jesus, the Master teacher, provides for us a skillful model of teaching. Being the embodiment of the principles he taught, his words and actions reinforced his teachings. The various methods he used are worthy of consideration. Most of them can be categorized as question and answer, discussion, lecture, and parable. The question and answer method is evidenced by a number of over one hundred different questions recorded in the Four Gospels. All of them were at the very heart of the teaching methods he implemented. He used questions that incited people to think. His questions “were original, practical, personal, rhetorical, stimulating, definite, searching, silencing, clear, and brief.”¹¹⁸ Luke 10:19, John 21:21-22, and Luke 13:23-24 show his determination to make people think for themselves. The most characteristic form in the teaching of Jesus was his use of parables or storytelling. This also resulted in a continuing learning experience for the disciples as well as believers today. Painting pictures with his words, Jesus used the simile in Matthew 23:27; the metaphor in Matthew 10:6; the hyperbole in Matthew 23:24; the epigram in Matthew 20:16; the paradox in Luke 14:11; irony in Luke 5:31; metonymy in Luke 4:43; synecdoche in John 4:32; antithesis in Mark 9:35; climax in Matthew 25:34; exclamation in Matthew 23; apostrophe in Luke 22:31-32; allusion in John 2:19; interrogation in Matthew 20:13; and allegory in John 11:25-26. The stories were a significant and well-remembered part of his teaching. The use of the parables was indirect teaching that led the student to discover truth for himself. Because each parable was told to teach one central truth, parables are a great aid to the memory.

Jesus’ teaching methods are unmatched throughout history. He established relationships with his learners, stimulating them and maintained their interest. He always taught by example, as strong attitude. He taught what he lived. He taught with authority: “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:28-29). He emphasized action rather than knowledge and he stressed long-term rather than immediate results.¹¹⁹ In Matthew 28:20 the disciples are commissioned to teach. The Commission mandates both evangelism and teaching, with the latter being at least equal and quite possibly greater in emphasis. The Commission has been given not only for apostles, or for missionaries alone, but to the church. The entire universal Body of Christ stands under the requirements of this great teaching commission. Jesus emphasizes here His complete lordship and authority over the church. “In its simplest and purest form, Christian education is communicating God’s truth in order to make disciples; and that process goes on in dozens of ways, structured and unstructured, throughout the life of any church that seriously heeds the commands of the New Testament.”¹²⁰ Going, baptizing, and teaching are not the means of discipling, but they characterize it. The New Testament cannot conceive of a disciple who has not been baptized and instructed. But center stage in the Commission stands the imperative – “making disciples.” How we understand the meaning of that command determines what we do with Christian education in our local churches.

The book of Acts opens with Christ’s ascension but moves quickly to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2) and the launching of the New Covenant church. At its beginning the church was almost exclusively Jewish but became increasingly Gentile. It mainly began in the homes of new Christian converts. The home was as important to education in the early New Testament Period as it was to the ancient Hebrew. The early twelve disciples or apostles went out as teachers and preachers of the gospel. In addition to that the apostles’ role in the church was basically educational. The early church used the Old Testament Scriptures as foundational for teaching biblical truth. The Christians worshiped, prayed, read Scripture, and exercised freedom of speech. The role of the apostles as educators was obviously important as well as formative. Those who believed “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42).

Acts 11 provides demonstrates how the early church seriously committed itself to educational ministry. When Barnabas arrived at Antioch, he exercised his own spiritual gift of exhortation (encouragement), stabilizing the new believers and leading even more people to the Lord (Acts 11:19-24). But then he discovered that more was required; these new converts needed serious biblical instruction. So he went out to find the man he considered most qualified to carry out the task, and Saul of Tarsus became the first “minister of education” in a local church, assisting senior pastor Barnabas for a whole year as they “met with the church and taught great numbers of people” (Acts 11:25-26). Paul, formerly called Saul, was brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel and instructed according to the strict manner of the law” (Acts 22:3). In acts 20, we see how much of a role Christian education plays in elder responsibility. Paul reminded the church elders: “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20). While in Rome, the apostle Paul continued his teaching. “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets” (Acts 28:23).

In the Pauline epistles, the apostle Paul offers solid emphasis for the church’s instructional ministry. After his conversion, Paul insisted on calling himself a teacher, preacher, and an apostle. He said: “For this gospel, I was appointed a preacher, and apostle and teacher’ (2 Tim. 1:11). He “taught everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17). Of Paul, Ashby states that “In him (Paul) Jesus Christ went forth to evangelize the world, making use of his hands and feet, his tongue and brain and heart.”¹²¹ He taught from a knowledge he had mastered academically and experienced personally. His experience on the Damascus Road had personified all the knowledge that was centered in the Word of God. The center of his education was the Hebrew Bible, which he had mastered. He quoted many passages from memory and had the ability to relate historic facts to each other in true perspective and to his personal knowledge of Christ. To all people he preached “Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). He was confident of his role as teacher and he asked his students to imitate him: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).

Paul’s objectives as a teacher included “moral, social, intellectual, volitional, emotional, physical, and spiritual development for the learner.”¹²² Throughout all Paul’s letters to the churches there is the same powerful emphasis on the character and individual efficiency as the ultimate goal of all Christian preaching and teaching. In all, as Ashby states: Paul wanted people to be pure in body, renewed in mind, energized in will, refined emotionally, all being development, articulated, and equipped in each period of life; all increasing unto the measure of which Christ is the standard. These are the marks of the complete man in the educative process as Paul taught and lived it.¹²³

The apostle Paul sought to have persons properly related to God through Christ. He was a master teacher who mastered his subject matter and the knowledge of his student. The great combinations of his skills with the ultimate objective of his teaching were the ingredients of this mastery. The result was effectiveness in his teaching ministry to the churches. He considered his letters to the churches to be God-led and somewhat authoritative because of his apostolic office. His comment to Timothy reflected an application of Scripture: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Titus was told to “teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). At the end of the section of instruction Paul concluded, “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you” (Titus 2:15). Though here Paul’s audiences were Timothy and Titus, but his words are relevant to every Christian and all Christian educators.

The general epistles and Revelation continue the emphasis on teaching and the commitment to a received body of doctrine. A dramatic passage in Hebrews 12 emphasizes that educational process depends upon the orderliness of discipline and the requirement of punishment. The immediate context obviously deals with the heavenly Father and His earthly children; but one can quickly see a principle easily adapted to Christian parents and even classroom teachers: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11). The other passage of great educational consequence in Hebrews emphasizes maturity, another strategic concept in Christian education (5:11-6:3). Here the author scolds his readers, observing that they should have been teachers, but instead they need to be taught again – and not only taught, but taught the most elementary things of God’s truth. In this context, spiritual teaching should aim at producing godliness and Christlike maturity. The spiritual maturity God expects in His teachers is best measured by the tongue. James echoed the teachings of Jesus by cautioning teachers of their great responsibility: “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).

The first epistle of Peter offers practical exhortation and comfort for believers’ daily needs. Peter seems determined to link doctrine with practice. Spiritual growth through the study of God’s truth appears early (2: 1-3). He deals often with service and suffering (3:8-4:19). In the last chapter of the first epistle, the apostle Peter reminds the elders of their responsibility for modeling godly behavior before the flock. In his second epistle, “Peter shows himself as both a concerned pastor and a champion of theological orthodoxy.”¹²⁴ He lists the credentials of true teachers to help his readers become discerning students of God’s Word (1:12-21). False teachers are exposed, and the Lord's return is reviewed. The last verse of the Petrine epistles waves a flag commonly flown by Christian educators: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (3:18).

All three Johannine epistles offer exhortation important to us today. In his gospel, John presented the way of salvation, challenging readers to believe. Now in the epistles he emphasizes the results of salvation in those who have already believed. The approach is personal; John avoids quotations or other scholarly distinctives. He encourages Christians to walk in the light. False doctrine can be avoided because Christians have spiritual knowledge. John claims, “I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth” (1 John 2:21). “Biblical Christian education should exhibit the characteristics of the main themes in the Johannine epistles: light, life, love, and knowledge.”¹²⁵ Jude’s emphasis suggests that only those who have been built up in the spiritual instruction can stand against the severe test of temptation and false teaching all around them (Jude 1: 20-21). The book of Revelation emphasizes again the significance of God’s written revelation and its impact on local churches. Forms of the word “teach” are used only negatively. Examples include the “teaching of Balaam,” (Rev. 2:14) and the “teaching of the Nicolaitans,” (Rev. 2:15). Therefore, the centrality of the Bible should be emphasized in any instructional activity that can be properly called “Christian education.”

2.7 Educational System in the Church

Before beginning to design a Christian education program for the church, a firm foundation must be laid. This foundation should be principles of education that have been well established and proved practically. This is because the foundation of biblical principles of education will provide the philosophy and direction for the designing of the program. Eleanor A. Daniel and John W. Wade assert that, the Bible is the centre of the Christian faith. It serves as the primary text book for Christian education. The Bible supplies the content of instruction, model of education, methods of education and the rationale for Christian education. The Bible is seen as foundational to Christian education for its claim of revelation and inspiration (1Tim.3:15-17, RSV). It is therefore the essential source for understanding Christian thought and practice in education. Educators must carefully examine the biblical foundations for Christian education. It is crucial that Christian educators’ thoughts and practices be guided by God’s revealed truths as they seek to be obedient to Christ in the task of education.¹²⁶

2.7.1 The Church’s Need for an Educational Program

Jesus gave His church this task: “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” (Matthew 28:19-20). From this background we can discover several principles of Christian education that will help shape our approach to fulfilling the educational task of the Great Commission. The church’s educational task includes teaching people of all ages. Often our efforts are directed toward children. Jesus certainly took notice of children during His ministry days. We must teach them in ways that will meet their particular needs. Likewise, in teaching youth we must be aware of their unique needs and minister to them effectively. They are at the age of making several life-changing decisions. Teaching adults also requires some knowledge of the various stages of life that they go through. Therefore, we must try to teach people in each stage of life in ways that will minister to them individually.

The overall administrative structure of the local church will greatly affect the outcome of the church’s efforts to teach its people. The pastor’s role, the organizational structure of the agencies of teaching, and administrative principles are all important factors to consider. Ongoing lay leadership to equip teachers and other leaders in the church is essential. Finally, the church’s educational task must be related to the total ministry of the church. To the degree that teachers understand the nature and mission of the church, they will accomplish the church’s educational task which results in church growth.

2.7.2 The Pastor’s Roles in Christian Education

The pastor is the key person in the local church’s educational program. He is the educational leader, equipper , and supervisor . In most churches he is the only person with any formal Bible training. Since the aim of the church is to bring people to a knowledge of Christ and to lead them to spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11-16), the church becomes basically an educational institution. In essence, the pastor is an educational leader as well as a preacher and teacher. As an educational leader, the pastor needs to coordinate the ministry of Christian education with the other ministries of the church. The total ministry of the church can be divided into four elements (Acts 2:42-47; Acts 5:42): instruction (doctrine), worship, fellowship, and evangelism. These are accomplished through various programs in the church. The pastor is the best person to correlate these programs to prevent overlapping or omission and to grade them to meet the needs of each group.

The pastor’s second role is equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12). The heart of equipping is teaching. Although many will be involved in teaching, the pastor is the chief teacher. He must teach and train others so that they will be able to teach and lead. There are three levels of leadership development. The first is the development of pastoral leadership to equip pastors, teachers, and evangelists. This is done through seminars, training-by-extension, correspondence, and residential schools. The second is the development of lay teachers and leaders to equip members for the work of the ministry. The third is the development of the laity as serving members. Since the ministry of the church was given to the church as a whole, every believer is a priest and needs training for his area of service. The results of the pastor’s equipping ministry are measured not by what he achieves but by what he enables others to achieve.

The pastor is also the supervisor of the church’s educational program. Supervision is the process of achieving unity and harmony of effort and effectiveness in the accomplishment of organizational and spiritual goals. It is concerned with developing a smoothly functioning team effort. In Mark 6:1-13, 30-31, Christ’s supervision of His disciples’ training program has five characteristics. The first characteristic is that of developing leadership (verse 1). The successful pastor gathers about himself a group of potential leaders and trains them in what needs to be done. The second characteristic is delegating (verse 7). A pastor must share responsibility and authority intelligently. The third characteristic is defining the job (verse 8). Jobs must be clarified and individuals trained, or their abilities matched with the task to be done. The fourth characteristic is requiring accountability (verse 30). The pastor must ask for reports on work performance in the church. The fifth characteristic is giving counsel and direction (verse 31). The pastor must be an inspirational leader whose love and concern provides and sustains much of the motivation of the leaders who surround him. Christian education cannot be done without careful planning and preparation, taking into consideration the whole personality of a person.

2.7.3 The Purpose of Christian Education

The overall aim of the syllabus of Christian educational system in the church is to help members grow in relationship with God, fellow human beings, and the environment as well as the self (self-transformation). Organization and program for Christian education must be understood and planned in the light of the nature and purpose of the Church. The educational ministry is created by the Church and has no independent life of its own. It exists only within the total life and work of the Church. The Church is maintained in obedience to Christ’s command, “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” (Matt. 28:19-20 NIV). To be clear, what is meant by Christian education is not simply developing intellect through knowledge and facts but also developing a person’s moral values and understanding. Therefore the purpose of Christian education is to promote and ensure adequate understanding of the great affirmations of the Christian Faith. It is to relate personal and community life of Church members to Christian moral standards so that ultimately our children and family members may be brought to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and grow into Christian maturity. It is also to ensure that Church members receive relevant programs on burning socio-political and cultural issues.

2.8 Theological Education in Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches

It may not be easy to make a real distinction between Pentecostals and Charismatics. But, it can be assumed that all Pentecostals are Charismatics, but not all Charismatics are Pentecostals. However, Pentecostals and Charismatics often share many of the same reservations about theological education. Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, like any other church and congregation, engage in some kind of teaching programme, ministerial training/education. There is a sense in which all didactic activities – Sunday School teaching, Bible Studies, sermons, exhortations, testimonies, and biblical literacy teaching – can be thought of as exercises in theological education. All Christians are can be thought of as theologians of one sort or another. This is because they all try to articulate, contemplate, live in, and with, the trinitarian mystery, reality, and economy of God’s plan of redemption. In this broad sense, theologians like Paul Tillich would affirm that “all Christians are “theologians” not only because they are able to receive spiritual knowledge, but also because they have been grasped within the Church by the Divine Spirit and affirm that Jesus is the Christ.”¹²⁷ This is more so the case when we consider that all Christians are called to bear witness and to be ready “to give an answer for their hope in Christ” (I Peter 3:15). Christians are also to exercise what John Macquarrie refers to as the “universal and quite fundamental ministry of all Christians to participate in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18).”¹²⁸ Contemporary Pentecostals and Charismatics would certainly agree with the two views above, even though they would recognize the need for formal theological education/ministerial training with appropriate qualifications from reputable higher education universities and institutions. However, when one considers the early decades of the Pentecostal movement, he will see that this was not always the case.

Differences between Pentecostal denominations and other churches belonging to historical christianity find their expression in spiritual formation. Spiritual formation in Pentecostal churches is marked by diversity and variety. The pace of theological education in the Pentecostals and charismatics follows the chronological order in which these movements were born: “First came the Pentecostals, and later neo-Pentecostals and charismatics.”¹²⁹ Pentecostals, neo-Pentecostals, and charismatics are in many countries today. Kenneth Boa writes, The past few decades have seen an explosion of worldwide church growth, and the fastest–growing churches are those that have centered on the fullness of the Spirit. At the same time that a number of mainline denominations have experienced significant membership loss, the Pentecostal and charismatic renewal movements have reached tens and now hundreds of millions of people around the world.¹³⁰

Boa emphasizes that “Spirit-filled spirituality, although underemphasized by mainstream Christianity until the twentieth century, has been an essential part of spiritual formation since the days of the early church in the book of Acts.”¹³¹

In the formative decades of the Pentecostal movement, there was reluctance to privilege theological education. Gripped by an eschatological urgency, Pentecostals had little time, or desire, for the kind of theological education emerging from what they saw as “liberal academies and seminaries.” What they wanted and prized above all, however, was a thorough knowledge of the Bible. According to Kay, this was primarily to ensure doctrinal conformity to the “fundamental truths espoused by their denomination.”¹³² Although there was an ambiguous and ambivalent relationship in early Pentecostalism to formal education and theological training, that is not to say Pentecostals were not interested in ministerial education. Indeed, centers for training and ministry formation were established. One effect of this fact is that today Pentecostals are in general readier to accept ministerial training that did not take place inside their own denomination. One can, for example, become an ordained minister in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT) even when the training was received at a Bible school of the Tanzania Assemblies of God (TAG). On one hand, this means that theological education outside one’s own denomination is not a disqualifier. On the other hand, so much liberty, usually promoted by the absence of stricter ordination requirements, leads to a messy theological market situation. This “free theological education market” is characterized by spurious schools and short-lived academies, which provide shallow training with “big certificates.”

Pentecostal theology is rich in evangelism and mission. To Pentecostals, mission is a matter of proclamation and church planting. Pentecostals seek to proclaim the Gospel not only in word alone, but also through charitable acts. Auli Vähäkangas and Mika Vähäkangas state that Pentecostals show the ability to connect the personal conversion with a more African communal tradition. Becoming a Pentecostal in Eastern Africa does not mean to leave the community but to become a part of new community.¹³³ Pentecostals have also not been much afflicted with controversies over the inerrancy and inspiration of the Bible. To them, the Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God. They do not need to be much persuaded about the inspiration, authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of the Bible. They also base their reasoning on the Bible, and any argument without Scriptural backing is weak in their discourse culture. Another good thing, which is a valuable heritage to Pentecostals, is that Pentecostal denominations are usually led by people who have distinguished themselves as pastors and evangelists. Hardly any pastor, senior pastor, bishop, general superintendent or church president has a prolific background as a theological educator. It is these leaders who are in charge of church finances. However, they may spend church’s funds on evangelism, church planting and mission than in theological research.

Charismatics’ schools are usually very motivational when it comes to preparing people for ministry. They may emphasize (or overemphasize) training in a certain few ministerial courses and ignore other areas of service. For example, some schools promote a strong revival theology with responding expectations by and on the students. Students are encouraged to believe and expect great things from God. Often, a sense of mission is instilled in them and they are charged to really make a difference in the world after graduation. Students may be thoroughly introduced to the ministry of praying for the sick, but fail to help those people who are in need of counseling ministry.

Formal Pentecostal theology can be explained in two dimensions.¹³⁴ The first dimension is what is written about Pentecostals. This kind of literature can be written by non-Pentecostals or by Pentecostals themselves. This kind of research and literature has expanded tremendously over the past decades. At the beginning of this process, the outsiders have contributed more than Pentecostals themselves. One FPCT Bible college comes to mind where the author of this thesis studied and worked there for several years. Most of the textbooks used were written by non-Pentecostals (referred to here as outsiders). A textbook for the course of “Christian Ethics,” for example, was written by an outsider who accepted polygamy in the church. As a Pentecostal, the author of this thesis found the content of the course contrary to the ethics of the Pentecostal faith. Although the course stirred the students’ critical thinking, however, it lacked impact and the direction was uncertain. This situation has changed, though, thanks to Pentecostal colleges and universities that promote research and write about their own spiritual heritage.

The second dimension of formal Pentecostal theology can be called “Pentecostal theology proper.” This kind of theology refers to such theologies as systematic theologies with emphasis on Pentecostal spirituality; Biblical theology through the lens of Pentecostal hermeneutics; and theological reflections on the work of the pastor. However, there are not yet many full-time Pentecostal theologians. This is due to the set up of Pentecostal theological education. “Those who cab ne called by that title are usually overloaded with teaching assignments in their colleges and universities. Worldwide Pentecostalism has very few full-time researcher professors and a general lack of post-doctoral research projects.”¹³⁵ Some of the Pentecostal pastors have a special capacity to write and they do produce writing; however, their writings are oftentimes theological in the best practical sense. Currently, within the FPCT one can find less than five theologians with a doctoral degree. Among these are pastors who are not much engaged with teaching in theological schools/colleges; they are preoccupied with their pastoral work. Others are working with parachurch organizations in social work. Parachurch organizations refer to organizations that are working alongside the church, as not-for-profit organizations. In this situation, Craig Dykstra suggests that “the way forward is to seek to discern where God is working and ask three basic questions: What is God doing in the world? What do churches have to be like that are responding to what God is doing in the world? What is theological education is doing to equip leaders for the church that is responding to what God is doing in the world?¹³⁶

Shortage of Pentecostal theologies also lies with the fact that Pentecostal denominational leaders are much better speakers than writers. Pentecostal theology is in its origin and essence oral. Very few influential FPCT theologians have had the grace and gift to put their spirituality into writing. Harris Kapiga and Andrea Shimba come to mind now. They were one of the first FPCT church leaders and theologians, who at least have left us with a few writings of their spirituality. This is a big challenge ahead of Pentecostal churches, especially in the FPCT. FPCT theologians and leaders need to write what they speak. They need to outline and express their particular Pentecostal heritage in lasting formats (written forms). This is because only theology that has been stored in book or other formats can be reproduced in a learning setting. Ulf Strohbehn belives that “God has in the past challenged Pentecostal believers with imperatives like “Praise,” “Speak,” “Proclaim!,” but that now we are entering an era where the command will be “Write!” – Rev. 1:11.”¹³⁷

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the methods and procedures to be employed in the research. It gives details on how data was collected, analyzed, and presented. The research methodology and design are informed by the scope and purpose of the study.

3.2 Research Methodology

Research method is not just the research approach, but also how the researcher views the social world. The choice of the research approach, therefore, must be a deliberate attempt to position the study within a particular tradition of social research. This must be the choice that revealed the researcher’s own philosophical attitude on epistemology. Considering the investigative nature of this study, qualitative research method will be used while a descriptive approach will be adopted for data analysis. Therefore, the study uses interviews, questionnaires, and the focus group discussion methodology to collect, analyze, and interpret the data. The study also uses what Andreas Dagernäs calls “attentive reading”¹³⁸ of secondary sources. By “attentive reading,” Andreas Dagernäs points out that the concept of “reading between the lines” is not a completely adequate expression in historical research. He means that the reading must be carried out carefully. Caution and accuracy must be closely accompanied in this type of analysis. Therefore he likes to call this reading “attentive reading.”¹³⁹

3.3 Research Design

The saying goes, “There are many ways of skinning a goat.” There are so many ways of collecting data. The different ways of collecting data depends on how the researcher designs the study. This study employs interviews, questionnaires, the focus group discussion methodology, and “attentive readings.” These instruments have been used to collect, analyze, and interpret the data of this research.

3.4 Study Area

Several Pentecostal churches and groups exist in Tanzania. In this study, the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT), a denomination with a strong historical connection to Sweden and especially with the Swedish Pentecostal Movement has been chosen. The denomination can be categorized as a classical Pentecostal church and a majority of its adherents live in the rural areas and outside the bigger cities. All the participants in the study have a connection to this one denomination. The denomination has had a lot of different development projects in cooperation with PMU¹⁴⁰ and local Swedish Pentecostal churches. The study was conducted with members from the Free Pentecostal Churches of Tanzania. The name of the denomination shows a direct connection to the organizational name of the mission branch of Swedish Pentecostal movement, Swedish Free Mission. The denomination was founded in 1932 by Swedish missionaries and has churches over the whole country with stronghold in the central, west, and eastern rural districts. The denomination has around 450,000 adherents.¹⁴¹

3.5 Study Population

A population is a group of individuals who have one or more characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher.¹⁴² The population of this study comprises FPCT pastors and church leaders, educators, Bible schools’ and colleges’ teachers, principals of theological institutes, theologians, Bible schools’ and colleges’ graduates, as well as church members.

3.6 Sampling Procedures

A sample, on the one hand, is a small group of respondents drawn from a population out of which the researcher is interested in getting information and drawing conclusions. The results obtained from the sample can be used as representative of the entire population.¹⁴³ On the other hand, sampling is the process of obtaining information about the entire population by examining only part of it.¹⁴⁴ By considering such factors as the availability of the population, methods of sampling to be used, and financial resources, only part of the population have been chosen to represent the entire population of the study area. In considering these factors and the nature of the study, the selection of a focus group from the population, as well as, conducting of several personal interviews will be deemed important.

3.7 Data Collection and Recording

The collection of data for this study have been done by use of interviews, questionnaires, the focus group discussion, and the “attentive reading” of secondary previous written data. Interviews and the focus group discussion have been conducted with questions used to obtain focused and relevant details from the respondents. The interviews were conducted in Kiswahili, and then being transcribed and translated into English. A recorder was used to record the interviews. The analytical process has taken place after the process of coding.

3.8 Validity and Reliability

Validity and reliability are very essential for the effectiveness of any research or test. Validity refers to the quality that a procedure or an instrument (tool) used in the research is accurate, correct, true, meaningful, and right.¹⁴⁵ It implies that the researcher wants to obtain what it is supposed to be measured. Reliability refers to how consistent a research procedure or instrument is. It means the degree of consistency demonstrated in a study.¹⁴⁶ Hence, reliability implies stability or dependability of an instrument or procedure in order to obtain information. This study has utilized a qualitative method instead of a quantitative method. It has employed interviews, questionnaires, a focus group discussion, and an “attentive reading” to collect, analyze, and interpret the data.

3.9 Data Analysis

Data analysis is the process which implies organizing, perusing, classifying, and synthesizing data so that they are amenable.¹⁴⁷ The data gathered in Kiswahili were transcribed and translated into English. The translation and interviews were then be coded to recognize similarities, trends, and overlapping themes. After the process of coding, the data was analyzed together. These data have been analyzed and presented in a narrative form.

3.10 Ethical Considerations

The respondents were invited and asked to voluntarily participate in the study of their own free will. A detailed explanation on the purpose of the study was made to all respondents. They were also not required to append their names or identity for the reason that they are not biased to present ideal rather than factual experiences. This also was intended protect them from being overly subjective with regards to responses that were personal to them. A commitment was made to them with regards to use of the findings for academic purposes only. Also, the researcher is committed to maintain utmost confidentiality with regards to the information generated from the respondents.

CHAPTER FOUR

RESEARCH FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents, analyzes, and discusses data collected from the field. It is arranged around the themes of the study. It presents the likely results and findings of the proposed research on the history and context of Pentecostal theological education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). The findings within each theme are presented based on the questions that were asked, answered or discussed during the data collection process. The findings from the respondents are carefully drawn in line with the principles outlined in the literature review.

4.2 The First Mission Stations

The mission station was a central part of the missionary work, though later the missionaries expanded the work by establishing branches. They also worked strategically by establishing new mission station that in the future could form independent local churches. Later, the mission stations became mother churches to which branch churches were linked when new villages were reached and new work was established.¹⁴⁸ The first mission station that was founded was Tazengwa, in Nzega district. Esther and Erland Dahlqvist arrived first in 1932 and later on Erik and Julia Wiklund in the same year. The first baptism was held on March 10, 1935 when six people were baptized to Christ.¹⁴⁹ Among those who were baptized on that day were: Harris Kapiga, Yakobo Habi, Lazaro Sengati, Zakaria Kadulila, and Yohana Mpemba.¹⁵⁰ In May the same year another baptism was held and by that time the church was made up of 19 members.¹⁵¹ In the following years the work at Tazengwa expanded with new members and new branches in the villages around.

The second mission station that was established was Lowa in Kahama district. In August 1935, another group of missionaries from Sweden arrived in Tanganyika and went directly to Tazengwa. Among them were Erland and Ester Jonsson and Hulda Seger. Following the arrival of these missionaries, Erik and Julia Wiklund moved from Tazengwa to Lowa at the end of 1935.

