Agency from Below

The Christian church serving in communities of poverty has the task to participate in making those communities flourish. Such communities are characterized by several social maladies. They also seem to be victims of poor leadership from above and from within. The Christian church can sometimes be the culprit in the oppression of ordinary people, which is a deviation from what it is meant to be about. A missional team serving in the South African township of Soshanguve is grappling with these that negatively affect ordinary people, aiming to catalyze transformation from the inside out and relevantly participate in the flourishing of the local community it serves. The author and his family live in that township. This book shares these efforts. It is just an example of what the Christian church can do to catalyze agency that can lead to the improvement of the quality of life of ordinary people.