Wotango Henok Tadesse

Regaining a Perspective on Holistic Missions Wotango Henok Tadesse

The mission of the Church of Christ is holistic. It targets meeting both the spiritual and physical needs of a community. This emerges from the core belief about mission. Mission is the work of God through which His love is expressed to human beings holistically. However, this biblical principle seems to be ignored in most African Evangelical churches. Either dualism between evangelism and social concern or lose of sight of the Kingdom of God are perplexing problems in African Churches. Three factors could be considered as root causes for the dichotomy: The Enlightenment worldview, the pre-millennialists' eschatological position and the varied concepts on the Kingdom of God. This problem needs to be addressed for several reasons. Firstly, it is not biblical. Second, separation creates unnecessary tension between the two wings of the church's ministry. Furthermore, it causes a split in the church and provides a foot hold for the danger of materialism. Finally, a non-holistic approach results in resource abuse. The Church is a steward to whom God entrusted His resources and expected to handle or use it wisely. Holism is indispensable for the healthy Mission of the Church.