PENTECOST SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MISSION

The Global Formation Project

 

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Theme: Informal Ministerial Formation and Spiritual Flourishing: Grassroots Training Models and Curriculum Development for African Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches.

Rationale for the Project

This project aims to map and analyse the informal ministerial formation pathways prevalent in African Pentecostal-Charismatic churches, examining how indigenous mentorship systems, apprenticeship models, and experiential learning contribute to spiritual maturity and ministerial competence. The project will assess the effectiveness of informal formation methods in producing spiritually mature and practically competent ministers and develop a contextualised framework for African Pentecostal-Charismatic ministerial formation that integrates both formal and informal elements. Additionally, the project will provide evidence-based recommendations to enhance informal formation systems while preserving their indigenous authenticity. This study will establish the infrastructure to expand research and develop curriculum on informal ministerial formation across Africa, with potential future comparative studies in other Global South contexts.

Although formal theological education in Africa has received scholarly attention through works such as Phiri and Werner’s Handbook of Theological Education in Africa and related studies, as well as Dietrich Werner et al., Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity: Theological Perspectives, the predominant informal ministerial training pathways through which most African Pentecostal ministers are formed remain largely under-researched. While scholars have documented various approaches to theological education across the continent, the specific mechanisms of informal formation remain overlooked despite their central role in African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity.

This project, therefore, seeks to organise a conference entitled Informal Ministerial Formation and Spiritual Flourishing: Grassroots Training Models and Curriculum Development for Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in Africa. The conference will serve as the foundation for developing an informal ministerial formation curriculum to train grassroots ministers in Pentecostal-Charismatic churches in Africa, while the curriculum will ensure the project’s long-term sustainability beyond the conference period. Furthermore, the conference presentations will undergo peer review and be published in the Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission, a publication of the Pentecost School of Theology and Mission at Pentecost University.

 

Research Context and Significance

African Pentecostal-Charismatics represent one of the most dynamic expressions of Christianity globally, with scholarly literature on them growing rapidly as researchers seek to understand their unique characteristics and spiritual sensibilities. (Anderson, 2018; Gifford, 2015; Asamoah-Gyadu, 2015). The profound influence of Pentecostal spirituality can be recognised in almost all denominations across Africa, where Christians offer exuberant songs of celebration and engage in spiritual warfare as everyday ministry. Unlike Western contexts where formal theological education serves as the primary pathway to ministry, most African Pentecostal ministers are formed through informal systems that include mentorship and apprenticeship under senior pastors, cell group leadership progression within local congregations, prophetic and charismatic recognition of calling, practical ministry experience in church planting and evangelism, and indigenous theological reflection rooted in African worldviews.

 

 

Innovation and Unique Contributions

This project addresses several critical gaps in the scholarly literature on African Christianity and ministerial formation. It represents the first intentional study of informal ministerial formation in African Pentecostalism, employing indigenous methodology that honours African ways of knowing and learning. The project prioritises practical outcomes that directly benefit African churches while maintaining a collaborative approach that involves local church leaders as research partners rather than merely subjects of study.

Project Leadership

Project Director:

Rev. Prof. Christian Tsekpoe is an experienced scholar and researcher of international repute. He holds a PhD in Theology and Mission from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, UK and a postdoctoral fellowship with Fuller Theological Seminary, USA. He is an Associate Professor of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and serves as the head of the Centre for Ministerial Formation and Training at the School of Theology and Mission, Pentecost University, Accra, Ghana. He also serves as a member of Pentecost University’s Governing Council and actively participates in numerous university committees and boards. At the national and international front, Prof. Christian Tsekpoe serves as a member of the Faith and Order Committee of the World Council of Churches, a Board member of the World Alliance for Pentecostal Theological Education (WAPTE) and the Executive Editor for Pentecostal Education, the journal of WAPTE. His research interests include ministerial formation, intergenerational missiology, contextualization, contemporary African theology, and African Christian spirituality. He is passionate about bridging the gap between theory and practice as well as the older and younger generations in Africa and the African diaspora. He has authored numerous articles and books, including the groundbreaking “Intergenerational Missiology: An African Pentecostal Perspective.” Prof. Christian Tsekpoe is a respected family man, a scholar, and a minister of the gospel who inspires hope for the next generation of African leaders. He is married to Olivia, and their union is blessed with three children: Blessing, Dorothy, and Christian.