Around Christmas time, the first Sunday Service was held in a combined church and school building. The first baptism was held in June 1936 when nine people were baptized, seven men and two women. By the end of that year, the church had 29 members.¹⁵²

The third mission station was established in the place called Nyawa, some 50 km East of Nzega. This place was later known as Nkinga. Erland and Esther Jonsson surveyed the area in September 1935 and began the mission work here in 1936. Soon the mission work grew and schools were started in the surrounding villages. The first baptism on Nkinga was held in January 1938 when 13 people were baptized. In May the same year another 14 people were baptized.¹⁵³ Therefore, a number of 27 people were baptized in 1936 in Nkinga. By July 1939 when Erland and Esther Jonsson went to Sweden for a vacation, the church had 49 members. Yohana Mabondo and Paulo Kising’wanda were church elders. Later, Andrea Shimba was also ordained to be a church elder.¹⁵⁴ Later, Maria Engström and Hilda Johansson joined the work at Nkinga. Ms Engström fell sick and died a sudden death in September 1939.¹⁵⁵

The fourth mission station was established in Mpera, in Kahama district in 1938. This was the last mission station to be built up before the outbreak of the Second World War (World War 2 – WW2). The missionaries Axel and Karin Burman moved there in August 1938. Another missionary, Bror Nordberg, was also part of the construction of the station. He helped with construction and carpentry works in the station. The first baptism of new converts was held during Pentecostal weekend in 1939 when six people were baptized.¹⁵⁶ Other six people from other churches were added to the church in Mpera and made the number of the first church members to be 12. Simon Kalyango was of great help to the missionaries and the mission work in Mpera. During the WW2, he was the one who was left to pastor the church.¹⁵⁷

The fifth mission station was founded in Kigoma district in Western Tanganyika in 1935. This mission station was founded and established around the same time when the four mission stations in Unyamwezi district were being established.¹⁵⁸ Elna and Carl-Alfred Kristensson, who had served as missionaries in Congo for a period, founded the Mwandiga mission station. The mission station was located some 15 kilometers North of Kigoma, on a hill area known as “Bigabiro.” Jonas Kulwa Msubi states two reasons as to why the year 1935 is counted as the year of the beginning of the mission work at Bigabiro. Firstly, it is in that year that the first baptism was held, when seven people were baptized by Missionary Alfred Kristensen. Secondly, it is in the same year that Missionary Kristensson moved from Kigoma town to Bigabiro. His first house was a tent and Yususfu Matete was working as a watchman in turn.¹⁵⁹ The first baptism was held in July 1935 when seven people were baptized by Missionary Alfred Kristensen. Yusufu Matete was among of those who were baptized on that day.¹⁶⁰ Another baptism took place on the 30th May, 1937 when 13 believers were baptized and a new church was constituted. At an early stage a native man named Yusufu Matete joined the work to help the Kristenson couple.¹⁶¹ Moreover, six evangelists from Congo also joined the work. Among those were Yakobo Kukumba, Isaka Msemakweli, and Andrea Msemakweli.¹⁶² At the New Year 1937/1938, three new missionaries arrived to Mwandiga, Svea Carlsson and Ruth and Rolf Ågren. Late in 1939 another four missionaries came to replace some of the first ones. The new people were Helfrid Lundén, Olga Lindgren and Gustav and Maria Struble.¹⁶³

Around the same time when Tazengwa mission station was being established, another mission station was founded in Western Tanganyika. This is Msambara station, located in Kasulu district in Western Tanganyika. It was founded in 1933 by missionaries from the American Pentecostal movement. Mr. and Mrs. Speece arrived in Msambara in July 10, 1933 and started mission work there. The first baptism involved five people; among them was Andrea Kabonye, who was later on ordained as a church elder.¹⁶⁴ After seven years of mission work at Msambara, Missionary Speece and his wife handed over the work to Swedish Free Mission (SFM). They had to terminate their contract due to health reasons. So on March 6, 1940 they left and returned to America.¹⁶⁵ They had proposed to SFM to simply take over the station as it was, including buildings, fixtures and church members as well. Kristenson and Dahlqvist wrote in Evangelii Härold (EH) in 1939 under the heading A wonderful offer for the mission in Tanganyika: “You find a fully complete mission station with well constructed houses. The living house has iron roofing and the other buildings are well constructed. The living house is fully furnished with almost everything one needs out here, even household utensils.”¹⁶⁶ After their departure, in Spring 1940 the Swedish missionaries Helfrid Lundén and Alice Kjellberg moved there and some time later Rolf and Ruth Ågren. By that time, the church had 20 church members.¹⁶⁷ The Ågren couple suffered from health problems and went to US in 1941 for a time of rest. They had during their time at Msambara implemented some changes in the church services related to the worship style, since they met some elements in the services they were not used to. By 1945, the mission work was made up by six mission stations, 708 church members and 1192 students in 46 branch schools.¹⁶⁸

4.3 Sylvi Mömmö: “A Missionary of Education”

Sylvi Mömmö, a Finnish missionary from Saalem Pentecostal Church in Helsinki, Finland, arrived in Tanganyika in August 24, 1934. She came directly to Tazengwa, Nzega to join the two missionary families that had already settled at Tazengwa. These were the family of Erland Dahlqvist and that of Erik Wiklund. Sylvi Mömmö was born on 26/03/1902 in northern Finland, where his father was serving as a Lutheran church pastor. She got saved when she was 20 years old. After her conversion to Christ, Sylvi started to serve God by witnessing Christ to others. She started to serve as an evangelist and for five years before she came to Tanganyika, she had evangelized in different places in her country, Finland. Elias Shija interviewed her and she joyfully expressed, “Those five years were of great blessing and of important preparations for the big work I was heading, to work as a missionary in Tanganyika.”¹⁶⁹

In an amazing scene, Sylvi Mömmö’s calling was ignited by reading a newsletter magazine, which was published by the Lutheran Church about Africa and the various needs of people in the continent. Quoted by Elias Shija, Sylvi Mömmö narrates the story: After reading that newsletter magazine, my heart was very much touched and caught by love on African people, especially Tanganyikans. One day, one missionary who had worked in China preached at our church. God used him in a wonderful way on that day and the presence of the Holy Spirit was amongst the congregation. In concluding his sermon message, he asked over if there was anyone who had felt a calling to serve God in a foreign country. He asked over and repeated three times, as he wanted to see that person raising up his or her hand as a sign. Suddenly, I felt the wonderful supernatural power of God in me, and at once I raised up my hand. From that time, I continued praying, looking for God’s guidance in every step of my preparations. God showed me that I was going to be a missionary in Tanganyika.¹⁷⁰

Before leaving Finland for Tanganyika, Sylvi Mömmö went to Stockholm Sweden for a short missionary course at a Bible school. After that course, she also went to England for an English language course. Sylvi Mömmö is seen at the third “Maranatha Mission Course,”¹⁷¹ which was held in the summer of 1933 at the Lahti Zion Church, Finland.¹⁷² In this mission course, she was teaching the English language and preparing herself for missionary work. Ulf Strohbehn, writes, “Elementary instruction in the English language was given by Sylvi Mömmö, who herself was preparing for missionary work.¹⁷³ In June 26, 1934 Sylvi Mömmö started her journey from Finland to Tanganyika for her missionary work in Tanganyika. She traveled by a Germany ship, called “Uzaramo.”¹⁷⁴ Along with her, there were also other missionaries who were on their way to Zaire (Congo) via Tanganyika. Among those were Martha and Oscar Ingerström who were traveling to Congo. After a long journey of about two months, they at lat arrived at the Dar es Salaam port. From Dar es Salaam, they traveled by train to Tabora. When they arrived in Tabora railway station, the two groups branched. Martha and Oscar Ingerström continued by train to Kigoma where they boarded on a ship to Congo. Sylvi Mömmö also continued with her journey to Tazengwa, Nzega to join the Dahlqvist’s and Wiklund’s families, who had settled and started mission work there. When she arrived, the missionaries and the residents received her joyfully. Sylvi describes her reception as follows: “I remember well that day; it was Sunday in August, year 1934, when I arrived at Tazengwa in Nzega district, after a long journey of two months. The Christians came to greet me, singing in Sukuma tribal vernacular language: “Amanile makoye giswe” (literally, “She knows our problems”).¹⁷⁵ By the time, there were only a few Christians (believers). None of them had been baptized by water in immersion.

After arriving at Tazengwa Nzega, the first thing Sylvi Mömmö did was to learn the Sukuma language. This was a tribal and vernacular language, which was widely spoken in the region. She decided to go to Shinyanga region, where there was a center for missionary trainings under the Africa inland Mission (AIM). She went there in order to be taught Kisukuma language. She stayed there for three months learning, then she retuned back to Tazengwa, Nzega. After returning to Tazengwa, she started a mission’s “Bush School.” She started teaching local people how to read, write, and count in their mother language (Kisukuma tribal language). Andreas Dagernäs states the following concerning bush schools: The bush schools was a response to a distinct need in the society that opened doors for the church and helped to built bridges to the local society. For the local believers the literacy courses opened the doors to a world of new opportunities. But at the same time it became a way to get to know the Bible on a personal level, something that helped the believers to grow in their faith. Through the bush schools new leaders were raised up, molded and recruited.¹⁷⁶

Knowledge in the local people’s language was instrumental in building a bridge between the local natives and the missionaries. In this way, there was clear-cut communication between the missionaries and the local people of the area. Hence, it was easy to communicate the message of Christ to the people. In this, Sylvi Mömmö states, “My students were people of every kind: men adults and women adults; young men and young women; boys and girls. Apart from teaching them reading, writing, and counting, I also taught them the Word of God, and God helped us in our work.”¹⁷⁷ Sylvi also used to go to the villages to evangelize using her bicycle. She got more and more familiar with the natives as she spoke their language. She confirms this by telling a joking fun the natives used to make at her in relation to her physical personality. She says, “The natives always used to ask me this question: “Uli nkima, nulu uli ngosha?” (literally meaning, “Are you a woman, or a man?).”¹⁷⁸ In response to their question, she only laughed. This social interaction with the natives was a good door to her to witness to them the good news of Jesus Christ.

In 1935, Sylvi Mömmö, Julia and Erik Wiklund together with Hilda Johanson and Karin Larsson, who arrived in that year, went to start mission work in Lowa, Kahama district. In the same year, Axel Burman arrived in Tazengwa, Nzega. He was followed by Karin, who arrived in 1936. The two persons, Axel Burman and Karin got married here in the country. Between 1936 and 1937, Esther and Erland Dahlqvist went to Sweden for a vacation. Axel Burman and his newly wedded wife Karin, remained in Tazengwa to continue with the work while Esther and Erland Dahlqvist were in Sweden for vacation. Axel Burman and Karin were still new to the environment and did not know the language of the local people yet. They therefore needed someone to help them with language communications and other daily practical issues. For that reason, Sylvi Mömmö had to leave Lowa and come to Tazengwa to help them and work with them.

In 1938, Sylvi Mömmö also went to Finland for vacation. After her departure, Hilda Johanson and Karin Larsson left Lowa and came to Tazengwa to help and work together with Axel Burman’s family. As she arrived in Finland for vacation, Sylvi Mömmö found her country had undergone different changes. There were development changes in normal people’s lives, as well as spiritual changes. Spiritually, the church had grown and a number of church members had increased. Economically and socially the country had more advanced as she compared to Tanganyika’s. However, Sylvi Mömmö’s heart was in Tanganyika.

In 1939, the Second World War (WW2) broke out. The war lasted until 1945. Hence, the years 1939-1945 were filled with a lot of difficulties for the missionaries, especially in the areas of travels and communication. Money transactions became difficult too. These circumstances greatly affected the mission work. The mission work was slowed down and a few new missionaries arrived to the field. The communication between Sweden and Tanganyika was periodically impossible to uphold. Karin and Axel Burman traveled back to Sweden in 1940 under dramatic circumstances.¹⁷⁹ Under such circumstances, Missionary Olga Lindgren who was traveling from Europe when the war broke out had to go via Mozambique to reach Dar es Salaam in Tanganyika.¹⁸⁰ No new missionaries from Scandinavia could reach the mission field. It was almost impossible to travel from Africa to Europe in a safe manner during these years. Communication was extremely scarce; it happened more than once letters were simply returned to the sender. For example, in February 1943, Erland Dahlqvist wrote to Paul Ongman telling him that they had not received any letter from him since September 1940.¹⁸¹ It seems the only means of communication was short telegrams. Andreas Dagernäs gives us examples of telegram communication sent and received during the war years. In one example, Svea Norberg from Mpera sent this telegram to Sweden: “Received telegram and support. Got a strong baby-boy. Homesick. We are all well. God is at work. Greetings Svea Norberg, Mpera.”¹⁸² In another example, in 1944 Bror Nordberg sent this telegram to Sweden: “Received support. Thanks! Am working, very tired. Will stay until new missionary arrives. Pray. Need three hundred for work. Greetings, Nordberg.”¹⁸³

However, besides all these difficulties, the missionaries were not affected in more direct ways. They had access to food and everyday commodities. Though the WW2 had led to a lack of missionaries at the stations, however, the mission work that was started before the outbreak of the war continued. The missionaries stayed at their posts and continued with the duties. Since it was almost impossible for new missionaries to travel from Europe to join the work during those years, the missionaries tackled the situation by rotating between the mission stations. In this way, the work could be upheld during the war period.¹⁸⁴

Sylvi Mömmö remained in Finland from 1938 to 1950. This was a long time for her whose heart was burning to serve and work in Tanganyika. The WW2 had become a big hindrance to serve her visions and calling to Tanganyika. In 1947, Harris Kapiga got an opportunity to visit the Scandinavian countries. As he arrived in Finland, he met Sylvi Mömmö. It was a great joy and comfort to Sylvi to meet Kapiga, who had worked with her in Tanganyika before she travelled back to Sweden in 1938. She got an opportunity to hear news about the development of mission work and the work of God in general in Tanganyika, since she left the country. Sylvi Mömmö took Harris Kapiga to different places in Finland as he preached in different congregations. He preached in his mother language Kinyamwezi (a language dialect close to Kisukuma) and Sylvi Mömmö interpreted it in Finnish. It was an amazing time of great blessing and joy.

Thankfully, in 1951, the door Sylvi Mömmö to return back in Tanganyika was opened. In April 1951, she left Finland for Tanganyika. When she arrived in Tanganyika in this her second time, she found that several changes had taken place in the country. One of the changes was language communication. A good number of Tanganyikans was speaking Kiswahili, on top of the local tribal languages. As a result, Sylvi Mömmö was prompted by the situation to learn Kiswahili. She devoted about six months to learn Kiswahili day and night. After her course in Kiswahili language, she started a middle school at Mpera in Kahama district, where she taught in Kiswahili. For two consecutive years, that is, 1951-1952, Sylvi Mömmö taught alone until Missionary Margareta Hällzon arrived in 1953 to help her. In the same year (1953), Mpera Middle School was officially registered by the then government.

Sylvi Mömmö narrates an interesting and exciting story concerning one occasion at Mpera Middle School, which is very important in the history of FPCT. As they started Mpera Middle School, one young man came to her, wanting to continue with his middle school education at Mpera Middle School. He was not a Christian yet. Since the school was a mission school, it had been decided that priority for those who would be enrolled would be given to the children of SFM church members. Sylvi Mömmö says, “And here I had a young man, who was looking at me in a sad eye, because I had told him that there is no chance for him to be enrolled in a school, just because he was not a Christian.” Then the young man asked, “Is it true, mother, that you cannot help me to get a chance?” Sylvi says that she once again answered, “It is impossible.” Then the young man went back home. Sylvi says that as the young man went back home, the Holy Spirit started to speak to her strongly about the young man. She states: The Holy Spirit started to speak to me strongly about calling back the young man to come and enroll in a school. I had no peace in my heart whenever I thought about the young man. I could not withstand the voice which was prompting me to call back the young man. Therefore, I sent a message to his parents to bring the young man back to join in the school. That young man came at once and started his middle school studies. It did not take long; the young man decided to believe in Jesus Christ and became Christian. That young man was Stephen Lubele.

Sylvi Mömmö says that the young man, Stephen Lubele studied and performed well in his studies. He also performed well in final examinations; he passed the examinations. Later, he got an opportunity to go to England to continue with further education. Sylvi states that “After I stopped to work as a Middle School Education Secretary, Stephen Lubele took over that position. When I remember these and other many things, my heart is filled with great joy. My greater joy is that God used and helped me to provide the Tanzanians with the God’s Word of life.” In a history of FPCT, Stephen Lubele was one of the key church leaders from the 1960s through the 1990s. He was the first Tanzanian resident to hold the position of the General Secretary of the FPCT Church. Firstly, he worked in this position from 1964 to 1969, when the Church was known as “The Pentecostal Churches Social Association in Tanzania” (PCSAT). Secondly, he served in the same position from 1978 to 1994, when the FPCT Church was known as “The Pentecostal Churches Association in Tanzania” (PCAT). Besides serving in the church, Steven Lubele served for many years in the government of Tanzania as a government public servant. He has been a great blessing in the FPCT Church and in the Tanzanian society. He is just one of the fruits of Sylvi Mömmö’s work and ministry in Tanzania.

Sylvi Mömmö is remembered for her passion in education. She administrated well the education program in Tazengwa Bush School and Mpera Middle School. She loved her people, Tanganyikans, and she wanted them to get good education. She wanted and succeeded to reach her people with the Gospel by using a program of secular education as a tool. “She worked hard with all her efforts to make sure that the people of God are educated, not only in the Word of God, but also in the secular education. These are the things she diligently dealt with.” (Msubi, pg. 15). That is why Sylvi Mömmö is well known as “A Missionary of Education.”

4.4 Preaching and Teaching

As the mission stations were built up, it often happened that the missionaries gathered the local workers for devotions and teaching from the Word of God. In Tazengwa mission station, for example, Erland Dahlqvist held outdoor meetings together with an evangelist from African Inland Mission (AIM). The evangelist’s name is Yakobo Bundala, who was from the AIM Church at Kijengele village (modern Nzega Ndogo). The African Inland Mission handed over this church branch together with its leader (Yakobo Bundala) to the Swedish Free Mission (SFM) in 1933.¹⁸⁵ Erland Dahlqvist and Erik Wiklund continued with similar preaching trips to the villages surrounding Nzega in 1933. Sometimes Esther Dahlqvist would join and specifically targeting the women. On all those occasions Tanganyikan evangelists followed as translators and speakers. As the work grew the missionaries needed to visit the church branches to follow up and hold services. From the beginning the missionaries started to teach the new believers in basic Christian dogmas. Newly converted gathered in catechumen classes. Those classes were continuously held and could go on for months. ¹⁸⁶

4.5 Literacy and Bible Studies

Central part of the early mission work was schooling. Illiteracy was widely spread; hence basic education was of great need in Tanganyika by this time. In the beginning of 1934, for example, Dahlqvist started a school in Tazengwa whereas some 50 students were registered, most of them adults.¹⁸⁷ This kind of education became a primary working method at all mission stations. The schools were targeting both children and grownups. It was not strange to find that school buildings preceded church buildings when new mission work was established. These buildings were often a combination of school house and church hall during the initial years. Initially, the missionaries did the teaching themselves, but gradually local Tanganyikans came into teaching service. The teaching was open for all ages and both genders; it contained reading, writing skills, and basic mathematics. Basic Christian dogma was also taught. Sometimes the teaching was targeted to a specific group, such as younger girls. There was a significant desire from the local people to receive a school and a teacher to their village. At one time in 1934, Erik Wiklund wrote, “From all places they ask for church meetings and from several villages they ask for school and teacher.”¹⁸⁸

The schools offered different types of education to different targeted groups of people. Both secular and religious education was offered but in close relationship to each other, and the different elements mixed together. For example, in 1934, Erik Wiklund wrote, “From this week on we will start with evangelist training or Bible schools 2 days a week in conjunction with the school. We have Christian subjects every day in school and since autumn catechism class, but we wish to set apart more time for Bible studies.”¹⁸⁹ It is interesting to notice that the missionaries developed a rich set different forms of education on the mission field. Catechumenatics, bush school, Sunday school, and teachers training were linked together to some sort educational platform. Different target groups were reached through various classes, but they were at the same time linked to each other. The bush schools was a response to a distinct need in the society that opened doors for the church and helped to built bridges to the local society. For the local believers the literacy courses opened the doors to a world of new opportunities. But at the same time it became a way to get to know the Bible on a personal level, something that helped the believers to grow in their faith. Through the bush schools new leaders were raised up, molded and recruited. It seems that the bush schools functioned as a sort of recruitment base to find leaders in the mission.¹⁹⁰

Persons who would become the future church leaders started their journey by learning to read and write in the bush school. They could then proceed and be trained to evangelists and teachers and in their turn start new bush schools. As an example, Andreas Dagernäs quotes Erland Jonsson, who wrote: In order to get evangelists we have opened the school and the beginning has been good so far. After two weeks 35 pupils are enrolled. If the Lord leads us right in the school ministry it will be a huge work field, and it should not be neglected. There are extremely few who know to read and write here, so it is urgently required that we get a good school. There are of course costs involved in running schools, but I see it as [number one] priority in the mission, hence from where else would we get good evangelists? An evangelist needs to be able to read his Bible correctly.”¹⁹¹

Initially, the missionaries were the only teachers, but quite soon also Tanganyikans were appointed as teachers. Some of the FPCT church leaders worked in the missionaries’ homes at the first stage. Lazaro Sengati and Zakaria Kadulila were, for example, cooks and kitchen assistance at Dahlqvist’s home. Aroni Mtemba worked in a similar way at Wiklunds’ home. Meanwhile, they received training in reading and writing skills, as well as Bible and faith doctrines. Eventually, they took on responsibilities in the church activities.¹⁹²

4.6 The First Bible School and the Formation of Curricula

In regard to the FPCT historically, then, what was the motivation for the church to start Bible schools? From the beginning of the missionary work in Tanganyika, especially under the Swedish Free Mission, one will note that missionaries were aware of, among others, two things. Firstly, they were aware of their inability to hold all the mission and church work by themselves and alone. They needed to train other local people who, were “to take on responsibility” in the church, as Andreas Dagernäs calls it.¹⁹³ So they created a platform to train co-workers in the church. Secondly, they were aware that their time in working in a foreign country (Tanganyika, in our context) was limited. They were foreigners and one day they would leave the country, but the work was to continue. Therefore, the missionaries ‘designed’ training courses especially for teachers and evangelists to take on responsibility in the church.

Andreas Dagernäs discusses one of the factors that made the earliest Tanganyikan leaders become teachers and evangelists. This factor was the great demand for school education. A very few of the Tanganyika’s population had literacy skills; illiteracy was prevailing. There was a great demand for school education and the mission had resources to meet that demand. Therefore, literacy was an important area for missionaries from a number of church contexts that appeared in Tanganyika. As a result, basic school education was an effective tool for launching church activities. The missionaries identified the opportunities and the most important resource needed was teachers. In response to this, the missionaries trained the Tanganyikans to become teachers and evangelists. The education program was flexible and consisted of a broad spectrum of different training activities focusing on different target groups. In this way people of different ages, sexes, and places could be reached. Besides this, there was the motive of training the future church leaders. The local leaders constituted the extended arm of the mission and the future expansion that the mission pursued. The local evangelists were the future of the mission. They often began their journey by learning to read and write.¹⁹⁴

What sort of training was offered to ministers or ministry candidates? In practice, these teachers and evangelists, regarded as the upcoming church leaders, were to undergo literacy training by the missionaries or in bush schools. They were taught how to read, to write, and to count. They were also taught Bible subjects and church dogmatics. It is also clear that the courses contained meetings of spiritual formation, which includes spiritual character. Those church and training gatherings were important not only for training, but also for strengthening the bond between the missionaries and the local, native ministers.¹⁹⁵ It is interesting to notice that in June 1936 Missionary Erik Wiklund led a one-month training course for evangelists. This course would be followed by similar courses the following years. In July the same year Dahlqvist led a course for evangelists at Tazengwa, where 12 people were trained and four of them would take up leadership roles at church branches straight after. Erland Jonsson launched an evening course at Nkinga on Saturdays as a means to train leaders for ministry at the church branches. Later on these training courses were held at a larger scale where people from different mission stations came together. One example is from Mpera mission station. In August 1939, a one-month course was held with leaders coming from Nzega, Nkinga, and Mpera.¹⁹⁶

To sum up, it can be said that originally in the 1930s and 1940s, ministers in the FPCT (SFM by then) received basic Bible training. In the 1950s and 1960s that basic Bible training came to include a form of systematic theology. Here biblical passages and verses were grouped together to support interlocking doctrines. The texts would be assembled and harmonized to produce easily understood propositions. The good student learned the supporting texts and was able, for instance, to fit a doctrine of baptism with the doctrines, assembled in the same way, concerning the work of Christ or the nature of the church. After these preliminary explanations about training for church ministers, we are now at a good position to state about the first Bible school and the formation of curricula in the FPCT.

The first FPCT Bible School was established at Mpera village in Kahama district in 1939. This is according to my opinion emanated from my findings.¹⁹⁷ As stated above, it is here where in August 1939 a one-month course was held with leaders coming from three mission stations: Nzega, Nkinga, and Mpera. Missionary Erland Dahlqvist taught for the first two weeks and Erik Wiklund taught for the next two weeks. Later on, Harris Kapiga and Bror Norberg also taught here.¹⁹⁸ Pioneer Missionaries who started mission work at Mpera were Karin and Axel Burman together with their son Alan in 1938. The Bible school started here, with 20 students, who stayed and studied for four weeks. It is here where the first ‘curriculum’ was also developed. The curriculum consisted of six courses:

1. Servanthood
2. Knowing Christ
3. Prayer and Fasting
4. Holy Spirit
5. How to Receive Spiritual Gifts
6. Ministry in the Church

The first instructors at Mpera Bible School at the early stage, as stated above, were Missionaries Erland Dalhqvist and Erik Wiklund. Then Harris Kapiga and Missionary Bror Nordberg came, who had some sessions to teach. The concept of evangelist training was familiar to the missionaries. It is remarkable to see how the training of evangelists the missionaries started in Tanganyika reflected the then existing training in Sweden. The arrangement was similar; for example, it was a one month course. Some of the lessons were similar, and prayer meetings became an integrated part of the overall curriculum. The purpose of the course was to create a forum for the students to grow in conviction and awareness of their faith and calling.¹⁹⁹

As the mission work expanded at most places, the needs of demands for secular and theological education increased also. “By the year 1943, Tazengwa had expanded the school/church work to 17 places in the nearby area, and the number of students was estimated to 400.”²⁰⁰ As the school work and church work expanded, the curriculum expanded as well. “One example can be taken from Nzega in July 1942. Erland Dahlqvist describes how the Bible teaching was made by himself and Bror Nordberg, Olga Lindgren taught “profane subjects” and Rhoda Dahlqvist had music lessons.”²⁰¹ The expansion of church and school work resulted in the need for more trained teachers. These were to be the curriculum implementers. Therefore, new teachers from the local people had to be trained continuously. Olga Lindgren, holding a teacher’s diploma, was responsible for education at Lowa station. She trained the locals and developed her own certification process for the new teachers. Besides this she was responsible for the schooling of the missionary children Ingemar and Roland Wiklund.²⁰²

4.7 Bigabiro Bible School, Kigoma (1947)

Alfred and Elna Kristensen from Stockholm Sweden arrived in Kigoma region (Western Tanzania) in 1934 for the purpose of starting the work of God (Mission work). They started the mission work at Mwandiga village at a hill-suburb called Bigabiro in 1935. They started preaching the Gospel and many people came to Christ. The first baptism was done in July 1935 when seven people were baptized by Missionary Alfred Kristensen. Yusufu Matete was among of those who were baptized on that day.²⁰³ Another baptism took place on the 30th May, 1937. A number of people were baptized and became the first fruits of the work of God at Bigabiro local church. Among those who received this baptism, they included Mathayo Sulemani, Musa Kalolo, Yohana Mpelo Kapama, Paulo Ntumo, Filipo Bizimana, Mariamu Bizimana (Filipo Bizimana’s wife), Yohana Mahwela, and Magdalena Kalemela.²⁰⁴ Alfred and Elna Kristensen worked at Bigabiro mission from 1934 to 1936. Then, they were followed by Gustavsson and Esther Struble (1937 – 1946), and Bror Arne Norberg and his wife Svea Norberg (1946 – 1947).²⁰⁵

A Bible school was started at Bigabiro, Kigoma in 1947 by Missionary Erland Dalhqvist, who taught there from 1947 to 1949. Then Missionary Einar Karlsson followed, who also taught there from 1952 to 1955. It is told that Enos Andrea Nkone, who was born in 1931, started his primary education at a “Bush School” at Kiganza village, and completed it in 1946 at Buzugu village. He joined at Bigabiro Bible School for Bible studies in 1953.²⁰⁶ The goal of starting this Bible school was to prepare ministers for ministry. It was aimed at providing church ministers with biblical knowledge, especially equipping them for preaching the Gospel.²⁰⁷ In 1955 this Bible school was moved to Lolangulu, Tabora and remained there until 1956. Then it was moved and being established at Puge in 1957. But, in 1965 a Bible school was started again at Bigabiro, Kigoma.²⁰⁸ It took an aspect of becoming a Western Zone Bible School, just for the purpose of stabilizing and expansion of the ministry of the Gospel. The first resident Head of this school was Zakayo Shealtieli. William and Kerstin Bjorndin, who were working as missionaries at Bigabiro Church from 1968 to 1988, were also teachers at Bigabiro Bible School. Another Missionary, Miss Carin Holmqvist, taught at Bigabiro Bible School from 1970 to 1980.²⁰⁹

4.8 Puge Bible School (1957)

For many years, since its beginning, Puge was the central Bible school for almost all church ministers from all parts of the country. It was here where many church ministers got their basic Bible education. Churches sent their candidates there to be equipped for ministry. According to Petro Kamata, who was an interpreter for missionary teachers, and then a teacher at Puge Bible School, this school carries and celebrates an interesting rich history of theological education in the FPCT.²¹⁰

4.8.1 Beginning of Puge Pentecostal Church and the Start of Puge Bible School

In 1949, Missionary Martin Berggren (together with his wife Astrid) arrived and started the work of God at Puge village (by then known as Puge Chiefdom), which was in Nzega District, in the Western Province of then Tanganyika (modern Tanzania). The first public Gospel meeting at Puge village was held in May 1949. This was the beginning of the PUGE Pentecostal Church. A Bible school was started in 1957 under the leadership of Puge Pentecostal Church.

