Theologies for the Welfare of the Church Ministers: Insights from Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe

Abstract

Issues concerning the welfare of the church ministers should go beyond denominational levels and focus on treating ministerial work as both a call from God and a profession. Revisiting the Biblical concept of remunerations is critical in the 21^st century, where contextual generosity must be considered. Church leaders should not be left only to rely on biblical principles or the guidance of the Spirit but employ economic justice when renumerating church ministers. The failing economy of Zimbabwe provides an opportunity for church ministers to manipulate scripture to survive, or their disputes spill over to secular courts, often with regrettable outcomes.   Developing standardised theological benchmarks can provide some semblances of uniformity across the broad spectrum of various denominations or at least reference points that can be used to guard against exploitation of and or by the Church Ministers and other excesses that occur. This study explores the nature of the appropriate ecumenical theologies(s) for the welfare of the church ministers in Zimbabwe. The study used a qualitative approach, and questionnaires were used to gather data from selected church ministers of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe. The findings show that Church Ministers’ remunerations reflect complex, broader theological, financial and governance issues within Christian churches. The study concludes that the socio-economic and emotional challenges affecting the church ministers require theologically grounded solutions embedded with contextual generosity.   This study contributes to scholarship by showing the welfare and well-being challenges of Church Ministers in church communities.