UNISA Community Ministry Course Module 2024 – 2024

Purpose: (a) guide students on how to make defensible ethical decisions by giving attention to the relationship between ethics and context; the use of the Bible in the formation of ethical norms and values; central ethical theories and moral formation; (b) put this approach to ethical decision making into practice by making ethical evaluations of various ethical issues.

Purpose: This module will be useful to students who are interested in the holistic nature of Christian mission as transformative encounters in various contexts. People credited with this module are able to: Reflect critically on patterns of practice in mission; Analyse the contextual use of biblical images in mission; Understand and use the basic terms and tools of missiology; Construct their own contextual missiology.

Purpose: This module will be invaluable to people who want to: (a) become informed about sexism and related problems in society and in Christianity in the world today; (b) become exposed to a holistic understanding of a contextual feminist theological method which is useful for transforming church and society; (c) acquire the information and the skills to advocate for justice, tolerance and transformation where gender injustices and other forms are existent.

Purpose: This module will be useful to students who want to develop competencies in intercultural Christian mission. Qualifying students will be able to practice and critically respond with necessary sensitivity in communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ within various intercultural contexts. The purpose of the module is to foster understanding and respect for the other, and to create a conducive atmosphere for cooperation.

Purpose: This module will be useful to people who are concerned about the need in communities to overcome the legacy of apartheid and the realities brought about by racism. People credited with this module are able to understand and describe our collective experiences of racism as we try to determine where the South African legacy of racism comes from and how it links with the international history of racism and colonialism, in order to contribute towards racial, cultural, economic and gender reconciliation and human equality in society.

Purpose: To help students identify and interpret the significance of many of the varied factors that cause the current environmental crisis globally and more specifically in the southern African region for not only human life but also the many other forms of life with which humans share this planet; to determine the challenge the environmental crisis poses to the Christian faith; to develop a theology that has the potential to foster an environmentally friendly lifestyle; to stimulate students to become lifelong theological students who are equipped to raise and debate current environmental and relevant theological issues in a southern African, African and international context; to empower students to initiate and participate in community development programmes and projects.

Purpose: This module will be useful to people who wish to explore the roles of religions in their community and how members of different religions interact in their context. Qualifying students are able to: relate respectfully and sensitively to people of another faith, with confidence in their own Christian identity; know and assess a variety of approaches to interreligious encounter; address the various challenges and possibilities which arise out of interreligious encounter; work with people of other religions to serve local communities and the broader society; relate interreligious encounter to an integral understanding of mission and missiology.

Purpose: To facilitate students’ learning in: (a) reflecting on the various distinctive aspects of moral judgement and decision making within the context of human life; (b) gaining knowledge of various ethical theories and theories of decision making in terms of how such theories influence and thus contribute to moral decision making and moral practice in a Christian context.