4.8.2 Construction of Bible School Buildings

The construction of Puge Bible School buildings started in 1956 under the supervision of Missionary Olle Bäoknäs. Missionary Arne Petersson, for a certain time in the same year, also came to join in helping construction of these buildings. He was in the process of going to Tabora town to start mission work there in the same year of 1956. Four buildings for the Bible school were built. The first building (house) is that which was used as a Bible school classroom. This building was also used for conducting church services. For now, this building is used as a dormitory for students. This dormitory is called “Jerusalem.” It is situated in the eastern side of the campus. The second building is that which was also used as the dormitory for students. It was called “Nazareth.” It is situated in the Western side of the campus. The third building was a small building (small house) which was used as a bathroom. Before then, it was used as a bedroom. The fourth building was a house with two bedrooms, where Erasto Makula and his family stayed.

4.8.3 Starting of the School

The Bible School was officially opened, and studies for the First Semester started at the beginning of March, in the year 1957. The Founder and the first Head of Puge Bible School was Missionary Erland Dahlqvist. He was the first Missionary of the Pentecostal Churches Association of Tanzania (PCAT), who formerly came under the Swedish Free Mission (SFM). He arrived in Tanganyika in May 1932 and started mission work at at Tazengwa village, in Nzega district.

4.8.4 Subjects

The Biblical course (subject), which Erland Dahlqvist taught was The Book of Acts. His emphasis was on the Missionary Journeys of Apostle Paul and his colleagues. On 27/05/1957, Petro M. Bundalla came to join Bible school training together with other students. In that year (1957), Petro M. Bundalla was thirty-three (33) years old. That first semester of the school (training) ended on 12/06/1957 (June 12, 1957). Missionary Einar Karlsson arrived at Puge on 17/08/1957. He came from Lolangulu Pentecostal Church, in Urambo district, where he was teaching at a temporary Bible school there in the year 1956. According to Petro Kamatta, Einar Karlsson taught at a temporary Bible school at Lolangulu while the buildings for the Bible School at Puge Pentecostal Church were being built.²¹¹

The Second Semester of the Bible School opened, and studies started on 02/09/1957 (September 02, 1957). The Head of the School was Missionary Einar Karlsson. Erasto N. Makulla worked as his interpreter (from English to Kiswahili). Erasto N. Makulla himself was also a student as other students. Petro M. Bundalla was also one of those students. The Subject (course) which the Head of the School, Einar Karlsson, started to teach on that day of September 02, 1957 was Bible Survey about the Thirty-nine (39) Books of Old Testament and (27) Books of the New Testament. That Second Semester of the school (training) ended at the end of November, 1957.

In 1958, the First Semester of the school started at the beginning of March, and studies started again. The Head of the School, Einar Karlsson, continued to teach, assisted by Erasto N. Makulla as his interpreter. Petro M. Bundalla continued to be one of the students. The semester ended at the end of May, 1958. The Second Semester of the school training for the year 1958 started at the beginning of September. Studies started and continued through the end of November, 1958. Then the school was closed and Petro M. Bundalla continued to be one of the students. In 1959, Azori Fumbuka from Lolangulu Pentecostal Church joined Puge Bible School for studies. He recalls that among his fellow classmates in that year were Andrea Shaushi from Nkinga, Tabora and Pinoni Lilageza from Kigoma. Subjects which were taught included Knowing the Christian Faith, Holy Spirit, Church, Prophecy (The Book of Revelation), Christian Servanthood, and History of Bible Books (Bible Survey). “I studied there and our teachers were Missionary Einar Karlsson and Martin Berggren,” says Azori Fumbuka, who is an FPCT retired pastor now from FPCT Lolangulu Local Church.²¹² He also states that, “Plus studying all those subjects and others, but much emphasis was placed on Knowing the Christian Faith and on True Christian servanthood. After the school, we went back home while well equipped and ripe for the work; It was not easy to be shaken by any opposition.”²¹³

4.8.5 Teachers Who Taught at Puge Bible School from 1957 to 1997

Teachers who taught at Puge Bible School included those who were regarded as leading or permanent bible school teachers, missionaries, together with some of the pastors from the PCAT churches. The table below shows the names of teachers and the year or years they taught.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Table 4.1 List of Teachers Taught at Puge Bible College from 1957 to 1997

In addition to the above mentioned teachers, there were other some pastors who were invited to teach as part-time teachers. These included Rev. Paulo Samweli, Rev. Absalom Martin Mmeta, Rev. Solomon Ng’imba, Rev. Marko Kikumbo, Rev. Lazaro Sengati, and Rev. Noah Mkuki. Though others are not mentioned here by names, they did their work well.

4.8.6 Bible School Committee

The early committee for Puge Bible School had the following members:

1. Rev. Harris Kapiga
2. Rev. Daniel Itaja
3. Mrs. Julia Masali (Erasto Makulla’s wife)

For unknown reasons, this school committee did not last longer. In 1980, a meeting was held between the leadership of the school and the leadership of the neighboring churches. Together, they resorted that the school committee should include the following members:

1. The Local Church Leaders, where the school is located, were to be members of the school committee.
2. Three Church Leaders from the neighboring churches, who were to be elected every year, were to be members of the school committee.
3. The Head of the School – who was the executive, and who was in charge and responsible for the school administration, was also the member of the school committee.

This structure of school leadership lasted for almost five to six years (from 1980 – 1984). From 1984 to 1994, the school leadership was under Puge Pentecostal Church. This Church was in charge of the school. From 1994 to 1997, the School Committee comprised of Local Church Leaders of Puge Pentecostal Church; elected representative members from among the Local Church members; and two representative members from the Central Western Zone Pentecostal churches.

4.8.7 Economy of the School

From 1957 to1987, the PCAT neighboring churches (to Puge Bible School) together with the Scandinavian churches were responsible in the running of the school economically. But much assistance and support financially was offered by the Scandinavian churches. From 1987 to 1997, the Nora Pentecostal Church in Sweden together with Puge Pentecostal Church supported the running of Puge Bible School economically. The goal of Nora Pentecostal Church in Sweden to support Puge Bible School was to help the school so that it becomes a self-supported school economically. That is why three micro-projects were introduced. These projects were:

1. Agriculture
2. Garden
3. Carpentry

In addition to those micro-projects, the school later introduced a literature project, whereby the school published books of different biblical / Christian teachings.

4.8.8 Syllabus

In 1986, an academic meeting was held at Puge Bible School. This meeting brought together all Bible schools’ teachers. As a resolution, it was agreed that all PCAT Bible schools should start teaching by using and following a designed and developed syllabus (some sort of a curriculum). In 1987, this plan was put into action and the syllabus was designed. So, from 1987 onwards, Puge Bible School has been teaching by following a designed syllabus. According to Jonas Kulwa Msubi, who was a student at Puge Bible School in 1991, the following subjects were being taught: Bible Survey, Christian Faith, History of Israel, Church History, Leadership, Christian Writing, Book-Keeping, Daniel and Revelation, The Four Gospels, The Book of Acts of Apostles, Pauline Epistles, Christian Ethics, Servanthood, Holy Spirit, Fundamentals of Music, Marriage and Family, Practical Homiletics, and Health.

4.8.9 Future Plans of the School

The school aims at building its capacity economically and financially so as to be able to achieve its future plans. Some of the school’s future plans include extending the timeframe for studies, from a trimester (three months) to at least one year or more. Another thing is to solve the water problem at the school, which has been a big hindrance in the running of the school.

4.9 Marangu Bible School (1966/1969)

Marangu Pentecostal Church, which is in Kilimanjaro region, got started in 1963 by the work of Missionaries Mary and Göte Brinkebäck. According to Elihuruma Kombe,²¹⁴ apart from the missionaries, the early church leaders in Marangu Pentecostal Church included Elihuruma Kombe, Elisafisha Makundi, Erasto Mboya, and Erasto Mshomi. The idea of having a Bible school came after the church was instituted. According to Rev. John Mwakyusa, preparations for starting a Bible School in Marangu started in 1966. He says: The preparations for starting a Bible school in Marangu started in 1966, when three resident pastors, namely Elihuruma Kombe, Elisafisha Makundi, and Erasto Mshomi, were invited to visit Sweden. Among other reasons, they went to Sweden in that year for the purpose of seeing possibilities and abilities with the Swedish Pentecostal churches to have a Bible school in the Northern part of Tanzania. Upon their return, a Bible school got started.²¹⁵

Nathaniel Marandu, who is a senior pastor at FPCT Ngaramtoni local church in Arusha, and former FPCT Radio Habari Maalum broadcaster, preserves valuable information about Marangu Pentecostal Church and the set up of Radio Habari Maalum broadcasting station. He recalls that the Pentecostal Church in Marangu was instituted around 1963/1964, and that Marangu Bible School got started in 1969. He mentions Harris Kapiga, Andrea Shimba, and Absalom Martin as some of the teachers who used to come and teach at Marangu Bible School.²¹⁶ According to Elihuruma Kombe, the former teacher of Marangu Bible School, the founder of Marangu Bible School was Missionary Göte Brinkebäck. Teachers of that time included Missionary Göte Brinkebäck himself, Missionary Åke Klingberg, Elihuruma Kombe, Erasto Mboya, and Erasto Mshomi. Later Mr. Erasto Mshomi was appointed to be the head of the School. The subjects that were taught included Bible Survey, Evangelism, Church Planting, Pastoral Work, Leadership, and others.²¹⁷ Rev. John Mwakyusa tells that I myself started to study at Marangu Bible School in 1972. Our teachers were Åke Klingberg, Harris Kapiga, Andrea Shimba, and PhilemonTibanenason. The subjects we were taught included Bible Survey, Evangelism, Pastoral Ministries, Holy Spirit, The Book of Revelation, Church History, and others. Philemon Tibanenason taught Evangelism. Later in 1982, I was invited to go to teach there. I went and I taught two subjects: The Book of Revelation and Servanthood.²¹⁸

Concerning the impact of Marangu Bible School in the Church and in the community, Elihuruma Kombe states: Marangu Bible School has had a great contribution in the Church. The School contributed much in preparing and equipping different servants of God. Some of them include Christian Kiwia, Nickson Isangya, and John Mwakyusa, to name a few. Interestingly, Stevie Mulenga, who is the present FPCT Arch-Bishop also studied here and was prepared and equipped for the ministry. Also, the School contributed much in the spreading of the Gospel in the different parts of the countries. This resulted from the students who came to study here. They were prepared and equipped for the ministry.²¹⁹

Radio station, attached to the church, is instrumental in the spreading of the gospel, in the edification of the Church, and in church growth. Nathaniel Marandu maintains that Radio Habari Maalum broadcasting station, attached to the FPCT Church, was set up and started working in its initial stages in 1974. In 1976, the radio station effectively started to prepare and transmit radio programs on air, including preaching and teachings of the Word of God. In 1982 it was moved from Marangu to AICC Arusha town, before it was shifted to Ngaramtoni suburb, in Arusha region, where it is still located there.²²⁰ Rev. Yona Ng’imba repeatedly states that “They used to invite Harris Kapiga to Radio habari Maalum station to record preachings and teachings of the Word of God, to be broadcasted on air.”²²¹

4.10 Bukoba Bible School (1969)

Alice and Karl Log started church work in Bukoba (Kagera region’s capital) in 1963. In the first stages, a Bible school in Bukoba began in 1964 under missionaries Karl Log and Belgisten as teachers at Nyarugandorushwa suburb. For several years, from 1964 to 1969, this Bible class was conducted in rented houses. Later, the church got a plot (a piece of land) at Rwamisenyi suburb, where construction of a classroom started. After the construction of the classroom was completed, then it was time to start a Bible school “officially.”

The Bible School in Bukoba was therefore opened officially on 22/6/1969. According to Aaron Bambanza, it is Rev. Simon Kakete who inaugurated and dedicated it. “He read the Word of God while standing at the door of the classroom.”²²² Aaron Bambanza also tells that in that day “Karl Log was the leader of that inaugural-dedication service. The ones who prayed for the dedication of the School were Rev. Simon Kakete, Evangelist Sebastian Banobi (from Biharamulo district), Missionary Arihelge Holmberg (from Uyovu mission station), and Missionary Karl Log. Evangelist F. Mulinda prayed for the offerings.”²²³ The inauguration ceremony was also attended by other neighboring / surrounding churches. “PAG Church and Christian Assembly from Bukoba were also present. Rev. Philemon Tibanenason prayed for the closing of the service,”²²⁴ says Aaron Bambanza.

After the official opening of the School in 1969, studies continued to take place. People from the region as well as from the neighboring regions came for Bible studies and theological training at the School. “Servants of God from Buhaya, Karagwe, Biharamulo, Uyovu, Mwanza, Ngara, and Kigoma came to study at this school.”²²⁵ Paulo Kuzenza mentions the following students who studied together with him in 1990/1991: Samwel Marko from Magu, Mwanza; John Masebo from Tarime, Mara; Batholomayo Shululu from Misungwi, Mwanza; Boniface pole from Bariadi, Shinyanga; Romanus Adigo from Rorya, Mara; and Meshack Mbangala from Biharamulo, Kagera. Other servants of God who attended Bukoba Bible School include Rev. Elias Simon from Mwanza, Aaron Maziku from Shinyanga, and Zakayo Machimu from Geita. These people are nowadays key people in FPCT leadership and theological education.²²⁶

According to Johanseni Felisiani, who was a student at Bukoba Bible School in the 1980s, subjects taught included Church History, Evangelism, Missions, Bible Survey, The Book of Acts of Apostles, Christian Faith, Leadership, Daniel and Revelation, Holy Spirit, Homiletics, Tenets of Christian Faith, The Book of Hebrews, The Life and Teachings of Christ, and others. Teachers who taught periodically at Bukoba Bible School were missionaries and indigenous pastors. These included Missionary Karl Log and Belgisten, Missionary Bilgar Skug, Alfred Juma, Samson Nsanzurwimo, Alfred Rwechungura, Andrea Shaushi, Aaron Barabara, and Erasto Kashura. Besides these, Rev. Harris Kapiga and Rev. Andrea Shimba were being invited to teach at the school as visiting teachers.²²⁷

4.11 Sanjaranda Bible School (1971)

Mission work and the Pentecostal church at Sanjaranda village, near Itigi town, started in 1954 under the Danish Missionary Robert Conrad and his wife Erne. After they had arrived, the process to establish a mission station at a suitable place started. They contacted the local chiefs (Kilihoda Lulu Mlugu and Paulo Lwanji) of the two sub-chiefdoms of area for approval to stay there. The missionaries and the two local chiefs went to meet the head of the local chiefs, who was known as Chief Handu, to present the missionaries’ request to get permission to start mission work at the area. The head of the local chiefs of the area, Chief Handu accepted their request and granted them the area where the church, a Bible school, and missionary houses are situated today. Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka narrates that Chief Handu spoke “prophetic words” in a meeting with the missionaries. He said the following words concerning the missionaries, “Those people, in the future days, they will bring great developments. Receive them; give them a place to stay and to build; do not choose for them a place to stay; let them choose where they want to stay, and you give them permission to stay there.”²²⁸ He then ordered the two local chiefs to give the missionaries the place / area, where the missionaries themselves wanted to. The two local chiefs did as they were instructed by their head chief. “The missionaries started to plant trees around the area of their choice and employed two resident men to keep the planted trees,”²²⁹ says Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka. In the same year (1954), communications with the Bigabiro Church in Kigoma were made and the Bigabiro Church sent Evangelist Nahanson Ntabalizo to Sanjaranda to help Missionary Conrad with translation and interpretation and missionary work in general. He was an evangelist, inland missionary, and later he became one of the key Bible school teachers at Sanjaranda. “He was sent Kigoma to Sanjaranda as an inland missionary to help Missionary Conrad with translation and interpretation, preaching, teaching, and other mission works,”²³⁰ says Emmanuel Kitinka.

When the two neighboring local chiefs (Kilihoda Lulu Mlugu and Paulo Lwanji) saw that their head chief had accepted and received the missionaries in his chiefdom, they perceived that the missionaries were good people. When the missionaries began to preach the Gospel and witnessing about Jesus Christ, the two local chiefs accepted the Gospel and received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Hence, the two local chiefs became the first believers at Sanjaranda local church. Following their conversion to Christ, a number of people of the area also believed. One of the reasons as to why they came to believe in the missionaries’ message of the Gospel was the conversion of their local chiefs. Kilihoda Lulu Mlugu and Paulo Lwanji were local rulers of the area. They had received the missionaries and accepted their message. Therefore, one of the hindrances to conversion had already been removed. They were then “free” to make their choice – believing or not to believe in the message of Christ preached by the missionaries. The first baptism was held in June 1956 when seventeen people were baptized. These were: Paulo Lwanji, Daniel Ngoo, Elieza Mgoko, Esta Pumpuni, “Madam” Rhoda (the Gogo Lady), Marko Ulughu, Daudi Banje, Yohana Banje, Lazaro Ulughu, Solomon (the Gogo man), Charles (the Nyamwezi man), Yusufu Ngoo, Samweli Mnyampwani, Zakayo Ghabwachi, Petro Maruangwa, Filipo Ulughu, and John Mwiniko. Unfortunately, Kilihoda Lulu Mlugu, who was the local chief and one of the first believers died before this first baptism. That is why his name is not appearing in the list above. Daniel Ngoo, Samweli Mnyampwani, and Marko Ulughu became the first indigenous local church leaders, who were recognized as “evangelists.” They worked hand in hand with missionaries in preaching the Gospel and establishing a mission station at Sanjaranda village and the surrounding areas.²³¹

One day, in 1955, it was heard sad news in the village and the surrounding places. It was the death of Missionary Robert Conrad. “I remember that day very well. I was a student at Itigi Primary School. In that day, unexpectedly, the bell was rung and all students were assembled at a school parade ground. Then we were taken to Sanjaranda village where we found the missionary’s body lying down. We were asked to surround the body (for security reasons) while waiting for Police officers from Manyoni district”²³² says Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka. It is told that the missionary died of heart attack – as he was trying to adjust a heavy tank, full of water, on his small truck at the well. Robert Conrad, who was born on 14/04/1912, was buried at Sanjaranda village on 25/10/1955 and his grave is nearby the first church’s building.²³³

Following the death of Robert Conrad, came Missionary Axel Jensen and his son Alfred. Nahanson Ntabalizo was still needed to help the new Danish Missionaries with translation and interpretation, some leadership, and missionary work. So, he joined them and the work of God continued. In 1955 Alfred Jensen went back to Denmark to get married. Nahanson Ntabalizo also went back to Kigoma for the same purpose – to get married. Both, Alfred Jensen and Nahanson Ntabalizo came back to Sanjaranda in January 1956. In 1964, Alfred Jensen (Axel Jensen’s son) moved from Sanjaranda and went to start mission work in Singida town. In his place, came another Danish Missionary Peter Madsen in the same year (1964). Between 1967 and 1970, three missionaries came at Sanjaranda mission station. Goodbrand Sunboard arrived in 1967 and left in 1968. David Adamson arrived in 1968 and left the same year. Then in 1969 Missionary Ove Petersen (a Danish missionary with German origin) arrived in 1969 and stayed until 1970.²³⁴

Sanjaranda Bible School started officially in 1971 under Peter Madsen and Nahanson Ntabalizo. A small partition in the church building served as a classroom. The church building was earlier built in 1969 under supervision of Missionaries Ove Petersen and Peter Madsen. Construction of a Bible School’s buildings (a classroom and dormitories) started in 1970. Earlier in 1964, Mathayo Goda, Abel Monko, and Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka were sent to Puge Bible School for Bible studies. “When I came back from Puge Bible School, Missionary Peter Madsen ordained me to be a church deacon,”²³⁵ says Emmanuel Kitinka. In 1965 Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka returned to Puge Bible School for Bible studies again. Then for two years (1970 – 1971) he was in Rwanda, sent by the missionaries for further Bible studies in preparation for establishing a Bible school at Sanjaranda. After completing his studies in Rwanda in 1971, Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka returned back home, Sanjaranda. In the same year he started to teach at a Bible school. “I started to teach at Sanjaranda Bible School in 1971, when I was given two weeks to teach. Nahanson Ntabalizo was the head of the school, working in close cooperation with Missionary Peter Madsen”²³⁶ says Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka.

In 1972, the Local Church Pastors’ Meeting decided to ordain Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka and Andrea Ntui to be pastors. It was decided that Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka was to go to Manyoni town to be a pastor there. However, he was not willing to go, claiming that that was not his calling. Therefore, the Church decided to send Andrea Ntui, instead to be a pastor in Manyoni town. After refusing to go to Manyoni town to be a pastor there, Missionary Peter Madsen called and asked Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka to be a teacher and the head of the Bible school. He agreed to do so, claiming that that was his calling. Following these decisions, Nahanson Ntabalizo, who was the head of the Bible School, was sent to Itigi town to pastor a church there – though he continued to be a Bible School teacher. Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka became the head of the Bible school, as a replacement for Nahanson Ntabalizo. “I was given the responsibility to supervise Bible school’s activities and I was removed from the Local Church Pastors’ Council. I only attended the Council present reports about the developments of the Bible School,”²³⁷ says Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka.

In 1973, a name of the man known as Solomon Ng’imba was proposed and passed to be one of the Bible School teachers. So by 1974, Sanjaranda Bible School had at least four “permanent” teachers: Missionary Peter Madsen, Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka, Nahanson Ntabalizo, and Solomon Ng’imba. Part-time teachers included Rev. Andrea Shimba, Rev. Harris Kapiga, and visiting missionaries. It was also agreed that two pastors from each of the three Local Churches, namely Itigi, Ihanja, and Singida, be chosen each training season and come to teach at the Bible School. These were required to be those who are able to teach or talented / gifted in teaching. Some of the pastors who got this opportunity to teach include Rev. Yakobo Nyika, Rev. Simon Ngura, Rev. Andrea Duma, Andrea Ntui, Yohana Mabondo, John Kamunya, and Rev. Philemon Mungumaji. In establishing the relationships with the foreign partners, Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka and Solomon Ng’imba got a privilege to visit Europe. On 2nd March 1974, they flew to Denmark, when they stay for a month, preaching and ministering the Pentecostal Churches. Moreover, Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka got an opportunity to visit England while Solomon Ng’imba went to Norway for the same purposes.

The leadership of the School comprised of three key people: missionary, head of the school, and the accountant. According to Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka, more than twenty subjects were being taught. Some of those subjects included: The Church, Marriage and Family, Evangelism, Holy Spirit, and Baptism.²³⁸ The School organized different classes for different groups of people in the church. There were classes for young men; classes for girls; classes for married women; classes for evangelists; and classes for pastors, church elders with their wives. Later on, an English Course for church ministers was introduced. Due to increased school duties and responsibilities, more teachers were needed as well as other technical and professional personnel. Therefore, between the 1980s and 1990s, the School decided to employ Yesaya Ambayuu, William Mlule, Julius Adam to help with teaching responsibilities. In the early 1990s, the School sent Julius Adam, Musa Mjelwa, and John Tuu for further theological education. Stephen chima was employed as an accountant.

Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka and Solomon Ng’imba were key indigenous Bible School teachers and learders. For years, since the beginning of Sanjaranda Bible School in the early 1970s, they have played a big role in the development of theological education in the FPCT. A number of trained pastors and other church ministers has been a blessing all over the country, especially in the central zone of Tanzania. In 1984, Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka got another opportunity to visit Denmark. This time, he went with a letter from the Sanjaranda Local Church Pastors’ Council to ask for “human resource” from the Danish churches. A targeted person was Åde Conrad (Sven-Axel Conrad), one of the sons of Robert Conrad the founder of mission work at Sanjaranda mission station. He was needed by the Sanjaranda Local Church to come to Sanjaranda to help with the development of the Bible School and the work of the Gospel in Tanzania. The church wanted him to come to Sanjaranda to supervise a school farm project, which was aimed at supporting the Bible School economically. The aim was to make Sanjaranda Bible School self-supporting with sustainable development. Their request was accepted and Sven-Axel Conrad agreed to come. On 12th September 1984, Sven-Axel Conrad came together with Jense Husland Thomsen as the agriculture expert to oversee the agriculture project, which was aimed at supporting the running of a Bible school.

4.12 Keza Bible School (1985)

The Holiness Union Mission (HUM) (called Helgelseförbundet (HF) from Sweden started its mission work in Tanzania (Tanganyika by then) in the mid-1950s.²³⁹ The HUM missionary Sten Larsson, who had received a divine calling to work in Tanganyika, arrived in the country in November 1949. He together with his future wife Margit, they became the bearer of the vision for the work in this new mission country.²⁴⁰ Between the mid-1950s and the early 1970s, three mission stations in Kigoma region (Western Tanganyika) were established under HUM. These were Muhange, Keza, and Kifura, which are located within a relatively area in Kibondo district, Kigoma region. In October 1954, the missionaries were granted permission to start building the mission station at Muhange. The mission work in Tanganyika had now begun. Sten Larsson had married Margit, and their son Roland was born. It is reported that the first church in Muhange was a simple grass church without walls. The first baptisms in Muhange took place in 1955 and the first congregation was formed.²⁴¹ Sten Larsson started another mission work at Keza in 1957 and the mission station here was established in 1959.²⁴² The third traditional mission station was established in Kifura.²⁴³ Besides missionary Sten Larsson, other early church leaders included Obedi Mazuru, Mikaeli Mubiligi, and John Kwezi.

A Bible School at Keza was established in 1985 under the leadership of Rev. Isaka Makoko. Some of the first teachers at this school were Isack Makoko himself, Simon Kalimanzila, Stephano Sembisa, Samsoni Maburuki, Hildur Carlson, Eva Sten, Englebert Kapesa, John Kwezi, and Christer Morath. Then later came Richard Maige, Samwel Kaasa, Evarist Ruhere, and Leonard Bishirabandi. Some of the students who studies at this school include Petro Hassan, Aaron Mihungo, Amosi Kalegeya, Daudi Yoramu, Dominick Kamali, Evarist Ruhere, Josephat Kagoma, Leonard Bishirabandi, Herbert Nzogera, Vestina (from Nyakayenzi), and Christina (from Kibondo). Subjects taught included Leadership, Evangelism, Book-keeping, Health, Homiletics, Christian Faith, English Language, and others.

Keza Bible School contributed much in preparing church leaders and in the spread of the Gospel. Many churches were planted in the region, especially in Kibondo and Kakonko districts (Kigoma region) and in Ngara and Biharamlo districts (in Kagera region). Among those who studied at Keza Bible School they became church leaders (parishes’ pastors and local churches’ pastors). Pastor Isaka Makoko, for example, was for many years one of the church leaders in Kibondo. Some of the graduates became Bible schools’ and colleges’ teachers.

4.13 Sumbawanga Bible School (1988)

In 1988, Missionary Malte Olmqvist started a Bible School in Sumbawanga, Rukwa. The school started as a “Women Development Center,” where Malte’s wife used to meet with women for vocational training. Later, servants of God from different neighboring places met there for theological training. Malte Olmqvist worked as a Bible teacher and head of the school. Thomas Mwanakatwe, after coming back from his studies at Bigabiro Bible College in Kigoma, became a Bible School teacher. He also became the head of the school after Malte Olmqvist’s departure. Other teachers who taught at this school include Missionary Nimrid, Rev. Kilahagazwe, Rev. Sangata, and Rev. Gaspar Mizengo. Subjects taught included Church History, Christian Faith, Old and New Testament Survey, Leadership, Evangelism, The Book of Acts of Apostles. Some of the students who attended Sumbawanga Bible School are Pastor Kamwela, Pastor Kasuku, Pastor Kakwale, and Pastor Enos Mwanakatwe.

4.14 Handeni Bible School (1997)

In Handeni Tanga, Missionary Åke Klingberg and his wife Barbro from Jonköping Church in Sweden started a Bible school there in 1997. The School started by providing theological training at a certificate level. Duration of study was one year, broken down in three terms of approximately three months each. In 2000, the School began to provide theological training for three years, aiming its students to graduate with a diploma in Bible and theology. In 2004, the FPCT Church through the Department of Bible and Theology, recognized and upgraded the School from offering certificate to offering diplomas. It was from then that the School acquired a status of being a Bible college. Rev. John Mwakyusa and Rev. Petro Kipojo have been teachers here almost from the beginning of the School. After Missionary Åke Klingberg returned back to Sweden, the leadership of the School was handed over to the Church, and Rev. John Mwakyusa became the principal of the School.

4.15 Mwanza Bible School (1997 – 2002)

Mwanza Bible School was started as a result of FPCT decision to move Bukoba Bible School from Bukoba to Mwanza, due to church disputes. Therefore, in 1997 Bukoba Bible School was moved from Bukoba to Mwanza town. The School lasted in Mwanza from 1997 to 2002, before it was moved again to Tazengwa, Nzega in 2002. Almost all subjects that were being taught in Bukoba were taught in Mwanza, with a few changes and additions. Subjects taught in Mwanza included Old Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Missions, Evangelism, Christian Faith, Leadership, Tenets of Christianity, Holy Spirit, and Christian Family Life. Other subjects were Church History, The Book of Acts of Apostles, The Book of Hebrews, Bringing Muslims to Christ, Teaching Methods, Psychology, and English language. Church History, Christian Counseling, Daniel and Revelation, Homiletics and other subjects were also being taught. Teachers at Mwanza Bible School included Samson Nsanzurwimo, Zakayo Machimu, Rev. Elias Simon, Rev. David Batenzi, Markku Karjalainen, and Mathias Mjika.

4.16 The Rise of Tanganyikan (Tanzanian) Teachers and Theologians

Pentecostals have been emphasizing that the charismatic activity of the Holy Spirit, as revealed in Luke-Acts, is vocational. That is, it is for worship, service, and witness (ministry). They have long affirmed that the purpose of the Pentecostal gift is to empower believers to become effective witnesses. Every believer’s contribution to the service of the church is a vital ingredient in the Pentecostal theology. Everyone could (and should) be expected to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and thus become a tool in God’s hand. The following is a description of some of the Tanganyikan leaders, who also ministered as theological teachers and served as great theologians of the church.

4.16.1 Harris Kapiga (1913 – 1995)

Harris Kapiga was born in 1913 at Ndala village, in the district of Nzega. His stepfather was a witch doctor and began to introduce the young Harris in the occult practices. However, Harris left home when he was only 11 years old together with a brother and ended up in Kenya. He went to school there are studied the New Testament and got saved. Straight after his conversion he started to share his faith with others. He returned to Tanganyika in 1934. When he came back home, he joined his family and told of his newly won faith.²⁴⁴ He witnessed about his new faith at home. At that moment they told him that there is a mission church where they also preach the same faith as himself. They said, “Listen, we have heard a similar teaching in Nzega.” Kapiga thus went to Nzega to look for the missionaries. When he arrived and met them at Tazengwa Nzega, Kapiga says, “They received me and I began to preach with them. These missionaries became very helpful to me helping me to understand the Word of God.”²⁴⁵ Kapiga knew the English language well, so it was easy for him to communicate with the missionaries in English. The missionaries received answers to their prayers when Harris Kapiga arrived at Tazengwa Nzega, looking for work. He was an educated teacher. The missionaries found that his arrival in Nzega came in good time since they would gather to a conference together with AIM (Africa Inland Mission) the following day. They asked Harris to join so he could see how things were. Later that year Harris got married in Luhumbo and the couple settled in Nzega. Missionary Erland Dahlqvist wrote in his diary 26 April 1934: “I have a feeling that God will use this man.”²⁴⁶

It appears that Harris Kapiga began as a preacher in connection with his welcoming by the missionaries. In 1934, when he arrived and met the missionaries at Tazengwa “under the tree,” the missionaries spoke to this man the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is not known much about his previous Christian experience in Kenya, but according to Jonas Kulwa Msubi, his meeting with the missionaries at Tazengwa Nzega led him to his conversion.²⁴⁷ After his decision to give his life to Christ and his willingness to work with the missionaries, Harris Kapiga began serving in SFM, even before being baptized and accepted as a member of the church in Tazengwa. “He got into ministry early, probably even before his baptism in March 1935.”²⁴⁸ He together with other five believers was baptized in the first baptism event that took place in Nzega on 10th March, 1935. The man then became a great help to the missionaries and to the mission work. It is believed in the FPCT that Harris Kapiga was the first believer in the country under the Swedish Free Mission, which started in Tanganyika in 1932. He is “credited” to be the first evangelist, teacher of the Word of God, theologian, and author.²⁴⁹ Andreas Dagernäs writes about the important role Harris Kapiga had in the area of theological education, right from the early stages of the FPCT. He states, “The important role of Kapiga was obviously acknowledged by the missionaries already in 1935, something that indicates that his contribution in the area of “theologizing under the radar” was a reality from the early years.”²⁵⁰

Harris Kapiga, the local native and professional teacher, had many important roles in the Swedish Pentecostal mission in Tanganyika under the SFM. His personality and abilities had opportunities to flourish within SFM. His previous experiences in Kenya probably served as a good foundation for what would become. One of the important roles he had was interpretation. It is evident that Kapiga’s interpretation was important for more newly arrived missionaries. Harris Kapiga, who spoke English after his period in Kenya, served as an interpreter from the beginning when he arrived at Tazengwa. When new missionaries came, Kapiga helped with interpretation before they had sufficient language skills.²⁵¹ In a personal interview with Rev. Yona Ng’imba, who is the pastor in charge and the successor of Rev. Harris Kapiga at Iguguno Pentecostal Church, Rev. Yona Ng’imba states the following concerning the role of Harris Kapiga in interpretation: Harris Kapiga came to Tazengwa from Kenya, where he studied there and became a teacher. These missionaries – the Dahlqvists, asked him to help them with interpretations. He interpreted from English to Kisukuma and/or Kiswahili, because the local people did not know English; He interpreted from Kisukuma and/or Kiswahili to English, because the missionaries did not know the two languages – Kisukuma and Kiswahili. He also interpreted from English to Kisukuma and/or Kiswahili, because he knew English, Kisukuma, and Kiswahili. He was born in Ndala, nzega district in 1913. He got married to Elizabeth, a lady from Kolandoto, Shinyanga region.²⁵²

The fact that Kapiga had an influential role at an early stage can be confirmed. Erland Jonsson wrote about Kapiga in a letter to Sweden in October 1935. He wrote, “I want to lay on all your hearts to pray for him because he has an incredibly great influence over the young brothers, who may in the future sometimes, if Jesus hasn’t returned before, will be teachers out in the villages.”²⁵³

Harris Kapiga was also involved in the formation of theology and practice in the church at the early stage. He began to pray for the sick and drive out evil spirits (casting out demon spirits from demon-possessed people). This practice was not taught or practiced by the missionaries. Elias Shija conducted an interview with Lazaro Sengati, and it is interesting to see how this practice (and theology) was introduced by Africans themselves. The interviewer Shija asks the question: “It is said of the first missionaries that they did not pray for sick or drive out spirits. Is that right?” Sengati answers: “That’s right. They just preached and prayed as usual. But they did not pray for sick or drive out spirits.” Sengati explains that this was because the missionaries did not teach about this. He says, “We just read about how Jesus used to do and how he drove out spirits, but this was not practiced by the missionaries themselves.” Shija then asks how long this lack of practice was prevailing. Sengati explains that prayer for sick and to drive out spirits came later. Shija therefore asks who started to teach about this, and Sengati replies: “Those who began to teach about prayer for sick and to drive out spirits were the Africans themselves. One of them was Harris Kapiga.”²⁵⁴

Praying for the sick has been a vital part of Pentecostal theology and practice. In his ministry, Harris Kapiga preached and prayed for the sick. He also cast out demons from demon-possessed people. Andreas Dagernäs sees that the process of “contextualized prayer and exorcism practice” that Harris Kapiga embodies constitutes a clear example of “self-theologizing under the radar” at an early stage in the SFM.”²⁵⁵ He is even strongly convinced that “Harris Kapiga is the first Tanganyikan leader in SFM, who is mentioned as the initiator of this process.”²⁵⁶ The picture that Dagernäs gets is clear: “It was the Tanganyikans who led this development, not the missionaries.”²⁵⁷ J. Herbert Kane wrote, “The Christian church is trying to indigenize its liturgy, music, theology, and other features of its corporate life. In the words of John Mbiti, Africa’s leading theologian, “The missionaries Christianized Africa; now it’s time for the Africans to Africanize Christianity.”²⁵⁸

Later Harris Kapiga wrote a book about casting out demons. He entitled it in Kiswahili as “Toeni Pepo,” meaning “Cast out Demons.” Unfortunately, one Swedish lady missionary collected and burned over 300 copies of the book. It is not quite clear why this decision was taken. But it is said, among other reasons that some missionaries did not agree with Kapiga’s theology and practice on the subject, including some methods and manners of casting out demons, written in the book. For instance, among other things, Kapiga taught and wrote in his book that when ministering to the demon-possessed person, the minister should not lay hands on the person’s head; instead, the minister should rebuke the demons in the Name of Jesus, while pointing a finger on the person.²⁵⁹ Rev. Yona Ng’imba remembers the incident of burning of Kapiga’s books. He recalls and quotes Kapiga’s words to an FPCT delegation, which was sent to Harris Kapiga at Iguguno Pentecostal Church to ask him to help out with the process and practice of writing a history of the Pentecostal Church in Tanzania. He quotes Kapiga’s words as follows: “I will not provide any cooperation in this proposed task until those who burned my books come to me and ask me for forgiveness for what they did.” In his own words, Rev. Yona Ng’imba states the following concerning the incident: Harris Kapiga wrote a book with the title “TOENI PEPO” (literally, “CAST OUT DEMONS”). Many pastors in Tanzania liked it much, but the Swedish strongly opposed and rebutted it. Among those who opposed it was a Swedish lady, by the name Birgitta, who was a Sunday school teacher in Tabora, and who also then went to Arusha. This lady went to the Bookshop in Tabora and requested to buy as many copies of the book as possible in order to distribute to the pastors and churches in Tanzania – claiming that the Tanzanian African pastors could not afford to buy it. She then bought more than 300 copies of the book. She did not distribute to pastors and churches as she claimed, but instead, she burned all the books she had bought.²⁶⁰

When asked about the incident, the former FPCT National Overseer, Rev. Absalom Martin commented, “Though some of the missionaries, especially women missionaries, claimed that some of the book’s content seemed to disrespect the dignity of women, but I think there was little understanding among the missionaries concerning the Pentecostal theology and practice of casting out demons from demon-possessed people.”²⁶¹ Could this be evidence that the missionaries did not teach and practice the act of driving out demon spirits? Or was there misunderstanding of the practice between the two sides? More research needs to be done.

Harris Kapiga, who was a formally trained teacher from his time in Kenya, obviously had a role of great importance in the service. “He is mentioned in several places as both a preacher and a teacher. Yohana Mabondo mentions him as a teacher at Mpera when Mabondo was educated together with, among others, Simoni Kalyango. Zakaria Kadulila describes that he was first trained by Dahlqvist but Kapiga then took over as a teacher.”²⁶² Harris Kapiga taught the Word of God boldly at Tazengwa and the neighboring areas; he taught at Mpera Bible School and then at Puge Bible School. He conducted seminars and conferences in East Africa, preaching and teaching the Word of God. In 1947, Harris Kapiga visited Finland where he preached and taught the Word of God in various places of Finland. “He preached in Kinyamwezi (a vernacular language) and Sylvi Mömmö translated into Finnish language. Oh! It was a great blessing.”²⁶³

In 1964, Harris Kapiga moved from Tazengwa, Nzega to Iguguno village, which is in Singida region, to start missionary work there. Rev. Yona Ng’imba remembers the coming of Harris Kapiga at Iguguno village in 1964. He states: Missionary Harris Kapiga arrived here at Iguguno village in 1964. He started to preach the Gospel and I was the fourth believer among the first four believers; the other three preceded me to come in the faith he preached. We started a church at the center of the village before we shifted from there to where we are today. It was in 1975. For three years we built this new church building. It is built of rock stones with clay. We started building it in 1975 and we completed it in 1977. Miraculously, the stones at the small site we had dug did not run short of. The stones multiplied every day as we dug until we finished construction – and some of the stones are still there today! I have worked hand in hand with Harris Kapiga right from his arrival here at Iguguno to his death in 1995. I know well his history.²⁶⁴

Later on, Harris Kapiga started a Bible School in his local church (Iguguno Pentecostal Church), at Iguguno village, where many people have received his teachings of the Word of God. He spent the rest of his life by leading the Iguguno Pentecostal Church; preaching and teaching in national and local churches’ conferences; teaching in Bible schools; and teaching and preaching in different seminars in different parts of the country. He was strong in his teachings and in his faith. For example, in “A Gathering of Thanksgiving,” which was held at Iguguno Pentecostal Church on 28/07/1994, Harris Kapiga himself, who was a speaker at the occasion, testified of great works of God. In one testimony, he said: One day as I traveled on my bicycle, I felt hungry and was unable to ride. I needed something to eat so that I get strength to ride, because I was needed to get at a school to teach. I had nothing to eat. God told me, “eat!” I asked, “Where shall I get food to eat?” God led me to a certain tree; I picked a leaf of that tree and ate it. After eating that leaf of a tree, I felt strong and I was able to continue with my journey.”²⁶⁵

Encouraging Christians to be thankful (Col. 3:15) and to share with others what the Lord has done for them, Harris Kapiga gave another testimony: One day also, as I traveled on my bicycle going to a gospel meeting, I found a river full of water and it was impossible to cross over. When I asked for help from people who were there, they refused to help. Then I stepped on water, knelt down, with my head bent over my bicycle’s seat. I started praying for help from God. Before I closed my prayer, I heard someone greeting me in my mother language, Kinyamwezi: “Mwadila vhavha” (meaning, “Good afternoon Sir”). I stopped praying; I responded to the person’s greeting. This man told me to follow him as he crossed over the river. He instructed me to do as he did. He was rowing the waters. I followed him, rowing the waters as he did until I crossed over the river. After crossing the river, and as I put down my bicycle so that I thank the man for his help, I found nobody; the man disappeared. Then I recognized that it was God who sent his angel to help me. I thanked God.²⁶⁶

On 29/07/1994 in the same week of “A Gathering of Thanksgiving,” held at Iguguno Pentecostal Church, Harris Kapiga read in Acts 15:12 where it is written: “The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.” He encouraged the assembly of “A Gathering of Thanksgiving” to tell about what God had done through them. He gave another testimony: One of my former Bush school students, who had become a ward executive secretary, invited me to his home. As I visited him, he gave me some milk and I drank it all. Soon later, it was realized that the milk which I was given, was poisoned with a deadly poison. I remembered the words of Jesus Christ when he said to his disciples: “And when they drink deadly poison, it will not harm them at all” (Mark 16:18). I did not die; I am still living to this day. I thanked the God. But also, one day I was bitten by a poisonous serpent. In a miraculous way, the poison ended to my knee only. It did not harm me; I am living to this day. This is a miraculous sign and wonder.²⁶⁷

On the same day, Harris Kapiga read in Acts 12:17, where it is written, “Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.” He said that a thankful church prayed for Peter, believing that Peter will be released. Then he told this testimony: “I was seriously sick and almost dead at Nkinga Hospital. In a vision, my spirit was taken up to Zion. I saw the Zion city’s doors and windows closed. When I got up and become conscious, I saw believers surrounding my bed, crying and praying.”²⁶⁸ He insisted and added that in reading Acts 12:9-11 Peter had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. But later when he came to his sense, he knew that it was the Lord who had sent his angels to rescue him from Herod’s clutches. To emphasize this, Harris Kapiga testified: You do not need to say that “Today I am going to perform a miracle!” No; But the signs will follow those who believe. Even I, God used me to raise from the dead two people who were dead. Of the two persons, I found the first already dead; I prayed and he came to life. The second just died when I stepped there. We prayed for five hours, from 08 pm to 01 am. Then dead person came to life again. But I did not say that “Today I am going to raise a person from the dead.”²⁶⁹

He said that Rhoda heard and recognized Peter’s voice and she was so overjoyed. But the gathering did not believe when she told them that Peter was knocking at the door. “You are out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel” (Acts 12:17). By reading this scripture, Harris Kapiga insisted that the (miraculous) sign of God is in one’s mouth just as Peter was knocking at the door. One needs to acknowledge; one needs to accept and tell it to others. Rejecting God’s miracle will make a room for the devil to penetrate his deception.

Harris Kapiga has been a great blessing in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania in particular and in the country and outside the country in general. In the last years of his lifetime, Rev. Kapiga spent much of his time exhorting the Church of Christ to prepare themselves to go in “The City of Zion.”²⁷⁰ Rev. Harris Kapiga was promoted to eternity on September 03, 1995.

4.16.2 Andrea Shimba (1918 – 1993)

The second resident Bible school teacher was Rev. Andrea Shimba. He got saved in Tazengwa in 1935 while he was very young. He was rejected by his relatives after he received Christ and became a Christian. Harris Kapiga took him to live in his family at Tazengwa, where he joined Tazengwa Bush School. In 1938 he got married, built his own house, and started the ministry of evangelism in Nyawa (Nkinga) village. Later he became a great preacher and teacher of the Word of God. Julia Wiklund wrote in her diary in 1936 how Andrea Shimba helped in school and in church meetings.²⁷¹ Both Harris Kapiga and Andrea Shimba were two key leaders and by far, colorful preachers in SFM from 1935 onwards.²⁷² Andrea Shimba preached and taught in Bible Schools in Tanzania, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi, Europe, and Israel. “At one time, the Church of England requested him to move from Tanzania and live in England to teach in a Bible School. He did not accept this offer. Instead, he said he was ready to teach and leave in order to ‘go into all the world to preach the gospel to all creation,’ and not to stay in one place.”²⁷³ Rev. Shimba loved young people especially. He conducted youth camps in Tabora year after training youths for ministry and leadership. Some of the fruits of his work include Rev. Jackson Kaluzi and Rev. Elias Shija, who have been in leadership of FPCT as General Secretaries respectively. Rev. Shimba died in 1993.

Harris Kapiga and Andrea Shimba represent a “classical period” of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). They were key leaders in from the early stages of the FPCT Church. This is evidenced by what Andreas Dagernäs writes about these two persons: “Both Harris Kapiga and Andrea Shimba, who were two key leaders in SFM from 1935 onwards, were, by far, colorful preachers.”²⁷⁴

4.16.3 Mathayo Sulemani (? – 1995)

Other FPCT’s theological teachers who came to rise later included Rev. Mathayo Sulemani, Rev. Simon Kakete, and Rev. Enos Nkone, all of them from Bigabiro Pentecostal Church. Rev. Mathayo Sulemani was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (Zaire by that time) in Bukavu Province, where he also got his primary education. Before his conversion to Christ, Mathayo Sulemani was a Muslim and he was known as Abdallah Sulemani. After accepting Christ as his Savior, he was baptized and he changed his name to be Mathayo Sulemani. In 1937 he got married to Esther Banyura and they were blessed with fifteen children (12 sons and 3 daughters). In 1965 his wife died, and in 1966 he got married to another wife, Assa Ntigonza and they had thirteen children (11 sons and 2 daughters).

Rev. Mathayo Sulemani served as an evangelist, church elder, and later he became the senior pastor of Bigabiro Pentecostal Church from 1947 to 1960. He is the one who was the first National Overseer of the then “Pentecostal Churches Social Association in Tanzania” (PCSAT) from 1964 to 1966. Rev. Sulemani was the scholar of the time at the area. “Rev. Mathayo Sulemani liked very much to write; very often he was seen writing down things – in meetings and different occasions.”²⁷⁵ He was trusted by the missionaries and they appointed him to be the Head of Education at Bigabiro Mission Station. During the church conflict which came about in 1960, Rev. Mathayo Sulemani did not agree with the resolutions reached by the PCSAT Dispute Resolution Committee. In the resolution, it was decided to move him from Bigabiro Mission Station to Arusha to minister there. He, instead, decided to part with the PCSAT and establish his “own” church. He joined a congregation at Nyaruntenga, Kagunga near the Tanzania-Burundi border. He later registered it as Kagunga/Nyaruntenga Pentecostal Church, which is nowadays known as “Pentekoste Motomoto” (literally “Pentecostal Fire”). He also became the first Ach-Bishop of that church. Following his departure from the Bigabiro Pentecostal Church and PCSAT, the Church at Bigabiro elected Rev. Simon Kakete to be a Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Pentecostal Church in place of Rev. Mathayo Sulemani. Rev. Mathayo Sulemani died in 1995. The FPCT Church remembers him for his great contribution in church leadership, spiritual formation, and Christian education in the Church.²⁷⁶

4.16.4 Simon Kakete (1907 – 1997)

Rev. Simon Kakete was born in 1907 at Msambara village, in Kasulu district, Kigoma region. In his youth, from 1942 to 1946, he served in the colonial army known as King’s African Rifles (KAR) under the British rule in Tanganyika. He got married to Julia Mgumile in 1948 and had eight children (six men and two daughters). In 1988 his wife died and he got married to another wife, Joan Kilatungwa in 1989. Rev. Simon Kakete received his calling to the work of God in 1940 while he was young and unmarried. He started by preaching and planting churches in Kibanga Msambara, working in cooperation with Mr. Mikaeli Kaduga. He planted and pastored churches in different places in the country: Kibanga – Kasulu (1940-1941); Mwanga – Kigoma (1952); Mpanda, in the modern Katavi region (1958); Korogwe, in Tanga region (1960-1962); and Bigabiro, Kigoma (1962-1962). In his lifetime, Rev. Simon Kakete served as evangelist (1940-1941 and 1947-1954); church elder (1954-1962); Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Pentecostal Church (1962-1992); and the PCSAT/PCAT’s National Overseer for eighteen (18) years successively (1967-1984). While he was serving as the Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Pentecostal Church, the Church sent him to Sweden to establish relationships between the Swedish Pentecostal churches and the Tanzanian Church, especially the Swedish work and support at Bigabiro.²⁷⁷

Rev. Simon Kakete was a man of prayer. He lived a life of prayer and he loved praying. He was a preacher and good teacher of the Word of God. God used him in his ministry and this was evidenced by the signs, miracles, and wonders that accompanied him. He preached the Gospel; he taught the Word of God strongly; and he prayed for the people. “One day, Rev. Simon Kakete prayed for a person in Kalinzi village (in Kigoma region) and a superstitious charm (object) came out of the person through the person’s mouth!”²⁷⁸ Rev. Simon Kakete retired from church’s leadership responsibilities in 1992 due to his physical health problems. He died on 25/08/1998. Mathayo Sulemani and Simon Kakete represent a “middle period” of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT).

4.16.5 Enos Nkone (1931 – 2018)

Rev. Enos Andrea Nkone was born in 1931 at Matyazo village, in Kalinzi area in Kigoma region. He got saved in 1942. He got his primary education in Kiganza and Buzugu Bush Schools in Kigoma region. He completed his primary education in 1946. In 1950, he got married to Margareta Sekangaye and they had fifteen children. In 1953, he joined Bigabiro Bible School for Bible studies. In 1957, he started correspondence course of English Language from the British Tutorial College of England. He graduated in 1959 with a certificate. In 1970, he did a “Church Workers’ Administration and Management Intensive Course” for three months under the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) in Dodoma, where he graduated with a certificate. In 1980, the PCAT sent him to England for further studies. He firstly studied at a “Youth With A Mission” School for four months and graduated with a certificate. Secondly, he joined at “International Bible Training Institute” (IBTI) for two years, where he was conferred a diploma in Theology.²⁷⁹

Rev. Enos Andrea Nkone started to serve God as an evangelist and a Bush Schools’ and primary schools’ teacher, teaching both pupils and adults. From 1946 to 1947 he was teaching at Buronge Primary School. In 1954, he was ordained to be a church elder, him together with Simon Kakete. In his servantship, Rev. Enos Andrea Nkone served as an evangelist; Bush School teacher at Bigabiro and Buzugu villages; primary schools’ teacher of Bigabiro schools; Church Elder; Assistant Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Pentecostal Church (1960 and 1962-1992); and Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Pentecostal Church (1992-2008). He has worked as a principal of Bigabiro Bible College for fourteen (14) consecutive years from 1982 to 1994. He was the PCAT Western Zone Overseer, the area which covered Kigoma and Rukwa regions before the Church changed its name to FPCT. Then, he has been a Bishop of the FPCT Western Region (Kigoma Region) from 2001 to 2006. Besides, for years, Rev. Enos Andrea Nkone served as a Chairperson of the famous “Youth Conferences” which were being held in Tabora town, year after year. He has served as a Chairperson of the FPCT Department of Education and as a Member of the FPCT Dispute Resolution Committee. He has also been a Member of the FPCT Central Board. Rev. Enos Andrea Nkone has served the FPCT Church for over 60 years and his contribution is great in leadership, theological and Christian education in the Church. He retired from leadership in 2008 due to his health problems.²⁸⁰ He died in 2018.

Rev. Enos Nkone and other Bible school teachers and church leaders of the 1970s and 1980s represent the “modern period” of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). Bible school teachers of this period of time included Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka, Solomon Ng’imba, and Nahanson Ntabalizo (Sanjaranda Bible School); Erasto Mshomi (Marangu Bible School); Zakaria Maganga, Daudi Mhoja, Marko Kikumbo, Filipo Maige, and Petro Bundala to name but just a few. Strong Church leaders representing this period of time included Rev. Absalom Martin and Rev. Enos Nkone. Paulo Samwel, among others, is one of the prominent evangelists and preachers during this FPCT period of time.

4.16.6 Other Theological Teachers and Prominent Church Leaders

In the last three decades, that is, during the 1990s and all the way through the 2000s, FPCT has witnessed the rise of a big number of trained theological teachers, as well as church leaders. I have entitled this FPCT period of time as a “post-modern period.” Some of the Bible school and college teachers, who characterized this FPCT period of time include Eliason Bubonye and Patrick Kulinganila (Puge Bible School); Thomas Mwanakatwe (Sumbawanga Bible School); Aston Kamenya (Bigabiro Bible College); Rev. George Mwita, and Rev. John Tuu (Sanjaranda Bible College); and Rev. John Mwakyusa (Handeni Bible School). Other recent Bible school and college teachers include Julius Mallywanga, Mathias Mjika, Emmanuel Suleiman, Julius Adam, John Amos, Zakayo Machimu, Innocent Makanza, Agatha Mallywanga, and others. The FPCT Church leaders, who represent this period of time, include such strong and able leaders as Rev. David Batenzi and Rev. Jackson Kaluzi. Prominent theologians to represent this period of time include Rev. George Mwita and Rev. John Tuu. The FPCT Church is currently doing deliberate efforts to more establish and strengthen theological education. One will find that there are more than four employed theological teachers in each of the five present FPCT Bible colleges (Bigabiro, Sanjaranda, Handeni, Tazengwa, and Sumbawanga). This shows how the FPCT Church is committed in developing theological education in the church.

4.17 Bible Schools and Colleges

“Investing in people is what colleges are really all about. A Bible school is a human investment scheme with returns into all eternity.”²⁸¹ It is usually expected that Bible school graduates will prosper as evangelists and pastors; they will make difference in the community; they will preach Christ in a foreign country; and they will help the church to survive and grow. The foundation for such success is sanctified, Christ-like character. With a few exceptions, in Africa Pentecostalism grew happily during the first decades of the Twentieth Century without institutional theological education. With the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT), the training program came early in the development of the church. Bible colleges usually traced their origins either to missionary work from the West or to innovative indigenous schemes. It should be remembered that the basic pattern for Pentecostal groups was usually of a collection of churches with one or more training centers. This pattern could be found in various parts of the country. Since congregations required ministers, ministers required training. Therefore, training has been thought to require specific institutions. This is because it was assumed that the production of ministers would lead to a growth in the number of congregations. This pattern is true with the history of theological education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania.

The FPCT Church operated Bible schools which, over time, came to be Bible colleges. The first Bible College in FPCT started in January 25, 1982 at Bigabiro, Kigoma with sixteen students, five instructors, and three other workers. Earlier in December 1976, Rev. Andrea Shimba gave special greetings from Sweden that brothers and sisters in Christ in Sweden had agreed to help construction of the Bible College. Church leaders in 1977 decided that the college was to be built at Bigabiro in Kigoma. Missionary Axel William Bjorndin accepted to supervise construction.²⁸²

In an effort to develop servants of God in the area of theological education, the church in cooperation with the PCAT, decided to take Rev. Enos Andrea Nkone to England for further theological education. It was in 1980. He studied at International Bible Training Institute, where he graduated with a diploma in theology. After returning back from his studies, the church elected him to be a principal of the college – in addition to being a teacher. So, he became the first principal of Bigabiro Bible College in 1982. At the same time, he was the Vice Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Local Church. Rev. Enos Nkone has worked as a principal of Bigabiro Bible College for fourteen (14) consecutive years from 1982 to 1994. He has worked as a Vice Senior Pastor of Bigabiro Church from 1962 to 1992, and Senior Pastor of the same Local Church from 1992 to 2008. He has been a Bishop of the FPCT Western Region (Kigoma) from 2001 to 2006.²⁸³ William and Kerstin Bjorndin, who stayed at Bigabiro from 1968 to 1988, were also teachers at Bigabiro Bible School/College. Since then, the college has provided hundreds of ministers, who have graduated with certificates and diplomas in Bible and theology. Other Bible schools, which came to be colleges, include Sanjaranda, Itigi (13.09.1997); Handeni, Tanga (2001); Tazengwa (2005); and Sumbawanga, Rukwa (2012). Bible colleges still today provide in-service and young leaders with an opportunity to receive a deeper knowledge about the Bible and how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Bible colleges teach according to the Pentecostal theological traditions. The curricula differ slightly from college to college provided only that the structure of courses conformed to the Bible college pattern. Gradually the FPCT theological education has found itself acceptable within the mainstream of theological education. The training of FPCT ministers in Bible colleges has contributed to the vitality of churches.

4.18 Holiness Union Mission (HUM) and Interact (Evangelical Free Church)

4.18.1 Introduction

The Pentecostal Mission got involved in Tanzania from 1932, starting in the western part of the country. The Holiness Union Mission’s work from the 1950s was associated with the Swedish Pentecostal Mission and later to Tanzanian Pentecostalism. The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT) is Interact’s partner church in Tanzania. Interact supports Bible schools, an orphanage, and health centers run by FPCT. The Bible schools give young and in-ministry leaders an opportunity to receive deeper knowledge about the Bible and how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Interact also support s a scholarship program run by the FPCT that gives young adults the opportunity to higher theological education.²⁸⁴

4.18.2 Holiness Union Mission (HUM)

The major changes in the mission work within the Holiness Union Mission (HUM) that took place in the early 1950s opened a way for the HUM to respond positively to the challenges of Africa. In the mid-1950s, the Holiness Union Mission (HUM) from Sweden started its mission work in Tanzania (Tanganyika by then). In October 1954, HUM was granted permission to start building the mission work at Muhange village, in Kibondo district, in Kigoma region. Sten Larsson and Hallquist were the missionaries who were granted this permission to start mission work there. The first baptisms took place in Muhange in 1955, and the first congregation was formed.²⁸⁵ After Muhange, the second mission station was Keza in 1959. Keza is located at the far greater road to Uganda, abpout 30 kilometers north of the district capital Kibondo. The third mission station was established in Kifura, which is located about 30 kilometers south of Kibondo district along the same road. The HUM’s work revolved around these three sites, located within an relatively small area in the western Tanzania, until another church plant was done in the village Kiwangwa in Bagamoyo district, in the Coastal region about 100 kilometers north of the dare s Salaam city.

The first missionaries from Sweden to Africa carried out both evangelism and relief work from the beginning. It is often said that the mission built three houses. It was the church, the school, and the clinic. Two of the buildings were mostly used by the HUM in their mission work in Tanzania. It was the church and the clinic. Schools were initially built, but were confiscated by the government following the Word War II, the quick expansion of the state school system, and the great needs of education in the country. However, this situation did not stop the missionaries from teaching. The teaching work was instead carried out in other buildings of the mission station. The construction of churches and clinics continued. The missionaries preached a church model that was Baptist and Pentecost oriented. They practiced adult Baptist and believed that spirituality was not only in the believing in the Holy Spirit, but also that the work of the Holy Spirit was manifested in the lives of the believers.²⁸⁶

In the 1960s, the work developed continuously. The Church work went in waves depending on when the great revivals came. As the congregations grew and new congregations were being forms, the missionaries applied the principle that the local congregation should be located at the mission stations with a large number of smaller congregations at the outposts. Already from the beginning, the missionaries appointed evangelists, elders and deacons. Most people who were sent out as evangelists and elders had only been at one of the Bible schools for a few months. The main training of the pastors, evangelists, and elders took place at what was commonly known as the “Preacher Weeks.” Besides the HUM missionaries, missionaries and pastors from the Pentecostal churches also taught during these weeks.²⁸⁷

From the start of the HUM’s work in 1954 until 2010, forty-seven (47) missionaries from HUM worked in Tanzania.²⁸⁸ Women missionaries who did not work in health care taught youth classes and had religious teaching in schools. They had also teacher training for Sunday school teachers and Christian teachers. They set up outposts along with evangelists and held further training of evangelists and elders. Men missionaries with theology education and special missionary training had responsibilities in churches with elders and pastors. They traveled to various outposts to preach and teach. Men missionaries who were not trained in missionary work were often responsible for constructions and the like. They were so-called “practical workers.” However, they also participated in all kinds of practical work.²⁸⁹

4.18.3 Interact (Evangelical Free Church)

The talks between the Orebro Mission and HUM to merge started in 1993. In October 1996, a decision was taken together to form a new denomination as of January 1997. In 2002, its provisional name “Nybygget – Kristen samverkan” (The New Construction – Christian Collaboration) was changed into “Evangeliska Frikyrkan” (EFK, Evangelical Free Church), internationally known as “Interact.” By 2002, Interact had some 300 congregations with around 32,000 members, who had joined together to for fellowship and mission.²⁹⁰ According to its statutes, Interact’s purpose is “to conduct and coordinate mission work in Sweden and abroad and to offer resources that help meet the needs of cooperating (member) congregation.”²⁹¹

4.19 Church-Based Training: Other Modes of Theological Education in the FPCT

Church-based training refers to “a place or environment in which something is developed or nurtured.”²⁹² Church-based training can involve activities such as Sunday school teaching, Bible Studies, sermons, exhortations, testimonies, and biblical literacy’s teaching. In these training, the practitioner element within training predominates and the theoretical element retreats. “The new believers were first taught in baptismal classes before the baptism took place and the person was accepted as a member of the congregation.”²⁹³ The Sunday school served as an instrument to gather both believers and non-believers in the outposts at an early stage. According to Andreas Dagernäs, Lazaro Sengati stated in an interview that in 1935 he began teaching in the church Sunday school in Tazengwa. Ester Jonsson also wrote in 1936 that “Four of the boys who have a place here at the station, use to go out to every village and have Sunday school on Sundays.” Aroni Mtemba is another example. In 1936, he moved with the Wiklund family to Lowa mission station to serve as evangelist and teacher there. He helped with school, Sunday school and was also active in church meetings.²⁹⁴

The calls for spirituality or for a close connection between learning and authentic practice have had naturally enough calls for church-based training. The church-based training of the FPCT Church at the early stages was clearly understood as a flexible one. The missionaries were flexible and pragmatical in approach. A strategy to develop church leaders was rooted in the life and ministry of local believers in their churches. It was a strategy in which gifted men were entrusted more and more of the ministry. Leadership ministry was also entrusted to other faithful men while the missionaries themselves remained deeply involved in the process of establishing churches. Andreas Dagernäs states: The missionaries had an affirmative attitude towards passing over leadership to the locals. They encouraged and rejoiced when the local people took part in the evangelization. They even acknowledged the fact that the local people at some occasions functioned more effectively than the missionaries, especially when it came to crossing the language and cultural barriers.”²⁹⁵

It seems the missionaries were aware of the ministries of Ephesians 4:11. For example, in connection to the appointment of Lazaro Sengati as local pastor in Tazengwa Nzega, Martin Berggren wrote in 1949 that “God is building his congregation even here in “dark Africa” and appoints the offices according to his own will.”²⁹⁶ The missionaries were also careful and followed the pattern of 2 Timothy 2:2.

In the history of theological education in the FPCT, church-based training normally occurred at the mission station local church where the congregations were substantial. These local churches were the places with sufficient resources to provide trainers, training materials, opportunities for a range of ministerial activities, and the prospect of future ministerial work. More recently the use of a cell structure within FPCT churches provides the framework for a close form of training that is focused on changing lifestyles rather than acquiring knowledge. Each cell is made up of units of a dozen or more. People who meet once or twice a week are answerable to each other. In this way everyone is a participant, everyone is being trained.

4.19.1 Open Bible School (OBS)

Open Bible School (OBS), which was formerly known as “Bush Pastor Ministry,” is a training program for rural pastors in Tanzania and Ethiopia. It is a program which was originally started by Teuvo and Linnea Kopra, the two missionaries with Fida International, Finland in the 2000s.²⁹⁷ It is a program intended to train those ministers who are working in rural and remote areas in the country. Many of those ministers have no theological training, but they are ministering in the church. Some of them are church leaders, evangelists, teachers, women and youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, and other ministries. Many of them do not have opportunities to leave their homes to study for years at a Bible school or college. They cannot be absent from home for a long period of time; they need to be present at home to care for their family’s diverse needs. Some of them, who would love to go to a Bible school or college, find them unable to do so because of lack of money for school fees and other costs. Therefore, OBS is a particular format of theological training that is necessary in fulfilling their training needs. It is a “reverse theological education” in the sense that the teachers are coming to the students.²⁹⁸ Therefore, the OBS students are grateful for a teaching that is coming to them. The seminars are not too long and attendance is just for a few days. One week of intensive study followed by practical training at home, as well as homework assignments, suits them best. Hence, the students are highly motivated and eager to learn.

In Tanzania, Open Bible School was introduced in the year 2000. In that year, Teuvo and two Tanzanian pastors, Johanseni Felisiani and Elias Simon, held the first OBS seminar in Tarime. Tarime is a town in the Mara region of Tanzania, close to Lake Victoria and the Kenyan border. In that first seminar, about 40 evangelists, pastors, and young people who were passionate about the ministry attended and received theological training.²⁹⁹ There were many pastors without training in Tanzania just as there were many areas that were completely unreached by the Gospel. In his assessment of the spiritual formation in Tanzania, Kopra, the founder of Open Bible School, concluded that Tanzania had more than 10,000 towns and villages with no churches.³⁰⁰ He stated this case figuratively by saying, “There are ten thousand pulpits still open.”³⁰¹ Open Bible School has been part of the answer to the questions of untrained ministers and the unreached areas. It is a program that both brings theological education to the untrained ministers and reaches the unreached with the Gospel of Christ.

The OBS ministry in Tanzania has been very active from the onset. According to Ulf Strohbehn, from 2002 to 2005, more than 20 week-long seminars were held annually across the country. By 2008, the trainings had been held in all 18 FPCT regions. The OBS teachers have been partnering with the FPCT leaders by strategically and cooperatively planning the best places for new seminars. In 2015, the new seminars were held precisely in those areas where the church leaders had recommended them to take place. The strategic planning and locating of the OBS seminars led to the strengthening of the church and in reaching the unreached areas. Hundreds of new churches have been planted in Tanzania and the unreached people groups have been reached.³⁰²

Concerning curriculum, the Open Bible School has been contextual right from the start. Tanzanian teachers have been co-writing the curriculum, and the local pastors have been consulted about the course content. The curriculum has been reviewed, expanded, and adjusted accordingly to fit the students’ needs and their levels of learning. Currently, the OBS curriculum consists of several theological as well as practical courses. The main subjects are:³⁰³

1. Spiritual Leadership
2. Foundations of Faith (Theology I)
3. Foundations of Faith (Theology II)
4. Evangelism and Church Planting (Evangelism and Missions)
5. Hermeneutics
6. Children and Youth Ministry
7. Homiletics
8. Practicing Preaching
9. Cults
10. Muslim Evangelism
11. Christian Family Life
12. Church and HIV-AIDS

OBS subjects are also reviewed and added to the curriculum according to feedback received. Hence, in addition to the main subjects, other subjects may be taught according to the needs. The currently initiated courses include Marriage and Family, Christian Advocacy, and the “Family Seminars,” in which pastors’ spouses are also invited to attend. OBS seminars are designed to make participation as easy as possible for pastors and other church ministers living in remote areas. Currently, the entire course leading to a certificate requires four to six seminar weeks, plus home assignments. In practice, during a seminar week, students come together to receive intensive training. Lectures, group work, and homework from previous seminars are all part of the training week. On average, two subjects can be covered during that time. After a training week, the students return home with their homework assignments. At home, the tasks include answering and reflecting on up to 500 questions related to the training materials. This system provides evaluation and feedback, and so the homework assignments are part of the teaching process, too. Apart from the four to six seminar weeks, a “Family Seminar” has been added in the curriculum. Trainings in this “family seminar” are also known as “Extended Family Seminars.” In these seminars, pastors’ spouses are invited to attend. These seminars were introduced with the 2005 curriculum. From the outset, these seminars have been popular because they are focusing on topical issues such as youth, children, domestic violence, people with disabilities, HIV-AIDS, family planning, housekeeping, and other practical issues.³⁰⁴

The OBS ministry in Tanzania has succeeded not only to train rural local pastors and church ministers, but also to build up a team of OBS teachers. By 2008, OBS teachers in Tanzania had been equipped to implement the training and to take care of their ministry independently.³⁰⁵ The OBS head teacher in Tanzania is Johanseni Felisiani. Rev. Elias Simon is the seminar coordinator. The two key OBS leaders in Tanzania have been involved with this ministry from the beginning. In addition, there are five part-time teachers, including two women, working in their particular localities. Johanseni Felisiani is the only full-time staff of the Open Bible School in Tanzania. Others are, for example, local pastors who devote several weeks a year to teach away from home.

In evaluation, the OBS ministry, which is connected to and works with the FPCT Church, has been successful in Tanzania. It has been very encouraging to see how the work of God has progressed by looking the number of new churches planted and trained pastors and evangelists. In 2008, Johanseni Felisiani, the OBS head teacher in Tanzania toured those communities in Tanzania who had received the OBS ministry. These are those communities in which seminars had been held, participants had graduated, and had received their certificates. It was noted that most of the graduates continued pastoring their own churches, and that the organization and quality of teaching in the churches had significantly been improved. The most encouraging thing to hear was that already 100 new congregations had been established by the OBS graduates in different parts of the country. In 2014, Rev. Elias Simon, the OBS seminars coordinator reported that by 2014 OBS had already reached 3,500 church workers in Tanzania as had been planned. Moreover, in 2014 at the FPCT Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dodoma, the then FPCT Arch-Bishop David Batenzi officially declared that OBS should be an instrument for all FPCT Local Churches (independent local congregations) in Tanzania to further the gospel rapidly, due to the great achievement that has been realized.³⁰⁶ In addition, lately in 2014 it was revealed that 18 new churches had been planted in Busokelo district, an area in the south of Tanzania, north of Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa). All OBS seminars had been completed there by the end of 2005.³⁰⁷

The OBS ministry has always been accompanied by miracles and God’s interventions in different circumstances. New prayer circles have been opened and established where it seemed it was impossible; people have received salvation and baptism celebrations have been held; and the Gospel message has changed people’s lives and bring joy, peace, and freedom to their hearts. Moreover, new congregations have been established; students have been filled with joy; and the whole church is rejoicing for the pastors’ progress and success. Rural pastors have been encouraged in the face of their challenges. They “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” as a practical way of living out theology in this part of the world.

The OBS work continues to grow in Tanzania and the local congregations are covering the larger part of their seminar costs. In this respect, OBS is not an independent entity, but part of the national church. OBS training is affordable and the seminars have been low cost from the beginning. There are no costly expenses of paying for complex infrastructures, which includes buildings and staff. From the outset of the OBS ministry, local congregations and the seminar participants have been paying a small fee to participate in the seminar. Paying a fee increases the students’ motivation and raises their appreciation of the teaching. Rural pastors are encouraged to study the entire course to the best of their abilities. Some graduates of OBS seminars are recommended to pursue further studies, where possible, at various Bible colleges for further theological education.

4.20 Theological Education in the FPCT:Interpretation of the Questionnaire

Interpretation of data refers to “attaching meaning and significance to the analysis, explaining descriptive patterns, and looking for relationships and linkages among descriptive dimensions.”³⁰⁸ A questionnaire about theological education in the FPCT was prepared and distribute to 47 respondents, of which 33 were male and 14 female. The questionnaire consisted of 45 questions, divided into four categories. The categories included personal information (personal questions); general questions; Bible school questions; and Bible Teachers. Below is a description of the results from the respondents, who participated in the study.

4.20.1 Personal Questions

The average age of the respondents was above 40 years. This certainly has to do with the career of Bible school teachers, students, and pastors. Therefore, the questionnaire is representative of FPCT leadership. Two thirds of the respondents are male, one third is female. Given the percentages of women in our schools and faculties, this is a good number. Answers show that the participants speak at least two languages, Kiswahili and another local language. One third of the participants speak three or more languages.

4.20.2 General Questions

According to the results, the biggest problems in Tanzanian society are clearly poverty and lack of education. These two problems were clearly indicated. The third problem that came was lack of committed political leadership. For the churches, the biggest problems identified were lack of leadership skills and lack of Bible education systems. Out of those, lack of Bible education systems was even the stronger one. This should give some thought to the FPCT Department of Bible and Theology, since it is its responsibility to alleviate that problem! Other problems were mistrust, lack of love, selfishness, and absence of unity in the churches. Choosing between Form 4 and Form 6 educational level as a precondition for Bible school entry, most respondents went for the higher option: Form 6. Yet, almost half expressed that Form 4 could be sufficient for entry at a Bible school or college. The answers show that an active involvement of two years in the church is deemed sufficient as a practical preparation before entering the Bible school or college.

4.20.3 Bible School Questions

Why did people go to Bible school? The overwhelming answer was that people wanted to go into the ministry, 75%. Less than a quarter went to study theology, only two people went to improve their education as their main motivation. Hardly any student knew exactly what to expect before going to Bible school. Almost half said that they had no idea of what the training would be; the other half said that they had a little idea about it. One of the questions asked was about arrival at a Bible school or college as a new student. With one exception, everyone was very happy with how they were introduced as new students to the place, at the beginning of their studies. They were well introduced with the method of studying at the college. Again, 75% of the respondents stated that the Bible school education has been a great help in their ministry. Another 25% said that it has been of little help. Nobody said that the Bible school was not a help at all in their ministry. Most students (37 out of 47) felt treated well by the Bible school teachers, as a person called to serve the Lord. But seven people gave negative answers, that they were treated like children and one stated to be treated like “a nobody.” Among the students, they felt like friends and also treated one another like men or women of God. Negative answers were hardly given for this question. Most valuable to students at the school are the lecturers. All other settings – prayer meetings, teachers or comradeship among students – were hardly significant to the respondents.

What did students miss from their Bible school education? The number one item here is a missing preparation to encounter cults and heresies. Almost everybody crossed this answer! Other missing preparations were leadership of the church and instructions for self-study. How difficult or easy was the education they received at Bible school? Hardly any student had easy time learning at the college, yet they managed somehow. Only 15% stated that it was too difficult, but for 30% it was easy or they even felt underchallenged. Talking about study time, about half of the respondents stated that they did not have enough time to learn. The others had problems, too, but did finish in time. Only 10% said that they had had enough time. When it comes to assessment, the overwhelming majority opted for a combination of written exams with a practical test, such as a workshop or ministry assessment. Only 15% of answers preferred an exclusively written exam.

With the education they received at the Bible school, most respondents answered that they are now able to write their own materials (Bible studies and sermons) because of the education that they have received at the Bible school. About a quarter of answers indicate that not all students are able to write their own materials. Concerning the written material they received and the study notes they took at the Bible school, the respondents’ answers were clear. Most of them indicated that the material, which they received at the Bible schools are still in good use now that they are in the ministry. In regard to mentorship after graduation and at the start of local ministry, the answers to this question showed two poles. On one hand, many students served under a senior pastor who mentored them. On the other hand, another big group answered that they missed a mentor who would have helped them. In general, students stated that their Bible school education prepared them well for the ministry. The majority also stated that the issues of marriage and family life were well covered in the Bible schools.

When it comes to the current ministry of the students, a majority stated that they teach more than they preach. For preaching, the Bible school education helped them a lot to acquire the skill of sermon preparation. However, in terms of motivation, the majority of students stated that they were more eager to serve the Lord before enrolling in a Bible college (62%). 38% said that the Bible college education even motivated them more to serve in the ministry. The respondents also answered about their impression of practical and theoretical elements during their Bible school education. A clear majority of answers shows that there was a good balance between theoretical and practical assignments at the Bible schools. Concerning their relationship with some teachers at the Bible school, 80% of students stated that the Bible school teachers had become like spiritual parents to them. The other 20% did not have such trusted relationship to teachers. The other question was, “How did you do spiritually during your Bible school time?” A little over half of the students answered that they not only met the Lord at the Bible school, but that this had changed their character, too. Only two people stated that they felt spiritually undernourished all the time.

4.20.4 Teachers

The first question for Bible school teachers was, “Have you had any training in pedagogics before you started teaching?” Out of 11 answers, eight (8) said that they were trained as teachers. Three (3) said that they had visited courses that prepared them for the ministry. The second question was, “Would you need help with pedagogical and theological issues regarding your teaching?” All teachers with the exception of one stated that they need help with theological issues. The next question wanted to know if there was help available to teachers with theological and pedagogical issues. The answers to this question show that such help is in general available to them at their Bible schools. In regard to the material for the course(s) they teach, there is not one teacher who teaches from his or her own material. Yet, none teacher takes the study guide as it is, but they add from their own experiences and insights to it. Most teachers stated that the material of their courses contains only little concepts that relate to Tanzanian cultures.

Asked whether the teachers like their subjects, the answers are again were very clear. Teachers are even passionate about their subjects, yet they feel that the subjects still need to be improved. In general, teachers develop relationships with the students at the Bible school or college. Advice, and sometimes counseling, takes places from teacher to student. However, only few teachers stated that the relationship continues after the students have graduated. Teachers are positive about the importance of their subjects. Most of them are convinced that their subject will be very important to the students in their future ministry. Yet, from observation of their students, the teachers know that most, but not all students are interested in their subject. The final question asked whether teachers would be able to write their own subjects. With one exception, everyone crossed “Yes.” The exception marked “Yes,” but help will still be needed.

CHAPTER FIVE

ANALYTIC DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

5.1 Introduction

In this part, some of the findings in the study that seem to be important will be described to discuss a little bit further. Disposition from the previous chapter will be maintained. After doing this the findings will also be discussed in relation to the theoretical perspectives introduced in the beginning of this study. The focus is to see how the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania can improve theological education systems for spiritual formation and church growth.

5.2 Theological Education in the FPCT: Interpretation of the Questionnaire and the Focus Group Discussion Findings

Analysis of data refers to “the process of bringing order to the data and manipulating it. It is the process of organizing what is in the data into patterns, categories, and basic descriptive units.”³⁰⁹ This section analytically discusses some of the findings from the responses from the questionnaire administered. It will focus on two themes of the questionnaire, namely, Bible school questions and questions about teachers. It will also incorporate some of the information from the participants of the focus group discussion (FGD). The focus group discussion involved 16 people, who are FPCT church members, from the ten regions of Tanzania. Four of them were female and 12 male.

5.2.1 Bible School Questions

It was observed that the major reason as to why people went to Bible school training was that they wanted to go into the ministry. It was the overwhelming answer to note that 75% wanted to go into the ministry. Twenty-three percent (23%) went to Bible school to study theology. Only two percent (2%) went to Bible school to improve their education as their main motivation. Ulf Strohbehn, who has taught in about 30 Bible school around the world, has always been asking why people have chosen to go to Bible school. What he found is almost equal to the results mentioned above. In his research, he found that 78% of all students have joined the Bible school because they feel called to the ministry. He found that 20% do not have such a clear sense of calling and have joined Bible school for various other reasons. Then, he found that 2% had joined Bible school to pursue an academic interest.³¹⁰ From these results, it is clear that our Bible school training should prepare students mostly for the ministry, because that is what most of them want.

Analytically, the results above show that between 75% and 78% of Bible school students are preparing for pastoral ministry, evangelistic ministry or missionary ministry. But, within the FPCT, this group includes “in-service” church ministers. These are pastors, evangelists, or other church ministers, who have been in ministry and service before attending a Bible school or college. They join Bible school not only for preparation but also to be more equipped for service. The second group, an average of between 20% and 23% of the students, gives various reasons why they are at the Bible school or college, and none of them relates to future ministry. However, some students of this group still end up in the ministry because they discover their calling and gifting while studying. Although many do not enter the full-time ministry after graduation, yet their Bible school learning remains a life-long treasure in whatever vocational path they choose. Within this group in the FPCT, according to my observation, are those who join Bible school as a requirement or pre-condition for ordination. The third group, an average of 2% of the students, is interested in theology itself. They usually aim to continue their studies in a more academic setting. These percentages confirm the notion that within Pentecostalism, “academia for academia’s sake is pursued by a minority.”³¹¹ Theological studies are perceived as preparation and the equipping for service. After their training, they continue with their ministry as pastors, evangelists or other services in the church. Others go for missionary work and some enter into ministry for their first time.

It was observed that most valuable to students at the Bible school and college were the teachers and the lectures. All other school settings such as prayer meetings, teachers or comradeship among students were hardly significant to the respondents. Although it is a good thing to concentrate with teachers and lectures, however, this situation might have a negative impact in the student’s ministry after graduation. One participant in the focus group discussion described how one Bible school graduate looked like after coming back from school. “He seemed to ignore prayers; instead, he emphasized other things which are not basic to our salvation. He also isolates himself from others and looks proud of.”³¹² Another participant of the focus group discussion stated that “Some of the Bible school graduates are not emphasizers of the teachings about the filling and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They emphasize unnecessary things and ignore important things.”³¹³ This implies that other Bible school settings such as prayer meetings, good relations and comradeship should be encouraged to students while studying.

Speaking from their hindsight now that they are in the ministry, almost all questionnaire respondents showed that there was a missing preparation to encounter cults and heresies. One of the respondents in the focus group discussion stated that “One of the problems that is facing our FPCT churches is the emerging and outburst of the cults and heresies. Its source is the craving for personal interests. These false teachings are dangerous especially to the new converts and to infant Christians.”³¹⁴ As a solution to this problem, one focus group discussion informant said, “FPCT church ministers need to teach church members the sound doctrine, to know the truth of the Bible, as a way of protecting them from these false teachings and heresies.”³¹⁵ It is obvious that the Bible school should prepare its candidates more for dealing with cults and heresies. According to the questionnaire respondents, other missing preparations were leadership of the church and instructions for self-study. This implies that Bible schools need also to prepare students in the areas of leadership of the church, and instructions for self-study so that they become lifelong learners. “Before they graduate, Bible school students need to be well prepared in the area of leadership. This is a very important area of servanthood. They need to be trained to be servant-leaders.”³¹⁶

The questionnaire results showed that there is the need of spiritual mentors in the church. This shows that our graduates need mentors, who will help and guide them into ministry. From the research findings of this study, we have seen how missionaries at the early stages of the FPCT church prepared local church leaders. They mentored them well and later on the resident local ministers were able to take on responsibility in the church. Pastors and church leaders who send students to Bible school and colleges need to know that they are also responsible to mentor their graduates. Their responsibility does not end up in sending people to Bile schools. They are responsible to be close to the students after graduation and at the start of local ministry. One participant in the focus group discussion stated that “It seems that the graduates from Bible schools and colleges do not get good direction and guidance from their church leaders after they graduate. As a result, this situation brings unnecessary conflicts between the graduate and the church leaders.”³¹⁷ This means that graduates need guidance, advice, and help as they serve under their local church leadership.

5.2.2 Questions about Bible School Teachers

The results showed that most teachers stated that the material of their courses contains only little concepts that relate to Tanzanian cultures. This implies that there is need for the FPCT’s curricula to be designed in a way that will help students understand and meet the needs of the Tanzanian society. Course materials should contain concepts that relate to Tanzanian cultures. Students should be prepared to deal with the issues in the Tanzanian culture. Such issues include poverty, lack of education, emergence of heretical teachings, witchcraft, corruption, mistrust, and lack of love. On the issue of poverty, almost all focus group discussion participants suggested that entrepreneurship be taught in Bible schools and colleges. In the context, entrepreneurship is connected to unemployment. People need to learn how to start their own business to support themselves economically. “Since poverty is the problem both inside the church and outside the church, I suggest that a subject about poverty alleviation be introduced in the Bible schools and colleges. Entrepreneurship skills will also help solve the problem of unemployment in the society.”³¹⁸

Concerning Bible school teachers liking their subjects, the results also showed that teachers are even passionate about their subjects, yet they feel that the subjects still need to be improved. In a focus group discussion, a question was asked about what subjects should be added or introduced in the FPCT Bible schools’ curricula. Most participants mentioned the following subjects need to be introduced: entrepreneurship, relationship with society, conflict resolution, ethics for church ministers, how to overcome fear of the powers of darkness, prayer, church protocols, calling, and self-discipline. Teachers need to improve the subjects of their choice, but need also to have a look at the above suggested topics and subjects.

5.3 The Impact of Theological Education on the FPCT

What was the impact of theological training in church growth and spiritual formation of believers? From the findings of this study, it has been clear that Pentecostal theology and practice helped to challenge colonial thinking and created a kind of equality paradigm. This paradigm was based on the belief that the Spirit distributes his gifts to all as he pleases. In this way, Pentecostal theology and practice helped to create space for significant involvement among Tanganyikan workers at an early stage. This was possible even though it would be several decades before SFM was a fully self-governing, self-financing, and self-expanding church movement.³¹⁹

Education in general carries intrinsic value, but Christian education is first and foremost an endeavor to serve the church. Bible schools have a duty to fulfill for churches. This is because they receive students from the church and they are sending graduates back to churches. In this way, no Bible school can exist for itself. Neither is theology an end in itself. Theology flourishes in the encounter with exterior. The two greatest theologians, Jesus and Paul, were missionaries. This notion implies for the practicality of all that is taught in the Bible schools and colleges. FPCT Bible schools and colleges, especially the early ones, have had impact on the church and community.

5.3.1 Great Revivals and Church Growth

The Church work went in waves depending on the great revivals came. Revivals resulted in baptism and church growth. The congregations grew and new congregations were formed. Already from the beginning, the missionaries appointed evangelists, pastors, elders, and deacons. Most of these together with those who were sent out as evangelists and elders had only been at one of the Pentecostal Bible schools for a few months. The main training of pastors, evangelists, and elders took place at the “Preacher Weeks.” These were the weeks of training for evangelistic ministry and church leadership. Missionaries and pastors from the Pentecostal churches as taught during these weeks.³²⁰ According to J. Herbert Kane, “Everywhere the gospel was preached pastors and evangelists were trained and churches were organized.”³²¹

5.3.2 Protection of the Pentecostal Faith

The Pentecostal theology has been distinguished in the emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and his gifts in both the past and today. The FPCT church established Bible schools, normal schools, and colleges to promote and protect the Pentecostal message. They set theological boundaries and closed off their conversations with those who dared to believe otherwise. They closed ranks and began to look longingly to the other side of the tracks. Theological education sought to impact theological knowledge and spiritual skills in the ministry of the ministers of the gospel.

5.3.3 Sustainable Church Growth through Theology and Social Development

Credited with the above achievements, the following are some, but not all, of the activities that have sustained the growth of the FPCT church in the community.

1. Sunday services/worship;
2. Sunday school classes;
3. open-air gospel meetings/crusades;
4. ordination of other ministers;
5. welfare and visits;
6. performance of marriages, funerals, baptisms, and inauguration ceremonies;
7. Bible study and prayer meetings;
8. monthly seminars for the church ministers;
9. prayer ministration for the sick people, including casting out of demons from demon-possessed people;
10. care of orphans, widows, and the elderly;
11. free health programs and check-ups;
12. evangelism and church planting;
13. empowerment of women and youths;
14. community development;
15. lively ministry, accompanied with signs, wonders, and miracles;
16. literacy initiatives; and
17. social activities such as Easter picnicking, Christmas carol singing.

These regular interaction and support activities, which are essential to the spiritual growth of the individual members, have in no small measure impacted the expected expansion both spiritually and physically. Spiritually, “the claim to ‘power’ by Pentecostal outreaches across the country was attested to by the numerous reports of instant miracles and wonder turnarounds experienced by several attendees, devotees, and testifiers.”³²² Physically, “the incremental impact on people’s social welfare due to the social uplift associated with Pentecostalism’s moral prescriptions against alcohol, gambling, and womanizing gives them a competitive economic advantage over their neighbors.”³²³

5.4 Overview of Curriculum and Instructional Design Process

The terms curriculum, instruction, and instructional design always draw special attention to educators and learners in educational circles. Educational institutions and those within them who learn, teach, and administer, take time to think and act on decisions that will lead them to becoming more efficient in fulfilling their goals and objectives. The major aim of developing curriculum and instructional design is to bring about learning. In order to bring about learning (change), there must be what to be taught, how to teach, and why to teach. This part of the dissertation intends to present an overview of curriculum and instruction, in which the terms mentioned above are defined along with their characteristics.

5.4.1 Definition

Etymologically, the term “curriculum” is from the Latin. It originates from the Latin verb “currere,” which means “to run.”³²⁴ Thus, in its original meaning, curriculum meant “a race, or a running, or a race course.”³²⁵ It means what happens in the race. It is like the record of the happenings in one’s life. It means all of life’s experiences or happenings. But in order to complete the race well, the race must be well designed and planned. Therefore, curriculum is thought of as “the sum of all learning experiences resulting from a curriculum plan and directed toward achieving educational goals and objectives.”³²⁶ However, the term curriculum refers to “the subject content and skills that comprise an educational program.”³²⁷ It represents a set of intentions or learning outcomes of what course planners and instructional designers are supposed to implement. It includes institutional goals and objectives for learners.³²⁸ A general definition of curriculum is also offered by Rachel J. Sigalla. She defines curriculum as “all the planned learning opportunities offered by the organization to learners and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum is implemented.”³²⁹ This includes those activities that educators have devised for learners which are invariably represented in the form of a written document. One common element that can be noted in the above definitions is that curriculum involves all the learning which is carefully planned.

Instruction, on the other hand, encompasses learning structures, processes, systems, environment, content, application, and behavior. It focuses on the process of content delivery or how content is communicated. That is, instruction is primarily process-oriented. Instruction necessitates a need for accountability in order to validate the learner’s progress toward specific objectives. It also focuses on the communicative, social, and interactive nature of learning.³³⁰

Curriculum design, according to Leroy Ford, is “a statement of and elaboration of the institutional purpose, institutional goals and objectives for learners, scope, contexts, methodology, and instructional and administrative models involved in an educational effort.”³³¹ The design describes the parameters within which the curriculum will occur. It is organized in such a way that ensures appropriate and balanced emphasis upon each element. It reflects upon the broad areas of concern which planners must confront in order to develop particular plans for bringing about learning in the life of the learner. Curriculum design is content-oriented and it emphasizes the development of higher cognitive skills and the application of the content.

5.4.2 Characteristics

Curriculum design is characterized by the following factors. First, it usually resides in a document. This means it consists of pages of print whereby one can hold it in hand, can place it in a file, persons or groups of people can study it, analyze, approve, or reject. It exists in a communicable form. Second, a curriculum design reflects appropriately the great foundation discipline. This is a great field of thought from which designers may derive insight for curriculum planning. Third, a curriculum design reflects a deliberate focus. This is a concentration on a particular principle or concept which serves as an organizational strategy. Fourth, a curriculum design relates properly and appropriately all its elements. Through the organizing principle, the design ensures that each element receives appropriate attention.

5.4.3 Instructional Design Process

While curriculum is not a process, rather a “set,” instructional design is a “process.” “It is a series of events leading to measurable learning outcomes.”³³² This is because, as a process, instruction includes determining the learning needs and goals for a delivery system. It includes the development of instructional materials, activities, tryouts, and revision of all instruction. It also includes the assessment of learning activities. A major goal of instructional design is how to plan, develop, evaluate, and manage the instructional process effectively so that it will ensure competent performance by students. It focuses on the product around the unique needs, learning preferences, and competencies of the learner.³³³ Instruction is primarily process-oriented. Therefore, instruction and instructional design should emphasize both the content and the learning process.

5.4.4 The Hidden and Null Curricula

It is undeniable that the final measure of education is the total package of learning that takes place. However, the intentional instructional component plays only a part of the overall formational experience of students. Therefore, a good curricular plan is that which recognizes the importance of the environment and the impact of community life in learning. If we need to shape the emerging leaders studying in our theological education programs, we need to pay attention to the factors that are the most influential. Particularly in theological education, who we are and what we do as a learning community are among the most influential factors. This section seeks to address the distinctions between the explicit curriculum, the hidden or implicit curriculum, and the null curriculum.

Perry Shaw refers to the “explicit curriculum” as “those publicly known, stated and planned educational events, which are commonly understood by all those who are participating.”³³⁴ It is simply that which is written as part of formal instruction of the schooling experience. It is overt, written curriculum, which may refer to a written document, texts, and supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support the instructional goal of the school.³³⁵ Perry Shaw defines the “hidden or implicit curriculum” as “the potent sociological and psychological dimensions of education, which are usually caught rather than intentionally taught.”³³⁶ It is that which is implied by the very structure and nature of the school, characterized by much of what revolves around daily or established routines. It refers to “the kinds of learnings that students derive from the very nature and organizational design of the school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and administrators.”³³⁷ The “null curriculum” is defined as “what is learned through what is not taught.”³³⁸ This is in terms of both the intellectual processes that are promoted or neglected and the subject areas that are present or absent. It refers to that which we do not teach in schools, thus giving students the message that these elements are not important in their educational experiences or in our society.³³⁹

5.4.4.1 The hidden curriculum

While the word “curriculum” may be understood by most of us as the course descriptions and the syllabi, but this is only one form of curriculum, which is technically known as the “explicit curriculum.” Attention should also be paid to the sociological and psychological dimensions of education. These elements of learning are usually “caught” rather than intentionally “taught.” It is these elements which are referred to here as the “hidden curriculum.” “Research has confirmed the powerful influence on learning played by environmental features of education. Such features include the nature of behaviors which are encouraged, the types of relationships modeled, and the values emphasized in the learning community.”³⁴⁰ The truth is that the hidden curriculum generally overrides the explicit curriculum. This means that if the explicit curriculum and the hidden curriculum conflict, the message learned will likely be that embedded within the hidden curriculum, not in the explicit curriculum. Therefore, we should not ignore the hidden curriculum, because if we ignore it, it will be at our own peril.

As with every educational institution, Bible schools and colleges also have a hidden curriculum too. Here, we are speaking about hidden messages that a Bible school or college may communicate to its students. The fundamental thesis is that theological students, for example, learn about Christian leadership. They are not merely learning through the content taught in the classroom, but also (and often more significantly) through such things as the way classroom teaching takes place, the model of teachers’ lives, and the students’ experience of the school’s administration. For example, emphasis on the study, analysis, and evaluation of texts in our theological institutions is something which is good and beneficial. The benefit of this sort of research is enormous. However, when it is used exclusively, the academic approach to theological education can train emerging leaders its potential negative impact. Emerging leaders may believe that knowledge can only be found in books and an academic approach to ministry. The exposition of texts is not enough; the text must be connected to the context. When the connection is not made in the theological school, it is difficult for graduates to make the connections in their ministries. When the curricula do not connect to the lives of our students, the teaching that our graduates take into their churches far too often is irrelevant to the lives of their congregations.

Bible schools and colleges should not end in putting emphasis on the delivery of vast quantities of biblical and theological information. They should also put emphasis on modeling the Christian life in the lives of the students. Critical thinking training to students should not be limited to the comparison and analysis of academic texts. “A much more demanding and complex form of critical thinking occurs when we ask students to become ‘practical Christian thinkers’ or ‘reflective practitioners.’ This can be done through asking them to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate theoretical academic material in the light of practical life situations, and vice versa.”³⁴¹ A tendency to make frequent reference to the original languages of the Bible and scholarly books, and praising complex interpretations as “scholarly,” should not belittle straightforward interpretations. While careful scholarship must be a priority in our training, there is nevertheless a danger that the hidden curriculum might be developing “a knowledge-centered arrogance” in students.³⁴² The hidden curriculum might be teaching students that only the educated can truly understand the Scriptures, and viewing the simple faith of many believers with disregard.

Once a Bible school or college has succeeded to develop curricula, it is important to be aware that theological teachers, educators, or administrators do not control the curricula totally. This is because curricular control “undermines the creativity that is essential to our being created in God’s image.”³⁴³ Students have to be provided with opportunity for creativity through broadening the variety of instructional methods employed. This will enable our different students to learn and apply God’s truth in very different ways. While remaining consistent with God’s demands, they need to reflect their own individual learning styles. Participatory teaching-learning approach should be encouraged in our theological schools. Providing variety in both content and methodology is imperative if we want to best nurture student growth. Our Bible schools and college should not throw students into academic competition with one another, which encourages interpersonal distance rather than closeness. Perry Shaw comments that “Those students who achieve the highest grades academically are actually those who prefer to work individually.”³⁴⁴ Therefore, a Bible school or college should help students not to come to see ministry as a matter of individual competition rather than cooperation in community. The culture and structure of the Bible school and college as a whole, is also one of the most subtle but influential elements of the hidden curriculum. For example, students are influenced in their understanding of Christian leadership by the attitudes and practices of faculty, administration, and institutional policies. In theological education, effective Bible schools and colleges will recognize the importance of shaping students’ understanding of Christian ministry.

5.4.4.2 The null curriculum

E.W. Eisner refers to the “null curriculum” as “what is taught through what is not taught.”³⁴⁵ No school can teach everything, and consequently there are always topics and subjects which are excluded from the explicit (written) curriculum. Eisner observes that “what schools do not teach may be as important as what they do teach.”³⁴⁶ The same applies in theological education. The material we include or exclude, the topics that are emphasized or underplayed, all of this communicates a powerful message to our students as to what is or is not important for Christian life and ministry. For example, in most of Bible schools and colleges priority is given to biblical studies, theological studies, historical studies, church ministries’ studies, and general studies. However, courses addressing spiritual formation and prayer are absent from the curricula. Sometimes, such courses are at best playing a minor role, as though these are peripheral issues unworthy serious theological reflection and careful training. The null curriculum may communicate to students that prayer is only of secondary importance, and that God does not care about what we are teaching. It can communicate that there are aspects of life which are spiritual and others which are not. It can even communicate to students that God is not present in academic classes! This can lead to a belief that faith is a private matter and should not intrude on other areas of life such as academics, social relationships, use of money, lifestyles and so on. It is true that we cannot teach everything, but we need to be aware that our Bible schools and colleges do not ignore such important things as prayer, humility, and the need for the Holy Spirit’s direction in theological teaching.

5.5 Philosophy of Theological Education

A clearly articulated philosophy of Christian education must ensure that Christian education ministries are biblical and comprehensive in scope. They must also be balanced in emphasis, life-changing in results, and integrated so as to avoid omissions and duplication. “A Christian philosophy of teaching begins in the Bible and forms parts of the larger concept of Christian education.”³⁴⁷ The Word of God offers more than the content of Christian teaching. It provides the essential philosophical framework as well. Fundamental questions such as “Why should we teach?” “What results should we expect?” “Who mediates Christian teaching?” “How should we teach?” and “Who should we teach?” find provocative answers in the Bible. “A clearly defined mandate and goal mesh precisely with the Bible’s remarkable insights into the teacher, student, and God to form a stable superstructure.”³⁴⁸

5.5.1 Definition

Theological education may be conceived as “a program that is designed to transform and train those called by God for ministry. The goal of theological education is to lead men to Biblical concept of God as a creator, Lord, and redeemer.”³⁴⁹ In this brief discussion on the philosophy of theological education, attention is drawn to three areas. Firstly, to indicate in a very general sense something of the current need for theological education for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania; secondly, highlight aspects of the nature (and diversity) of current provision; and lastly offer some provisional thoughts about the way forward to stimulate further discussion and research.

5.5.2 The Current Need for Theological Education in the FPCT

The Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania, like any other church and congregation, engage in some kind of teaching program, ministerial training/education. There is a sense in which all didactic activities – Sunday school teaching, Bible Studies, sermons, exhortations, testimonies, and biblical literacy’s teaching – can be thought of as exercises in “theological education.” Also, it can be said that all Christians are theologians of one sort or another in that they all try to articulate, contemplate, and live in the reality of God’s plan of redemption. Jonas Kulwa Msubi states that “Early believers in the FPCT had a wonderful ability to speak (teach) the Word of God in boldness. The secret behind these people was that they had been filled with the Holy Spirit when they believed.”³⁵⁰ This theology and praxis was without a doubt present among the Pentecostal missionaries in Tanganyika. They were clearly convinced that the Tanganyikan leaders were called and chosen by God. For example, in 1938 Erland Dahlqvist wrote about a conference held at Nzega: “Never before have so many natives gathered to a meeting like this time - and never before so many witnesses, both white and black. What really moved me was to see the crowd of splendid middle age men that God have chosen to be his servants from this people.”³⁵¹ In another instance, Erland Jonsson describes in an interview how a local leadership is developed. He wrote, “Those whom God had chosen to be leaders came forth bit by bit and they were really eager to know more of God’s word.”³⁵² In this broad sense, all Christians are theologians not only because they are able to receive spiritual knowledge, but also because they have been grasped within the Church by the Divine Spirit and affirm that Jesus is Christ. This is more so the case when one considers that all Christians are called to bear witness and to be ready “to give an answer” for their hope in Christ (1 Peter 3:15), as well as to exercise the universal and quite fundamental ministry of all Christians to participate in “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18).

Over the last three decades, FPCT has witnessed something of a rise of Bible schools, colleges, and ministerial training institutions. This rise signals both the personal and denominational need for education and training for ministry and mission. It shows the need for the church to address some of the challenges of urban and rural ministry. The rise also shows the requisite balance needed in ministry formation between candidates whose gifts are other than academic and those who received the conventional academic training. Generally, it also says something about the importance and significance of theology and related subjects as a way of introducing students to traditions of scholarship and intellectual discourse. The challenge facing Pentecostal theological education also concerns its identity. If it is true to itself, it will develop forms of teaching, formation, curriculum, and resources that are experiential and flexible.

5.5.3 Aspects of the Nature and Diversity of Current Provision

Contemporary Pentecostals and Charismatics would certainly agree with the two views above, even though they would recognize the need for formal theological education/ministerial training with appropriate qualifications from reputable higher education institutions. However, when one considers the early decades of the Pentecostal movement, one will see that this was not always the case. It is true that in the formative decades of the FPCT church, there was reluctance to privilege theological education. What they wanted and prized above all, however, was a thorough knowledge of the Bible. Arto Hämäläinen and Grant McClung comment: Historically, Pentecostals have tended to have an awkward relationship with (theological) institutions. This was partly because of the primary birthing influences within Pentecostalism. The movement was birthed as a revival movement and often characterized by a strong emphasis on eschatology, which emphasized the imminent return of Christ.”³⁵³

What was the contribution of Bible schools in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training? Although there was an ambiguous and ambivalent relationship between “formal education” and theological training, that is not to say the FPCT Church was not interested in “ministerial education.” Indeed, centers for training and ministry formation were established quite early among the leading mission stations in Tanzania (Tanganyika). These centers which have blossomed into Bible schools and colleges today have been helpful in the church for several factors. First, they have served well in the protection of the Pentecostal doctrine; secondly, they have helped formation of the FPCT church with trained ministers; they have been helpful in the training of such ministers in line with the denominational norms; and finally they have been helpful in flourishing of genuine higher theological education. The FPCT church has an interesting history. At its early stages of its establishment, the resident local church leaders were comprised of cooks and watchmen. Lazaro Sengati and Andrea Shimba were cooks at missionaries’ homes in Tazengwa and Nkinga respectively. Yusufu Matete started as a watchman to Alfred Kristenson’s house in Bigabiro Kigoma. In their youth, these men went to the missionaries in search of jobs and a better life; but after their conversion they later became Pentecostal pioneers. Through their ministries churches were built, and today we are celebrating the fruits of their work. “Giving value to education for their leaders did not come naturally to the first generation of Pentecostals. But by and by, the concept has asserted.”³⁵⁴

In addition, Pentecostal Bible schools in multi-ethnic countries contribute to the build-up of a national church. “The “we-feeling,” which develops in the classrooms and dormitories is one of the biggest factors in building a national church. Denominations that run their own Bible school thus create a common spiritual denominator.”³⁵⁵ There are examples from other African countries where churches without missionaries and nation-wide schools remained the prerogative of one ethnic group or tribe. Therefore, it can be concluded that Bible schools and colleges connect people, regardless of religion, language, and ethnic background. Such relational dynamics at Bible schools create a spirit of sister and brotherhood, which is foundational to a national and international church.³⁵⁶

5.5.4 Provisional Thoughts on the Way Forward to Stimulate Further Discussion and Research

This final part of this discussion raises issues around theological expectations, the teaching and learning experience, qualifications, and the way forward. Given the diversity in provision and variability in academic standards and accreditation, one is forced to raise questions about the future of theological education for FPCT churches and those concerned with ministerial training. The rise of institutions involved in theological education and ministerial training is, undoubtedly, both a cause for celebration and concern. It is a celebration in that there is a growing desire among lay people and those in a variety of Christian ministry and leadership positions for forms of formal theological education and ministerial development. It is a concern in that the rise brings with it inherent quality assurance challenges. Hämäläinen and McClung remark, “As Pentecostals worldwide take their place within the wider body of Christ and navigate the turbulent waters of third-generation transitions, there should be a renewed commitment to a reflective practice within their theology. It is in this area that the theological institution can play a valuable role.”³⁵⁷ In short, ministerial theology students are expected to be reflective practitioners, using theory/theology and experience to engage with the problems and challenges of Christian ministry and mission.

There is an old Pentecostal saying from way back in the early years of Pentecostalism: “A man with an argument has no chance against a man with an experience.” There is the need to prepare believers to be effective students of Scripture and articulate ambassadors of Christ. The role of theological education should be preparing pastors, church leaders, and other church ministers for effective ministry in their churches. There is need also for theological education that is relevant to Tanzanian context. This is a crucial factor to all who lead and teach in Bible schools and colleges in shaping the lives and ministries of their products. More emphasis should be put on the local church as the context of theological education.

It is important to recognize that Christian theology is a vast ocean. Entering via the small streams of one’s own traditions and ecclesiology is not a bad place to start, so long as one does not stop there. Pentecostals certainly have a lot to offer in ministerial theology and ministry formation, but they can also derive great benefit from other Christian traditions. In an interesting reflection on a possible Pentecostal philosophy of education, Jeffrey S. Hittenberger examines five major educational theories so as to prepare the ground for a consideration of what a Pentecostal educational theory might be. By his analysis all educational theories can be categorized according to their metaphysics (theory of reality), epistemology (theory of knowledge), axiology (theory of values) and each case, also, the nature of the student and the role the teacher need to being considered.³⁵⁸

Making use of this taxonomy, it is arguable that a Pentecostal contribution might occur in relation to epistemology, especially in relation to religious experience. The notion that knowledge is available by the spiritual insight, or spiritual impartation, and that this form of knowledge is supra-sensible and disconnected from the empirical realm relativizes the entirely materialistic presumptions of much educational practice. A Pentecostal theory would be open to spiritual experience while, at the same time, putting in place safeguards against unrestrained and untestable speculation and mysticism. Its epistemology would make use of the dual biblical concepts of revelation (especially 1 Cor. 2.7-14) concerning the revelatory work of the Holy Spirit and of testing (1 Thess. 5:21). Alternatively in the words of Cheryl Bridges Johns, the Western Church “has lost sight of the pedagogical role of the Holy Spirit” of which the Pentecostal experience is the “epistemological key.”³⁵⁹

It is arguable also that Pentecostal theory of education would attempt to link the moral aspect of education and the role of the teacher. In other words, a Pentecostal theory would be concerned with the use to which knowledge is put, the purpose of the whole educational enterprise, the ethical relationship between teacher and learner, and the connection between education and Christian living. In this respect a Pentecostal theory of education would be related to the more general proposition that all knowledge is unified that “all truth is God’s truth” and that all knowledge is subservient to the glory of God.

CHAPTER SIX

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Introduction

This last section of the study draws conclusions on some of the important themes of the study. It also presents recommendations based on the findings and conclusions of the study. The conclusions are drawn in regard what is described in the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, research questions, and hypothesis of the study. Conclusions on the theme of curriculum will also be drawn. It is hoped that the material will be contextual, and the conclusions will be tentative. They will point to some fields that will be suitable for deeper study, and to some important aspects for implementation.

6.2 Conclusions

The main purpose of this study was to better know what was the motivation for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania to start Bible schools, and how can the FPCT church improve Christian/theological educational system for spiritual formation and church growth. As to what was the motivation for the church to start Bible schools, the material in the study has clearly and extensively answered this question. It has been argued that from the beginning of the missionary work in Tanzania (Tanganyika by then), especially under the Swedish Free Mission (EFM), the missionaries planned and devised theological training courses especially for teachers and evangelists. The motivation behind was to prepare the local people to take on responsibility in the church. The concept of starting Bible schools came here, motivated by the need for trained local people, who would be able to take responsibilities in the church. Lazaro Sengati, for example, was the first Tanganyikan local resident to be ordained as a pastor of Tazengwa church (congregation) in Nzega district in 1942, by the laying on of hands. As to what sort of training that was offered to ministers or ministry candidates, the material in this study has provided us with very important insights. Originally in the 1930s and 1940s, ministers in the FPCT (SFM by then) received basic Bible training. I have called this period of time a “classical period.” It is in this period of time that theological education and practice started to be contextualized. Major FPCT authoritative figures in this period included Harris Kapiga and Andrea Shimba. In the 1950s and 1960s basic Bible training came to include a form of systematic theology, whereby biblical passages and verses were grouped together to support interlocking doctrines. Simon Kakete and Mathayo Sulemani are public FPCT key persons in this period of time, just in addition to the classical ones, Harris Kapiga and Andrea Shimba. I have called this period of time a “middle period.” In the 1970s and 1980s, more Bible schools were started and were very instrumental in evangelism, spiritual (character) formation, and church growth. Prominent theologians and Bible school teachers of this time included Enos Nkone, Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka, and Solomon Ng’imba, in addition to the classical and middle ones. Rev. Absalom Martin and Rev. Enos Nkone represent the FPCT Church leaders of this period of time. I have termed this period of time as an FPCT “modern period.” In the recent past three decades, the FPCT Church has witnessed a rise of more Bible school teachers with establishment of and more Bible schools and colleges. Such theologians and Bible teachers as George Mwita and John Tuu, to mention just a few, represent this period of time of the FPCT theological history. Rev. David Batenzi and Rev. Jackson Kaluzi represent strong and able FPCT Church leaders, who played a key role in the formation of FPCT as a unitary church, designated as the “FREE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF TANZANIA” instead of the “Association” of Churches.³⁶⁰ This period of time is what I have called a “post-modern period.”

As to what was the impact of theological training in church growth and spiritual formation of believers, the material gives even more insights. The material in the study shows that Pentecostal theology and practice helped to create space for significant involvement in ministry among FPCT ministers from the early stage. FPCT Bible schools and colleges, especially the early ones, have had impact on the church and community. The schools prepared men and women for the practical aspects of ministry, particularly preaching, evangelism, church planting, and church growth. Bible schools and colleges have played a key role in reaching the unreached with the Gospel of Christ. They also helped to create a contextualized Pentecostal theology in the country. One may ask a question, “What was the contribution of Bible schools in the process of ministerial formation and leadership training?” the material in the study gives us answers. Centers for training and ministry formation were established quite early among the leading mission stations in Tanzania (Tanganyika). These centers which have blossomed into Bible schools and colleges today have been helpful in the church for several factors. First, they have served well in the protection of the Pentecostal doctrine; secondly, they have helped formation of the FPCT church with trained ministers; they have been helpful in the training of such ministers in line with the denominational norms; and finally they have been helpful in flourishing of genuine higher theological education. In addition, research shows that Pentecostal Bible schools in multi-ethnic countries contribute to the build-up of a national church. Therefore, it can be concluded that Bible schools and colleges serve to reach and connect people, regardless of religion, language, and ethnic background. In the words of Ulf Strohbehn, “Bible schools and colleges have strategic mentality to place graduates in such places where the need and the gifts of the graduate could be combined to the best of advantages.”³⁶¹

Studying is a discipline that is pivotal to one’s spiritual nourishment and growth. “Since the study of Scripture is the primary vehicle for laying hold of a divine perspective on the world and our purpose in it, this discipline is pivotal to our spiritual nourishment and growth (2 Tim. 3:16–17)”³⁶² Study should not only consist of a study of the Bible; it should include a study of the classics of the faith, reading, and study of some contemporary literature. It should also include study of the growing knowledge of creation, dynamics of culture, and people’s beliefs. Gaining knowledge on these areas certainly add to an understanding of God and His works, and the dangers and benefits of culture.

It will be noted that curriculum is not only a list of courses and content framework for a subject, but it is all of life’s experiences resulting from a curriculum plan (also known as instructional design) directed toward achieving objectives. An effective curriculum involves somebody (the learner) in learning, something (scope and content) in learning, some way (teaching and learning methods, instructional and administrative models), somewhere (the multiple contexts), and some purpose (educational goals and objectives) for learning. Curriculum is highly dependent on the socio-cultural and philosophical factors that impact both the educational institution and the community. Thus a curriculum may focus on personal development, training, or specific skills. Although teaching and learning might have similar goals, however, teaching is not a guarantee that learning has taken place or is taking place. Individual intelligence, motivation, readiness to learn, prior learning, learning needs, learning styles, and aptitude are all essential to the learning process. This calls our attention to a curriculum design.

A curriculum design helps ensure that the scope (what to teach) finds its expression in teaching methods (how to teach) appropriate for given groups and cultures. It sees also that educational goals and objectives (why to teach) influence appropriately the determination of what may be taught. It is in a curriculum design where the elements work harmoniously to cause curriculum to happen. An instructional design approach should focus on the product around the unique needs, learning preferences, and competencies of the learner. Instruction and instructional design should emphasize both content and the learning process. This is why instructors and instructional design specialists, the subject matter specialists, and the instructional technologists should focus on the uniqueness of the learner, the learning context, and instructional resources.

Theological education can only be effective when the hidden and null curricula receive as much attention as the explicit curriculum. It can also be effective when the hidden and null curricula are intentionally designed rather than unintentionally accepted. An ignorance of the hidden and null curricula at work in theological education can result in the use of methods and structures, which subtly undermine the content and intent of our Bible schools and colleges. Hence, Bible schools and colleges need to be led well by people with social as well as theological competencies. The schools also need a contextualized curriculum. The best theological is that which is contextual, not imported from foreign cultural contexts. It must come from and benefit the local churches that are affiliated with the school.³⁶³

Bible schools and colleges need to focus and concentrate on the most important elements in spiritual formation. Spiritual formation happens within relationships between students and teachers, who are their spiritual mothers and fathers in Christ. Care and counseling should not be regarded as extracurricular activities. These are one of the important elements of spiritual formation. Social skills too, need to be promoted in the campus, because it is hard to promote it in the classroom. Bible schools and colleges need to overcome the temptation of dictating and placing much emphasis in an academic written curriculum. Instead, they need to focus more on relationships and on creating a framework wherein the Holy Spirit can touch and change lives.³⁶⁴

To conclude this study, it can be stated that Bible schools and colleges offer intellectual training, fellowship, discipleship, leadership multiplication, ministry training, trial and error experiences, counseling and mentoring. This unique combination works on people who graduate from those colleges with the burning desire to win this world for Jesus.³⁶⁵

6.3 Recommendations

Just as Christianity as a whole made a contribution to every area of human knowledge and culture in the 2000 years of its history, so it is reasonable to expect that the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania, over the coming years, will make its contributions to the shape of academic life and general culture. To be true to itself FPCT needs to develop from its own inner first principles those methods and aims which are expressive of its nature. The growing number of student enrolments in FPCT Bible schools and colleges are only one aspect of the importance of Pentecostal education. Other aspects concern the intangible elements of theory, theology, practice, scholarship, integrity and purpose.

So, what does the future look like for theological education and ministerial training for the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania? Three things can briefly be suggested by way of an observation, a question, and some recommendations. Firstly, there is definitely a new interest among FPCT churches for leaders to be better trained and “equipped for the ministry.” This is both desirable and necessary if these congregations are to grow and continue to be “salt and light” in their communities. Secondly, there is the controversial question as to the appropriate level of formal qualifications needed for ministry. To avoid controversy, this should largely depend on what one means by “ministry” as well as the level and scope envisaged. Younger leaders and pastors want, and are seeking, the kind of theological education and ministerial training that will enable them to be effective communicators of the Christian faith today. Thirdly, FPCT leaders need to encourage bridge-building, as Aldred Anderson recommends, “between the church and the academy.”³⁶⁶ In some circles, this is being done through local theology and contextual theology. One cannot help but to see how critical theological education and proper ministerial training are to the effectiveness of those in the FPCT. They are to the effectiveness of those called to ministry and for the health and efficacy of the Church in carrying out God’s mission in the modern world.

Theology, and all that it encompasses, must be fused together with the heart. Knowledge must directly lead to action. The point is clear: if one’s theology does not move them into practice then they possess a defective theology. If one’s view of God does not affect their daily walk then they are not seeing the complete picture. If one’s theology of ministry, no matter how detailed or brilliant it may be, does not move them to practice the love of Christ to those in their community, it is nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3). At its core, practical theology, similar to healthy theological reflection, moves one, and subsequently one’s ministry, from passive to active. The evidence is strong that theology must include both the academic and the practical. It must contain both beliefs and practices. It should consist of both personal reflection and communal conversation. Leaders and teachers in a contextual Bible school / college ministry setting need to be equipped to create a spirit-filled context where students can reflect upon God, and then move their beliefs into practice.

At the end of their studies, graduates from Bible schools and colleges should be equipped in the subject in terms of their knowledge, understanding, and skills. The subject should provide students with the opportunity to engage in the two-fold exercises. Firstly, the students should be able to engage in the exercises of exploring the religious thought of one or more traditions so as to understand each in its integrity and diversity, and grasp its integrative role in relation to life styles, practices and ethics. Secondly, they should be able to engage in the exercises of analyzing the historical, social, philosophical, cultural, and artistic role of religion or belief systems in diverse contexts.

In addition to the above, there are particular “qualities of mind” that students are expected to acquire and display. These include the ability to understand how people have thought and acted – and continue to think and act – in contexts other than the student’s own; how beliefs, doctrines, traditions and practices have developed within particular social and cultural contexts; and how religious traditions have changed over time and continue to evolve in the contemporary world. They should acquire and display the ability to employ a variety of methods of study in analyzing material, to think independently, identifying tasks, set goals and solve problems. These qualities, regarded as “intellectual skills and competencies,” not only signal to the student what is expected of them, they also inform educational institutions and providers the level and quality of teaching and learning they have to provide to produce the intended outcome.³⁶⁷

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Cannell, Linda, “Opportunities for 21st Century Theological Education,” In Peter F. Penner, ed., Theological Education as Mission; Neufeld Verlag; Schwarzenfeld, 2009. pg. 169.

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Clark, Robert E., Johnson, Lin, and Sloat, Allyn K., eds, Christian Education: Foundations for the Future; Moody Press; Chicago, IL, 1991). pg. 13-14.

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Daniel, Eleanor A., and Wade, John W., Foundations of Christian Education; College Press Publishing Company; Joplin, Missouri, 2007. pg. 13.

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Enon, Julius Caesar, Educational Research: Statistics and Measurement; Makerere University; Kampala, Uganda, 1998). pg. 11, 29, 32, 35, 41.

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Ford, Leroy, A Curriculum Design manual for Theological Education; Broadman Press; Nashville, TN, 1991. pg. 34.

Groome, Thomas, Christian Religious Education; Harper & Row; San Fransisco, 1980. pg. 20.

Hämäläinen Arto, and McClung, Grant, Together in One Mission: Pentecostal Cooperation in World Evangelization; Pathway Press; Cleveland, TN, 2012. pg. 131.

Haustein, Jörg, “Pentecostalism in Ethiopia,” In Synan, Yong & Kwabena, In Global Renewal Christianity, vol. three, Africa, 2016.

Historia ya Kanisa la FPCT Bigabiro: 1935 – 2015; FPCT Bigabiro; Kigoma, Tanzania, 2015. pg. 6-9, 13, 29, 38.

“History of the Pentecostal Movement,” In Christian Assemblies International. https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/history-pentecostal-movement. (Accessed on April 04, 2021).

Hittenberger, J. S., Toward a Pentecostal Philosophy of Education; In Pneuma, 2001. pg. 217-44.

Howard, E. B., The Brazos Introduction to Christian Spirituality; Brazos Press; Grand Rapids, MI, 2008. pg. 157.

Johns, Cheryl Bridges, “The Meaning of Pentecost for Theological Education: Ministerial Formation,” In Cyberjournal for Pentecostal Charismatic Research, 1999. pg. 40.

Kane, J. Herbert, A Concise History of the Christian World Mission: A Panoramic View of Missions from Pentecost to the Present; Baker Book House; Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1982. pg. 144.

Kay, William K., Pentecostals in Britain; Paternoster Press; Glasgow, 2000. pg. 202.

Kothari, C. R., Research Methodology, Methods, and Techniques; Wiley Eastern Limited; New Delhi, India, 1985. pg. 189.

Kullingsjo, Ellin, Ottosson, Bernth-Ake, Janzon, Goran, and Wistrand, Hakan, eds., Walk the Talk: The Mission of Interact in Africa during 120 Years; InterAct Region Africa; Lettland, 2013. pg. 167-173.

Lamport, Mark A., “The Hand-Me-Down Philosophy: A Challenge to Uniqueness in Christian Education,” In Christian Education Journal 8:2, (Winter 1988):39.

Lawson, Margaret, Education in the Bible: Graduate Study Guide, 1st ed.; Global University; Springfield, MO, 2003. pg. 14-15, 28, 37-38, 44.

Leedy, Paul D., and Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis, Practical Research, 7th ed.; Prentice-Hall, Inc.; New Jersey, 2001. pg. 210.

Macquarrie, John, Principles of Christian Theology; SCM Press; London, 1966. pg. 375-376.

Miller, Randolph Crump, Education for Christian Living; Prentice-Hall, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1957. pg. 40.

Miller, Randolph Crump, Education for Christian Living, 2nd ed.; Prentice-Hall, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1963. pg. 53-54.

Msubi, Jonas Kulwa, Historia ya Utume kwa Kizazi cha Leo; Habari Maalum Press; Arusha, Tanzania, 2012. pg. 12-14, 17-20, 34-36, 42-44, 55-56.

Myneni, S.R., Legal Research Methodology; Allahabad Law agency; New Delhi, India, 1997. pg. 161.

Odén, Robert, and Samuelsson, Tore, eds., For Better for Worse: The Role of Religion in

Development Cooperation; Swedish Mission Council; Halmstad, Sweden, 2016. pg. 101-102.

Öhlmann, Philipp, Gräb, Wilhelm, and Frost, Marie-Luise, eds., African Initiated Christianity and the Decolonization of Development Sustainable Development in Pentecostal and Independent Churches; Routledge; London, England, 2020. pg. 38.

Olwa, Alfred, “Pentecostalism in Tanzania and Uganda,” In Synan, Yong & Kwabena, In Global Renewal Christianity, vol. three, Africa, 2016.

Reed, Jeff, “Church-Based Theological Education: Creating A New Paradigm,” In New Paradigms for the Post-Modern Church (Presented to North American Professors of Christian Education, October 17, 1992). pg. 8.

Sanner, A. Elwood, and Harper, A. F., eds., ExploringChristian Education; Baker; Grand Rapids, MI, 1978. pg. 49.

Scorgie, Glen G., Ed., Dictionary of Christian Spirituality; (Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI, 2011. pg. 37.

Shaw, Perry, “Holistic and Transformative: Beyond a Typological Approach to Theological education,” In Evangelical Review of Theology, 40:3 (2016). pg. 206.

Sigalla, Rachel J., Curriculum Development, 1st ed.; The Open University of Tanzania; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2003. pg. 5, 10.

Swift, Fletcher H., Education in Ancient Israel: From Earliest Times to AD 70; Open Court Publishing Company; Chicago, 1919. pg. 67, 84.

Tillich, Paul, The Shaking of the Foundations; Pelican Books; Middlesex, 1962. pg. 123-124.

Trepp, Leo, Judaism: Development and Life, 3rd ed.; Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont, CA, 1982. pg. 189, 200

Strohbehn, Ulf, Ed., A Manual for Starting and Developing Bible Schools: Appeals and Cases for Paradigm Shifts in Spiritual Formation (Fida International, Helsinki, Finland, 2020). pg. iv, 9, 5-6, 12, 24-27, 52, 69.

“Subject Benchmark Statement: History;” The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education; Gloucester, England, 2014. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/subject-benchmark-statements/sbs-history-14.pdf?sfvrsn=269ff781_10 (Accessed on April 14, 2021).

Nyström, Carin Holmkvist, Svensk Pingstmission i Tanzania (Swedish Pentecostal Mission in

Tanzania); MissionsInstitutet – PMU; Stockholm, Sweden, 1998. Footnotes.

Shaw, Perry, Transforming Theological Education: A Practical Handbook for Integrative Learning; Langham Global Library; Carlisle, Cumbria, UK, 2014). pg. 79.

Tye, Michael, Consciousness, Color, and Content; The MIT Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2000. pg. 9.

Vähäkangas, Auli, and Vähäkangas, Mika, “Religious communities: A Resource or a Liability for Development?” In Robert Odén, For Better for Worse: The Role of Religion in Development Cooperation; Swedish Mission Council; Halmstad, Sweden, 2016. pg. 183.

Wilhoit, Jim, Christian Education and the Search for Meaning; Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI, 1986. pg. 59-60.

Yount, William, The Teaching Ministry of the Church: Second Edition; Broadman Holman Publishers; United States, 2008. pg. 5.

UNPUBLISHED SOURCES

A Gathering of Thanksgiving of 1994, A School Pamphlet; Faith Bible School – Iguguno; Iguguno, Singida, 2014. pg. 4-7.

Anderson, Aldred, The Forgotten Dimension: Education for Pentecostal-Charismatic Spirituality in Global Perspective; Paper Presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies; Oral Roberts University; Tulsa, Oklahoma, March, 2001; Subsequently Published in Pneuma, 23, 2, pg. 287-302.

Constitution of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT); Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2000. pg. 3-5.

Dagernäs, Andreas, “Att ikläda sig ansvar: Inhemskt aktörskap i Skandinavisk Pingstmission i Tanganyika 1932-1945;” (“To take on responsibility: Indigenous Agency in the Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission in Tanganyika 1932-1945;” M.A. Thesis; University of Gothenburg; Gothenburg, Sweden, 2013. pg. 9-11, 29, 31-36, 41-43, 47-49, 63-65, 68.

FPCT Strategic Plan: 2014-2024; Habari Maalum Press; Arusha, Tanzania, 2014. pg.

Kamata, Petro M., A History of Puge Bible School: Jubilee of 40 Years of Puge Bible School, 1957 – 1997; Puge Bible School; Nzega, Tabora, Tanzania, 1997.

Shija, Elias, Miaka 60 ya Mafanikio ya Injili Tanzania (1932-1992): Historia Fupi ya Makanisa ya Pentekoste katika Tanzania; KIMAHAMA; Tabora, Tanzania, 1992. pg. 1-12, 14-17.

PERSONAL INTERVIEWS

Personal Interview with Elihuruma Kombe, held on April 08, 2021 in Marangu – Moshi, Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania.

Personal Interview with Rev. Elias Shija, held on March 30, 2021 at Tazengwa, Nzega, Tanzania.

Personal Interview with Rev. Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka, held on January 01, 2021 at Sanjaranda, Itigi, Tanzania.

Personal Interview with Petro Kamata, conducted at Tazengwa, Nzega, Tanzania, on February 16, 2021.

Personal Interview with Rev. Yona Ng’imba, held on April 15, 2021 at Iguguno Pentecostal Church, Singida, Tanzania.

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

Telephone Interview with Aaron Bambanza, conducted on March 15, 2021.

Telephone Interview with Rev. Absalom Martin, Former FPCT National Overseer, conducted on April 16, 2021.

Telephone Interview with Rev. Azori Fumbuka, conducted on February 21, 2021.

Telephone Interview with Johanseni Felisiani, conducted on March 15, 2021.

Telephone Interview with Rev. John Mwakyusa, conducted on April 18, 2021.

Telephone Interview with Pastor Nathaniel Marandu, held on April 18, 2021.

Telephone Interview with Pastor Paulo Kuzenza, conducted on March 15, 2021.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

https://www.aimint.org/usa/about/heritage. (Accessed on May 06, 2021).

https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/history-pentecostal-movement. (Accessed on April 04, 2021).

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/subject-benchmark-statements/sbs-history14.pdf?sfvrsn=269ff78 1_10. (Accessed on April 14, 2021).

https://www.wusgermany.de/en/global-education/european-global-learning-database-englob/pm u-swedisch-pentecostal-international-relief-and-development-agency. (Accessed on April 14, 2021).

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

Questionnaire Concerning

Theological Education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

This questionnaire is kept anonymous to foster openness. Please do not write your name on it.

Attention: If not otherwise indicated, only one answer per question is possible. This is very important.

Section A: Personal Questions

1. What is your main ministry?

- Local pastor
- Bible school teacher
- Leader (bishop, denominational etc.)
- Any other

2. How old are you?

- under 20 years of age
- 20-29
- 30-39
- 40-49
- 50 and older

3. Are you

- male
- female

4. How many languages do you speak fluently?

- Only Swahili
- Swahili and one other language
- Swahili and two other languages
- Swahili and three and / or more languages

Section B: General Questions

5. What is in your opinion the biggest problem in Tanzanian society (not in the church)? Please cross only one box!

- poverty
- witchcraft
- corruption
- lack of political leadership
- lack of infrastructure
- lack of education
- selfishness
- tribalism
- women are not treated as equals

6. What is in your opinion the second biggest problem in Tanzanian society (not in the church)? Please cross only one box!

- poverty
- witchcraft
- corruption
- lack of political leadership
- lack of infrastructure
- lack of education
- selfishness
- tribalism
- women are not treated as equals

7. What is in your opinion the biggest problem in the local churches? Please cross only one box!

- poverty
- witchcraft
- lack of leaders’ leadership skills
- lack of evangelism
- lack of Bible education systems in the local church
- mistrust and lack of love
- selfishness / absence of unity

8. What is in your opinion the second biggest problem in the local churches? Please cross only one box!

- poverty
- witchcraft
- lack of leaders’ leadership skills
- lack of evangelism
- lack of Bible education systems in the local church
- mistrust and lack of love
- selfishness / absence of unity

9. In your opinion, a Bible school applicant with Form 4 has…

- too little general knowledge to perform well in Bible school
- an adequate amount of general knowledge to perform well in Bible school

10. In your opinion, a Bible school applicant with Form 6 has…

- too little general knowledge to perform well in Bible school
- an adequate amount of general knowledge to perform well in Bible school

11. In your opinion, a Bible school applicant should have…

- no prior experience in local church ministry
- at least been involved responsibly for two years in the local church before applying
- at least been involved responsibly for three years in the local church before applying
- at least been involved responsibly for four years or more in the local church before applying

Section C: Bible School Questions

This set of questions is for former students of Bible schools. You don’t need to answer them if you have not visited a Bible school. You can answer them if you have attended Bible school for at least a year, even if you have not graduated.

12. My main motivation for going to the Bible school was that I

- wanted to study theology
- wanted to improve my education
- wanted to prepare for the ministry
- someone else told me to go, I was not motivated myself

13. Before I went to Bible school, I had

- no idea of what the training would be like
- a little idea of what the training would be like
- a comprehensive idea of what the training would be like

14. At the beginning of my studies,

- we were thoroughly introduced to the place and how to study
- some things were explained, but it wasn’t enough
- there was no introduction whatsoever
- I don’t remember

15. The education I received at the Bible school…

- has been a great help in my ministry
- helped a little bit in the ministry
- is not relevant to my ministry

16. In general, in Bible school I felt treated by the teachers like (2 answers possible)

- a child
- a nobody
- an adult
- a person called to serve the Lord

17. In general, in Bible school I felt treated by my fellow students like (2 answers possible)

- a friend
- a competitor
- a nobody
- a person called to serve the Lord

18. Most valuable to me at the Bible school were

- the prayer times
- the lectures
- the teachers
- the comradeship with other students

19. My favorite subject at Bible School was

.. please fill. Only one answer possible.

20. Speaking from hindsight now that I am in the ministry, the Bible school should have prepared me more for (3 answers possible):

- agriculture
- spiritual warfare
- dealing with cults and heresies
- financial management
- counseling
- understanding society dealing with culture
- preaching
- leadership of the church
- instructions for self-study
- hermeneutics
- evangelism
- (any other area you can think of, please fill).

21. Personally, the education I received at Bible school was

- very difficult to learn. I struggled to understand many things
- It wasn’t easy, but I managed to complete everything
- I had no difficulties with learning
- It was too easy and I could have studied more

22. During my studies I felt that

- There was not enough time to learn
- There was just enough time to learn
- There was more than enough time to learn

23. For assessment, I would personally prefer:

- Only oral examination
- Only written exams
- Graded workshops and one final exam
- Graded workshops with no final exam

24. With the education I received at the Bible school, I am able to…

- I do not use ideas or materials I received at the Bible school in my ministry
- Remember few good things from Bible school that I can use
- Remember many good things from Bible school that I can use
- I am able to write my own materials (Bible studies and sermons) because of the education I received at the Bible school

25. Written material I received, and the study notes I took at the Bible school…

- I don’t have anything left in my possession from that time
- I don’t use it
- A few things I use nowadays in my ministry
- I use it a lot in my ministry

26. After graduation and at the start of local ministry, (two answers possible)

- I would have needed a mentor to guide me in the first steps of ministry
- I was fine and did not need any outside help
- I served under a senior pastor, but he did not mentor and promote me
- I served under a senior pastor and he mentored and promoted me

27. How much did your Bible school education prepare you for the “real life” in the ministry?

- Very well. The Bible school education covered everything I later encountered in the ministry.
- Rather well. The Bible school education prepared me for most things in my ministry.
- Not so well. The Bible school education is answering only a few issues in my ministry.
- Not at all. The Bible school education is of no help in my ministry.

28. Did your Bible school education prepare you for issues related to the marriage and family life of ministers?

- Not at all.
- A little bit.
- There was sufficient coverage of this theme.
- It was excellent, and I profit from that education still now.

29. In my ministry in the local church, I…

- only preach
- mainly preach and teach a little
- preach and teach in equal amounts
- teach more than I preach

30. Do you have the impression that the Bible school training taught you sermon preparation and how to compose Bible studies?

- No
- A little
- A lot

31. In terms of motivation,

- I was more eager to serve the Lord before I went to Bible school.
- I was more eager to serve the Lord after Bible school.

32. My impression of practical and theoretical elements during my Bible school education is that…

- We had too many practical assignments and too little time to study
- We had a good balance between practical and theoretical assignments
- We had too much theory and too little practical assignments

33. My relationship with some teachers at the Bible school was

- I did not really have a relationship with any teacher
- Some teachers conversed with me outside the classroom
- Some teachers were like spiritual parents to me and I could confide in them with personal issues

34. How did you do spiritually during your Bible school time?

- I had to learn a lot, but felt spiritually undernourished all the time
- Sometimes the Lord spoke to me
- I received good spiritual food all the time
- I often met the Lord while at Bible college and this has changed my character, too

D. Questions for Teachers

The following questions are only for those who teach at the Bible schools. This includes principals, full-time teachers and visiting faculty, who teach at least one full curricular subject per year.

35. Have you had any training in pedagogics before you started teaching?

- None at all
- Somebody instructed me a little bit about teaching before I started
- I have visited courses and studied material on pedagogics
- I have been trained as a teacher

36. Would you need help with pedagogical and theological issues regarding your teaching?

- Yes
- No

37. Is help available to you with theological and pedagogical issues? (2 answers possible)

- Not anywhere
- At the Bible school, but only when I ask for it
- The Bible school offers advice and consulting to its teachers
- I have to go and inquire from someone not related to the Bible school I teach in

38. The material for the course(s) I teach…

- has been given to me
- has been written by myself

39. Of those courses with material written by others, …

- I only teach what I find in the text book / study guide
- I teach the book and add a few personal examples to the lessons
- I teach the book and add a lot of my own material and ideas to it
- I don’t really care about the book and teach other things

40. The course(s) I teach…

- already comes with an ample amount of material about Tanzanian culture
- has only few hints at Tanzanian culture
- has no material that relates to our culture

41. The course(s) I teach…

- I don’t really like it
- I like it, but would like to improve a few things
- I like it as it is
- I am passionate about it

42. How do you converse with students? (2 answers possible)

- I only deal with them in the classroom
- I chat with a few of them wherever we meet
- Students come to me with personal issues and I counsel them
- I have formed lasting relationships with former students

43. When I teach my subject, I have a feeling that…

- none of the students is interested in it
- less than half of them are interested
- more than half of them are interested
- everyone is interested

44. When I teach my subject, I have a feeling that the students…

- will not need this subject in their future ministry
- will only need a few thoughts from the subject in their future ministry
- will need many thoughts from the subject in their future ministry

45. Would you be able to write your own subject?

- Yes
- Yes, but I will need a little help
- No

APPENDIX 2

Questions for Interview Concerning Bible Schools in the

Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

When did the church start in the respective area or location? And who was its founder or pioneer?
Who were the early church leaders of the respective church?
When did the Bible school start in the respective area? Who started it and why?
Who were the early teachers of the respective Bible school? And who followed after the early ones?
Which subjects or courses were being taught?
What was the contribution of the respective Bible school in ministerial formation, leadership training, church growth, and spiritual formation of believers?
What was the impact of the Bible school in the church and in the society?

APPENDIX 3

Questions for Focus Group Discussions

Concerning Theological Education in the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT)

Section A: General Questions

In your opinion, what is the biggest problem in Tanzanian society, which the church can help to solve?
In your opinion, what is the biggest problem in the FPCT local churches? What is the source of that problem, and how can it be solved?
What are the biggest challenges that are facing the FPCT Church? And how can Bible schools and colleges help to solve by using their graduates?

Section B: Questions for Church Members

What good things can you see from the Bible school or college graduates in their life and ministry?
What unpleasant things can you see from the Bible school or college graduates, in their life and ministry?
6. What does the graduate seem to emphasize more often in his or her teaching and preaching?
What does the graduate seem to ignore or show disregard in his or her teaching or preaching?
8. In your opinion, what should be done in Bible schools and colleges to make the graduates
more successful and helpful to those they serve?
As a church member, in what areas or aspects of spiritual formation would you suggest Bible school and college students should be prepared or equipped?

Section C: Questions for Bible School / College Graduates and Church Leaders

What extra-curricular subjects did you learn while studying at a Bible school or college?
2. What subjects/courses need to be added to the current Bible school / college curriculum?
3. What subjects/courses should be removed from the current Bible school / college curriculum?
4. What would you recommend to be done in the Bible schools / colleges to make the graduates more successful and helpful to those whom they serve?

ENDNOTES

[...]

---

¹ “History of the Pentecostal Movement,” In Christian Assemblies International. https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/history-pentecostal-movement. (Accessed on April 04, 2021).

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Andrew G. Johnson was a Swedish American missionary, who got baptized in the Spirit at Azusa Street’s Pentecostal revival, in USA. He was the first missionary to introduce Pentecostalism in Sweden. T.B. Barratt’s visit in Sweden in early 1907 expanded the small beginnings sparked by Andrew G. Johnson. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. Van Der Maas, editors, “Thomas Ball Barratt,” In The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), pg. 97.

⁶ Jan-Åke Alvarsson, “Research on Pentecostalism in Sweden,” In Approaching Religion , Vol. 5, No. 1, May 2015 . pg. 16.

⁷ In many historical works, this man, Lewi Pethrus (1884-1974), appears as the ‘founder’ and the ‘first pastor’ of the Philadelphia Church (Filadelfiakyrkan) in Stockholm, Sweden. He arrived in Stockholm in 1911 and replaced the first pastor, the evangelist Eric Emil Valdemar Olsson (1881–1959), who was later a pastor and missionary within the Örebro Mission. In practice, it was Albert Engzell, a wholesale dealer, who acted as the first president. (He was also the one who, together with his wife Selma, founded the congregation). Lewi Pethrus came to be the first person to combine the roles of pastor and president of the congregation. Alvarsson, Footnotes, pg. 16-17.

⁸ Thomas Ball Barratt (1862-1940), the Norwegian Pentecostal leader, was born in Albaston, Cornwall, England. His family emigrated to Norway in 1867 when Thomas was five years old. He grew up in Norway, but went to school in England for a period, then came back in Norway where he studied art. At the age of 17, he began preaching. As an adult, he was ordained a pastor at the Methodist Episcopal Church of Norway and pastured several churches. In 1902 he founded the Oslo City Mission. During a trip to the United States in 1906, he came in contact with the Pentecostal revival and back in Norway, where he became the founder of the Norwegian Pentecostal movement. His magazine Korset Seir was translated and published in Swedish, Finnish, German, Russian, Spanish, and Norwegian. Burgess and Van Der Maas, eds., pg. 365.

⁹ Alvarsson, pg. 16-17.

¹⁰ Burgess and Van Der Maas, eds., pg. 986.

¹¹ Ibid., pg. 17.

¹² Ibid.

¹³ Lewi Pethrus, a Swedish pastor, international Pentecostal leader, and prolific author was the son of a factory worker. He grew up in the Baptist Church. He was baptized at age 15 and became an evangelist (1902-1904) before he attended Bethel Seminary in Stockholm (1905-1906). Under the guidance of T.B. Barratt, he became a Pentecostal in 1907 when he paid a visit to Norway in the Oslo Pentecostal revivals. He was elected pastor of the Filadelfia Church, Stockholm in 1911. In 1939, he hosted the World Pentecostal Conference with 20 nations represented. He remained a pastor at Filadelfia Church, Stockholm until his retirement in 1958. He was active in Pentecostal movement until his death in 1974. Burgess and Van Der Maas, eds., pg. 986-987.

¹⁴ Ibid., pg. 21.

¹⁵ Ibid., pg. 28.

¹⁶ Ibid., pg. 21.

¹⁷ “History of the Pentecostal Movement.”

¹⁸ Robert Odén and Tore Samuelsson, editors, For Better for Worse: The Role of Religion in Development Cooperation (Halmstad, Sweden: Swedish Mission Council, 2016), pg. 101.

¹⁹ Ibid.

²⁰ Ibid.

²¹ Ibid.

²² Ibid., pg. 102.

²³ Ellin Kullingsjo, Bernth-Ake Ottosson, Goran Janzon, and Hakan Wistrand, Walk the Talk: The Mission of Interact in Africa during 120 Years (Lettland: InterAct Region Africa, 2013), pg. 167.

²⁴ Elias Shija, Miaka 60 ya Mafanikio ya Injili Tanzania (1932-1992): Historia Fupi ya Makanisa ya Pentekoste katika Tanzania (Tabora, Tanzania: KIMAHAMA, 1992), pg. 3.

²⁵ Ibid., pg. 1-5.

²⁶ Ibid., pg. 4.

²⁷ Ibid.

²⁸ Ibid.

²⁹ Ibid., pg. 5.

³⁰ Ibid.

³¹ The African Inland Mission (AIM) was founded by Peter Cameron Scott (1867-1896) from Scotland. His vision was to establish a network of mission stations from the southeast coast of Africa and inland to Lake Chad. Through contacts in America, AIM was linked to the Philadelphia Missionary Council. In 1895, the first missionaries were sent to Kenya. Currently, Africa Inland Mission is an evangelical Christian mission agency serving in over 20 African nations. Its passion is to see Christ-centered churches established and thriving among all of Africa’s peoples. www.aimint.org/usa/about/heritage (accessed on May 06, 2021).

³² Andreas Dagernäs, “Att ikläda sig ansvar: Inhemskt aktörskap i Skandinavisk Pingstmission i Tanganyika 1932-1945” (“To take on responsibility: Indigenous Agency in the Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission in Tanganyika 1932-1945,” M.A. Thesis (Gothenburg, Sweden: University of Gothenburg, 2013), pg. 29.

³³ Constitution of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT). Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2000. pg. 3.

³⁴ Ibid.

³⁵ Ibid., pg. 3-5.

³⁶ Vision and Mission Statements Document of FPCT.

³⁷ FPCT Strategic Plan: 2014-2024 (Arusha, Tanzania: Habari Maalum Press, 2014), pg. 15.

³⁸ Ulf Strohbehn, Editor, A Manual for Starting and Developing Bible Schools: Appeals and Cases for Paradigm Shifts in Spiritual Formation (Helsinki, Finland: Fida International, 2020). pg. 69.

³⁹ Julius Caesar Enon, Educational Research: Statistics and Measurement (Kampala, Uganda: Makerere University, 1998), pg. 11.

⁴⁰ Ibid.

⁴¹ Ibid.

⁴² Enon, pg. 35, 41.

⁴³ Emil Chandran, Research Methods: A Quantitative Approach with Illustrations from Christian Ministries (Nairobi, Kenya: DayStar University), 2004.

⁴⁴ Elias Shija, Miaka 60 ya Mafanikio ya Injili Tanzania (1932-1992): Historia Fupi ya Makanisa ya Pentekoste katika Tanzania (Tabora, Tanzania: KIMAHAMA, 1992).

⁴⁵ Jonas Kulwa Msubi, Historia ya Utume kwa Kizazi cha Leo (Arusha, Tanzania: Habari Maalum Press), 2012.

⁴⁶ Jan-Åke Alvarsson, “Research on Pentecostalism in Sweden,” in Approaching Religion, Vol. 5, No. 1, May 2015. pg. 22.

⁴⁷ Robert E. Clark, Lin Johnson, and Allyn K. Sloat, editors, Christian Education: Foundations for the Future (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1991), pg. 13-14.

⁴⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 11.

⁴⁹ Ibid., pg. 10.

⁵⁰ Ibid., pg. 73.

⁵¹ Glen G. Scorgie, editor, Dictionary of Christian Spirituality (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), pg. 37.

⁵² Ibid.

⁵³ Ibid.

⁵⁴ E. B. Howard, The Brazos Introduction to Christian Spirituality (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2008), pg. 157.

⁵⁵ Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), pg. 30.

⁵⁶ Ibid., pg. 292-293.

⁵⁷ Strohbehn, pg. iv.

⁵⁸ Ibid., pg 1.

⁵⁹ Ibid.

⁶⁰ Four Models of Theological Education, Adapted from Brian Edgar, “Theology of Theological Education,” in Evangelical Review of Theology 29, no. 3 (2005): 213.

⁶¹ Strohbehn, pg. 73.

⁶² Brian Edgar, “The Theology of Theological education,” in Evangelical Review of Theology, 29:3 (2005), pg. 215.

⁶³ Perry Shaw, “Holistic and Transformative: Beyond a Typological Approach to Theological education,” in Evangelical Review of Theology, 40:3 (2016), pg. 206.

⁶⁴ Alvarsson, pg. 28.

⁶⁵ Ibid., pg. 22.

⁶⁶ Dagernäs, pg. 40.

⁶⁷ Philipp Öhlmann, Wilhelm Gräb, and Marie-Luise Frost, editors, African Initiated Christianity and the Decolonization of Development Sustainable Development in Pentecostal and Independent Churches (London and New York: Routledge, 2020), pg 38.

⁶⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 40.

⁶⁹ Ibid.

⁷⁰ Ibid.

⁷¹ Paul Ongman (1885-1957), a Swedish Pentecostal mission leader, mission theorist, and author was the son of John Ongman and Minnie Eriksson Ongman. After graduating from university, he served as a professor at the Örebro Mission School (1908-1922) before joining the Pentecostal revival in 1921. Between 1930-1945, he served as mission secretary for the Philadelphia Mission of the Swedish Pentecostal movement in Stockholm. Thus Paul Ongman had an overall role in the Swedish Pentecostal Movement's international mission. Burgess and Van Der Maas, eds., pg. 945.

⁷² Lewi Pethrus visited Tanganyika in the conference which was held in 1957 in Bigabiro (Mwandiga), Kigoma. Pastor Lewi Pethrus participated and spoke the future strategy for Pentecostal missions. Since the beginning of the 1950s, Pethrus repeatedly communicated the importance of introducing the national leaders into responsible positions. In connection with his visit to Tanganyika, Pethrus proposed a kind of apprenticeship system where missionaries and Tanganyikans would work side by side. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of letting the local church have their opinion regarding the location of missionaries. Dagernäs, pg. 60.

⁷³ Dagernäs, pg. 67.

⁷⁴ John Ongman (1845-1931), a Swedish mission organizer, theorist, and author was born and raised in Boviken, Jämtland, Sweden. He was baptized in Baptist tradition in 1864. He emigrated to Chicago in the 1870s and studied theology. In America, Ongman met the North American Holiness Movement. He returned to Sweden in 1889 and founded Örebro Mission Association (1892) and later Örebro Mission School (1908). He hired Pentecostal theologians and mission theorists to teach at his school. Burgess and Van Der Maas, eds., pg. 944.

⁷⁵ Alvarsson, pg. 21-22.

⁷⁶ Eleanor A. Daniel and John W. Wade, Foundations of Christian Education (Joplin, Missouri: College Press Publishing Company, 2007), pg. 13.

⁷⁷ Gabriel Fackre, The Christian Story (Vol 2): Authority: Scripture in the Church for the World (Pastoral Systematics), (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987), pg. 157.

⁷⁸ William Yount, The Teaching Ministry of the Church: Second Edition (United States: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2008), pg. 5.

⁷⁹ Randolph Crump Miller, Education for Christian Living (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1957), pg. 40.

⁸⁰ Rajesh K. Aggarwal, Performance Incentives within Firms: The Effect of Managerial Responsibility (American Finance Association, 2003), pg. 15.

⁸¹ Thomas Groome, Christian Religious Education (San Fransisco: Harper & Row, 1980), pg. 20.

⁸² Michael Tye, Consciousness, Color, and Content (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2000), pg. 9.

⁸³ Ibid.

⁸⁴ Randolph Crump Miller, Education for Christian Living, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1963), pg. 53-54.

⁸⁵ Mark A. Lamport, “The Hand-Me-Down Philosophy: A Challenge to Uniqueness in Christian Education,” In Christian Education Journal 8:2, (Winter 1988):39.

⁸⁶ Clark et al., pg. 14.

⁸⁷ Ibid.

⁸⁸ Jim Wilhoit, Christian Education and the Search for Meaning (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1986), pg. 59-60.

⁸⁹ Michael J. Anthony, Introducing Christian Education: Foundations for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), pg. 13.

⁹⁰ A. Elwood Sanner and A. F. Harper, editors, ExploringChristian Education (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1978), pg. 49.

⁹¹ Leo Trepp, Judaism: Development and Life, 3rd ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1982), pg. 189.

⁹² Charles Ashby, Biblical Education: Past and Present, 2nd ed., (Springfield, MO: Global University, 2000), pg. 37.

⁹³ Trepp, pg. 200.

⁹⁴ Ashby, pg. 32.

⁹⁵ Margaret Lawson, Education in the Bible: Graduate Study Guide, 1st ed., (Springfield, MO: Global University, 2003), pg. 14-15.

⁹⁶ Ashby, pg. 20.

⁹⁷ Ibid., pg. 14.

⁹⁸ William Barclay, Educational Ideals in the Ancient World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1974), pg. 11.

⁹⁹ Ibid., pg. 36.

¹⁰⁰ Ashby, pg. 33.

¹⁰¹ Ibid., pg. 32.

¹⁰² Ibid., pg. 29.

¹⁰³ Trepp, pg. 189.

¹⁰⁴ Lawson, pg. 28.

¹⁰⁵ Fletcher H. Swift, Education in Ancient Israel: From Earliest Times to AD 70 (Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company, 1919), pg. 67.

¹⁰⁶ Clark et al, pg. 17.

¹⁰⁷ Ibid., pg. 18.

¹⁰⁸ Ibid.

¹⁰⁹ Ibid.

¹¹⁰ Ashby, pg. 55.

¹¹¹ Ibid., pg. 55-56.

¹¹² Clark et al, pg. 18.

¹¹³ Sanner, pg. 41-42.

¹¹⁴ Swift, pg. 84.

¹¹⁵ Lawson, pg. 37-38.

¹¹⁶ Clark et al, pg. 19.

¹¹⁷ Ibid.

¹¹⁸ Ashby, pg. 129.

¹¹⁹ Lawson, pg. 44.

¹²⁰ Clark et al, pg. 21.

¹²¹ Ashby, pg. 146.

¹²² Ibid., pg. 148.

¹²³ Ibid.

¹²⁴ Clark et al, pg. 27.

¹²⁵ Ibid., pg. 28.

¹²⁶ Daniel and Wade, pg. 13.

¹²⁷ Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations (Middlesex: Pelican Books, 1962), pg. 123-124.

¹²⁸ John Macquarrie, Principles of Christian Theology (London, SCM Press: 1966), pg. 375-376.

¹²⁹ Strohbehn, pg. 24.

¹³⁰ Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), pg. 291.

¹³¹ Ibid., pg. 292.

¹³² William K. Kay, Pentecostals in Britain (Glasgow: Paternoster Press, 2000), pg. 202.

¹³³ Auli Vähäkangas and Mika Vähäkangas, “Religious communities: A Resource or a Liability for Development?” In Robert Odén, For Better for Worse: The Role of Religion in Development Cooperation. Halmstad, Sweden: Swedish Mission Council, 2016), pg. 183.

¹³⁴ Strohbehn, pg. 25-26.

¹³⁵ Ibid., pg. 26.

¹³⁶ Linda Cannell, “Opportunities for 21st Century Theological Education,” In Peter F. Penner, ed., Theological Education as Mission (Schwarzenfeld: Neufeld Verlag, 2009), pg. 169.

¹³⁷ Strohbehn, pg. 26.

¹³⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 9.

¹³⁹ Ibid.

¹⁴⁰ Swedish Pentecostal International Relief and Development Agency. In 1965, the Pentecostal Churches in Sweden established PMU InterLife which was originally called, Pentecostal Mission’s Third World Aid. It is owned by the Pentecostal church in Sweden and cooperates with many churches globally. See on: https://www.wusgermany.de/en/ global-education/european-global-learning-database-englob/pmu-swedisch-pentecostal-international-relief-and-development-agency.

¹⁴¹ Alfred Olwa, “Pentecostalism in Tanzania and Uganda” in Synan, Yong & Kwabena, in Global Renewal Christianity, vol. three, Africa, 2016.

¹⁴² Jörg Haustein, “Pentecostalism in Ethiopia” in Synan, Yong & Kwabena, in Global renewal Christianity, vol. three, Africa, 2016.

¹⁴³ Paul D. Leedy and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, Practical Research, 7th ed., (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001), pg. 210.

¹⁴⁴ C. R. Kothari, Research Methodology, Methods, and Techniques (New Delhi, India: Wiley Eastern Limited, 1985), pg. 189.

¹⁴⁵ Julius Caesar Enon, Educational research: Statistics and Measurement (Kampala, Uganda: Makerere University, 1998), pg. 29.

¹⁴⁶ Ibid., pg. 32.

¹⁴⁷ S.R. Myneni, Legal Research Methodology (New Delhi, India: Allahabad Law agency, 1997), pg. 161.

¹⁴⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 30, 32.

¹⁴⁹ Ibid., pg. 30.

¹⁵⁰ Jonas Kulwa Msubi, 2012 Historia ya Utume kwa Kizazi cha Leo (Arusha, Tanzania: Habari Maalum Press, 2012), pg. 17.

¹⁵¹ Dagernäs, pg. 31.

¹⁵² Shija, pg. 15.

¹⁵³ Dagernäs, pg. 31.

¹⁵⁴ Shija, pg. 16.

¹⁵⁵ Dagernäs, pg. 31.

¹⁵⁶ Ibid.

¹⁵⁷ Shija, pg. 17.

¹⁵⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 31.

¹⁵⁹ Msubi, pg. 34.

¹⁶⁰ Shija, pg. 15.

¹⁶¹ Dagernäs, pg. 31.

¹⁶² Msubi, pg. 36.

¹⁶³ Dagernäs, pg. 31-32.

¹⁶⁴ Shija, pg. 14.

¹⁶⁵ Ibid.

¹⁶⁶ Dagernäs, pg. 37.

¹⁶⁷ Shija, pg. 14.

¹⁶⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 37.

¹⁶⁹ Shija, pg. 6.

¹⁷⁰ Ibid., pg. 7.

¹⁷¹ “Maranatha Mission Course” was a missionary training program which was founded by Lauri Mömmö, who was a lawyer by profession and served as senior pastor of the Helsinki Philadelphia church. His plan was endorsed by the leading preachers’ meeting of the Pentecostal movement in 1931. Strohbehn writes, “It was in his heart to organize language courses for future missionaries. This unique training became known as the Maranatha course.” Ulf Strohbehn, Ed., A Manual for Starting and Developing Bible Schools: Appeals and Cases for Paradigm Shifts in Spiritual Formation (Helsinki, Finland: Fida International, 2020), pg. 52.

¹⁷² Ibid.

¹⁷³ Ibid.

¹⁷⁴ Ibid.

¹⁷⁵ Ibid.

¹⁷⁶ Dagernäs, pg. 41.

¹⁷⁷ Shija, pg. 8.

¹⁷⁸ Ibid.

¹⁷⁹ Dagernäs, pg. 35.

¹⁸⁰ Ibid.

¹⁸¹ Ibid.

¹⁸² Ibid., pg. 35-36.

¹⁸³ Ibid., pg. 36.

¹⁸⁴ Ibid., pg. 36, 59.

¹⁸⁵ Msubi, pg. 12, 17.

¹⁸⁶ Dagernäs, pg. 32.

¹⁸⁷ Ibid.

¹⁸⁸ Ibid., pg. 33.

¹⁸⁹ Ibid.

¹⁹⁰ Ibid., pg. 41, 47.

¹⁹¹ Ibid., pg. 41-42.

¹⁹² Ibid., pg. 47.

¹⁹³ Ibid., pg. 34.

¹⁹⁴ Ibid., pg. 65.

¹⁹⁵ Ibid.

¹⁹⁶ Ibid., pg. 34.

¹⁹⁷ Msubi, pg. 56; Dagernäs, pg. 34.

¹⁹⁸ Msubi, pg. 56.

¹⁹⁹ Dagernäs, pg. 41.

²⁰⁰ Ibid., pg. 36.

²⁰¹ Ibid.

²⁰² Ibid.

²⁰³ Shija, pg. 15.

²⁰⁴ Historia ya Kanisa la FPCT Bigabiro: 1935 – 2015 (Kigoma, Tanzania: FPCT Bigabiro, 2015), pg. 6-7.

²⁰⁵ Ibid., pg. 8-9.

²⁰⁶ Ibid., pg. 38.

²⁰⁷ Ibid., pg. 13.

²⁰⁸ Msubi, pg. 42, 56.

²⁰⁹ Historia ya Kanisa la FPCT Bigabiro: 1935 – 2015, pg. 29.

²¹⁰ Petro M. Kamata, A History of Puge Bible School: Jubilee of 40 Years of Puge Bible School, 1957 – 1997 (Nzega, Tabora, Tanzania: Puge Bible School, 1997).

²¹¹ Personal Interview with Petro Kamata, conducted at Tazengwa, Nzega, Tanzania, on February 16, 2021.

²¹² Telephone Interview with Azori Fumbuka, conducted on February 21, 2021.

²¹³ Ibid.

²¹⁴ Personal Interview with Elihuruma Kombe, held on April 08, 2021 in Marangu – Moshi, Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. [The interview was conducted by Rev. Joseph Mwanginde, who interviewed Elihuruma Kombe and recorded the interviews]. Elihuruma Kombe is one of the former teachers of Marangu Bible School.

²¹⁵ Telephone Interview with Rev. John Mwakyusa, conducted on April 18, 2021. Rev. John Mwakyusa is one of the students, who studied at Marangu Bible School in 1972. He is currently a Principal of FPCT Zion Bible School, in Handeni district, Tanga region.

²¹⁶ Telephone Interview with Pastor Nathaniel Marandu, held on April 18, 2021. Pastor Nathaniel Marandu is a senior pastor at FPCT Ngaramtoni local church in Arusha, and former FPCT Radio Habari Maalum broadcaster.

²¹⁷ Personal Interview with Elihuruma Kombe.

²¹⁸ Rev. John Mwakyusa.

²¹⁹ Personal Interview with Elihuruma Kombe.

²²⁰ Telephone Interview with Pastor Nathaniel Marandu.

²²¹ Personal Interview with Rev. Yona Ng’imba, held on April 15, 2021 at Iguguno Pentecostal Church, Singida, Tanzania. Rev. Yona Ng’imba is the Pastor in Charge of Iguguno Pentecostal Church and the Successor of the Late Rev. Harris Kapiga, the founder of Iguguno Pentecostal Church and Faith Bible School, Iguguno.

²²² Telephone Interview with Aaron Bambanza, conducted on March 15, 2021.

²²³ Ibid.

²²⁴ Ibid.

²²⁵ Ibid.

²²⁶ Telephone Interview with Paulo Kuzenza, conducted on March 15, 2021.

²²⁷ Telephone Interview with Johanseni Felisiani, conducted on March 15, 2021.

²²⁸ Personal Interview with Emmanuel Paulo Kitinka, held on January 01, 2021 at Sanjaranda, Itigi, Tanzania.

²²⁹ Ibid.

²³⁰ Ibid.

²³¹ Ibid.

²³² Ibid.

²³³ Ibid.

²³⁴ Ibid.

²³⁵ Ibid.

²³⁶ Ibid.

²³⁷ Ibid.

²³⁸ Ibid.

²³⁹ Ellin Kullingsjö, Bernth-Åke Ottosson, Göran Janzon, and Håkan Wistrand, Walk the Talk: The Mission of Interact in Africa during 120 Years (Lettland: InterAct Region Africa, 2013), pg. 167.

²⁴⁰ Ibid., pg. 168.

²⁴¹ Ibid., pg. 171.

²⁴² Ibid., pg. 172.

²⁴³ Ibid., pg. 173.

²⁴⁴ Dagernäs, pg. 67.

²⁴⁵ Ibid., pg. 67-68.

²⁴⁶ Carin Holmkvist Nyström, Svensk Pingstmission i Tanzania (Swedish Pentecostal Mission in Tanzania) (Stockholm: MissionsInstitutet – PMU, 1998), Footnotes.

²⁴⁷ Msubi, pg. 12.

²⁴⁸ Dagernäs, pg. 68.

²⁴⁹ Msubi, pg. 13-14.

²⁵⁰ Dagernäs, pg. 64.

²⁵¹ Ibid., pg. 52.

²⁵² Personal Interview with Rev. Yona Ng’imba.

²⁵³ Ibid., pg. 64.

²⁵⁴ Ibid., pg. 55.

²⁵⁵ Ibid., pg. 63.

²⁵⁶ Ibid.

²⁵⁷ Ibid.

²⁵⁸ J. Herbert Kane, A Concise History of the Christian World Mission: A Panoramic View of Missions from Pentecost to the Present (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1982), pg. 144.

²⁵⁹ Personal Interview with Rev. Elias Shija, held on March 30, 2021 at Tazengwa, Nzega, Tanzania.

²⁶⁰ Personal Interview with Rev. Yona Ng’imba.

²⁶¹ Telephone Interview with Rev. Absalom Martin, Former FPCT National Overseer, conducted on April 16, 2021. [Rev. Zakaria Mandalu conducted the interview on behalf of the author of this study].

²⁶² Dagernäs, pg. 49.

²⁶³ Shija, pg. 10.

²⁶⁴ Personal Interview with Rev. Yona Ng’imba.

²⁶⁵ “A Gathering of Thanksgiving of 1994,” A School Pamphlet (Iguguno, Singida: Faith Bible School – Iguguno, 2014), pg. 4.

²⁶⁶ Ibid.

²⁶⁷ Ibid., pg. 5.

²⁶⁸ Ibid., pg. 6-7.

²⁶⁹ Ibid., pg. 7.

²⁷⁰ Msubi, pg. 14.

²⁷¹ Dagernäs, pg. 49.

²⁷² Ibid., pg. 64.

²⁷³ Msubi, pg. 55.

²⁷⁴ Dagernas, pg. 64.

²⁷⁵ Historia ya Kanisa la FPCT Bigabiro: 1935 – 2015, pg. 36.

²⁷⁶ Ibid., pg. 35-36, 79.

²⁷⁷ Ibid., pg. 36-37.

²⁷⁸ Ibid., pg. 37.

²⁷⁹ Ibid., pg. 38.

²⁸⁰ Ibid., pg. 39.

²⁸¹ Strohbehn, pg. 27.

²⁸² Msubi, pg. 44.

²⁸³ Historia ya Kanisa la FPCT Bigabiro: 1935 – 2015, pg. 6-7, 39.

²⁸⁴ “Interact Africa” booklet. Nelspruit, South Africa, www.efk.se

²⁸⁵ Kullingsjo et al., pg. 169-170.

²⁸⁶ Ibid., pg. 171.

²⁸⁷ Ibid., pg. 172.

²⁸⁸ Ibid., pg. 175.

²⁸⁹ Ibid., 175.

²⁹⁰ Ibid., pg. 17.

²⁹¹ Ibid.

²⁹² Jeff Reed, “Church-Based Theological Education: Creating A New Paradigm,” in New Paradigms for the Post-Modern Church (Presented to North American Professors of Christian Education October 17, 1992), pg. 8.

²⁹³ Dagernäs, pg. 47.

²⁹⁴ Ibid., pg. 48.

²⁹⁵ Ibid., pg. 43.

²⁹⁶ Ibid., pg. 69.

²⁹⁷ Strohbehn, pg. 259.

²⁹⁸ Ibid.

²⁹⁹ Ibid., pg. 260.

³⁰⁰ Ibid., pg. 259.

³⁰¹ Ibid., pg. 260.

³⁰² Ibid., pg. 261-262.

³⁰³ Ibid., pg. 265.

³⁰⁴ Ibid., pg. 264-266.

³⁰⁵ Ibid., pg. 262-263.

³⁰⁶ Ibid., pg. 267.

³⁰⁷ Ibid., pg. 268.

³⁰⁸ Enon, pg. 94.

³⁰⁹ Ibid., pg. 94.

³¹⁰ Strohbehn, pg. 5.

³¹¹ Strohbehn, pg. 6.

³¹² Response from the Focus Group Discussion Participants (FGD-P).

³¹³ Ibid.

³¹⁴ Ibid.

³¹⁵ Ibid.

³¹⁶ Ibid.

³¹⁷ Ibid.

³¹⁸ Ibid.

³¹⁹ Dagernäs, pg. 74.

³²⁰ Kullingsjö et al., pg. 172.

³²¹ Kane, pg. 171.

³²² Öhlmann et al., pg. 155.

³²³ Ibid.

³²⁴ Leroy Ford, A Curriculum Design manual for Theological Education (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1991), pg. 34.

³²⁵ Ibid.

³²⁶ Ibid., pg. 34-35.

³²⁷ Curriculum and Instructional Design: Supplemental Readings (Springfield, MO: Global University, 2008), pg. 18.

³²⁸ Norman D. Anderson, Curriculum and Instructional Design: Graduate Study Guide (Springfield, MO: Global University, 2008), pg. 14.

³²⁹ Rachel J. Sigalla, Curriculum Development, 1st ed. (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: The Open University of Tanzania, 2003), pg. 5.

³³⁰ Curriculum and Instructional Design, Supplemental Readings, pg. 18.

³³¹ Ford, pg. 34.

³³² Anderson, pg. 14.

³³³ Curriculum and Instructional Design, Supplemental Readings, pg. 19.

³³⁴ Perry Shaw, Transforming Theological Education: A Practical Handbook for Integrative Learning (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Langham Global Library, 2014), pg. 79.

³³⁵ Sigalla, pg. 10.

³³⁶ Shaw, pg. 79.

³³⁷ Sigalla, pg. 10.

³³⁸ Shaw, pg. 79.

³³⁹ Sigalla, pg. 10.

³⁴⁰ Shaw, pg. 81.

³⁴¹ Ibid., pg. 84.

³⁴² Ibid., pg. 85.

³⁴³ Ibid.

³⁴⁴ Ibid., pg. 87.

³⁴⁵ E.W. Eisner, The Educational Imagination: On Design and Evaluation of School Programs, 3rd ed. (New York: MacMillan, 1994), pg. 97.

³⁴⁶ Ibid.

³⁴⁷ Clark et al., pg. 415-416.

³⁴⁸ Ibid., pg. 416.

³⁴⁹ Daniel and Wade, pg. 30, 31.

³⁵⁰ Msubi, pg. 20.

³⁵¹ Dagernäs, pg. 43.

³⁵² Ibid.

³⁵³ Arto Hämäläinen, and Grant McClung, Together in One Mission: Pentecostal Cooperation in World Evangelization (Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 2012), pg. 131.

³⁵⁴ Strohbehn, pg. 10.

³⁵⁵ Ibid., pg. 11.

³⁵⁶ Ibid.

³⁵⁷ Hämäläinen and McClung, pg. 132.

³⁵⁸ Jeffrey S. Hittenberger, “Toward a Pentecostal Philosophy of Education,” In Pneuma, 2001, pg. 217-244.

³⁵⁹ Cheryl Bridges Johns, “The Meaning of Pentecost for Theological Education: Ministerial Formation,” In Cyberjournal for Pentecostal Charismatic Research, 1999, pg. 40.

³⁶⁰ Constitution of the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania (FPCT), pg. 2.

³⁶¹ Strohbehn, pg. 9.

³⁶² Boa, pg. 89.

³⁶³ Strohbehn, pg. 27.

³⁶⁴ Ibid.

³⁶⁵ Ibid., pg. 12.

³⁶⁶ Aldred Anderson, “The Forgotten Dimension: Education for Pentecostal-Charismatic Spirituality in Global Perspective.” Paper Presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, March, 2001. Subsequently Published in Pneuma, 23, 2, pg. 287-302.

³⁶⁷ “Subject Benchmark Statement: History;” The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education; Gloucester, England, 2014. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/subject-benchmark-statements/sbs-history14.pdf?sfvrsn=269ff781_ 10. (Accessed on April 14, 2021).