Project Coordinators:

  1. Robert Gyakye Coleman is an Assistant Research Fellow at Pentecost University, Ghana, and a PhD candidate at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium. His research focuses on African Pentecostalism, grassroots Christology, and contextual theology in Ghana, particularly among neo-Pentecostal Christians in Accra.
  1. Dr. Emmanuel Awudi

He is the Head of Department for Missions at the Pentecost School of Theology and Mission at Pentecost University. He is an expert and a leading voice in Pentecostal eco-theology as well as religion and sustainable development. Through his leadership, five PSTM-affiliated individuals were awarded the Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS) grant of £3,000 in May 2025, for creation care research and related activities. His insight and ministerial experience will be valuable for this project.

  1. Dr. Patrick Kudadjie is a Ghanaian Pentecostal theologian-scholar, whose work connects academic theology with practical church ministry. He serves as the Head of the Department of Theology, School of Theology and Mission, Pentecost University, Ghana. He is also an ordained minister of the Church of Pentecost, where he serves as the resident minister of Kusi-Donkor Worship Centre.

Plenary Speakers

  1. Prof. Opoku Onyinah

Is a leading Ghanaian theologian and a distinguished church leader with international recognition. He has over 40 years of experience in both formal and informal ministerial training and formation. He is currently an Associate Professor of African Pentecostal Spirituality at Pentecost University. His research interests include Pentecostal exorcism in Africa, spiritual warfare, Pentecostal leadership, and discipleship. He has published extensively in these areas and has become an important voice in African Pentecostalism.

  1. Chammah J. Kaunda

He is a Zambian scholar of international repute. He is currently the Academic Dean at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, UK. He also serves as an Extraordinary Professor of Christian Spirituality, Church History, and Missiology at the University of South Africa. He has published extensively on African Pentecostalism and has been involved in spiritual formation among African pastors. His South-Eastern African context will be valuable in this project.

  1. Mookgo Solomon Kgatle

He is a distinguished professor in the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History, and Missiology and the Chair of the College of Human Sciences at the University of South Africa, Pretoria. He has published extensively on African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and has served in various training roles within Pentecostal churches in South Africa, making him an important voice in the field. His expertise and South African context will make a valuable contribution to this project.

  1. Prof. Emmanuel Anim

He is the Dean of the Pentecost School of Theology and Mission at Pentecost University, Accra, Ghana. He has been leading theological education and ministerial formation activities at Pentecost University for over 20 years. He has mentored many scholars and ministers in this role and has earned a reputation as a mentor and a distinguished African Pentecostal scholar. His research interests in African theology, cultural anthropology, contextual theology and biblical exposition are valuable for this project.

 

Expected Outcomes and Impact/ Deliverables

  1. Scholar-Practitioner Conference:The project will comprise a three-day residential conference hosted at Pentecost University in Accra, Ghana, convening an estimated 100-150 participants representing diverse regions of Africa. The participant will include established scholars, emerging researchers, denominational leaders, and seasoned practitioners engaged in ministerial formation. A rigorous, continent-wide call for papers will be held, resulting in the selection of 12 outstanding contributions. All speakers will receive financial support for travel, accommodation and feeding during the conference.
  2. Academic and Practical Resources: The project will result in two separate peer-reviewed special issues of the Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission, alongside open-access conference videos, written proceedings, and an executive summary handbook for church leaders and theological educators. These will generate contextually grounded resources for Pentecostal churches and theological institutions, including mentorship models, formation frameworks, and recommendations for informal ministerial training that intentionally bridge belief and practice.
  3. Curriculum Development: The project will develop a curriculum for informal ministerial training by leveraging targeted conference resources. This initiative aims to establish a robust pedagogical framework to facilitate effective informal ministerial training for Pentecostal-Charismatic pastors and lay leaders at Pentecost University and to extend its impact across various regions of Africa.
  4. Pentecostal Spiritual Formation Network: The project will lay the groundwork for the formation of a Pan-African Pentecostal Spiritual Formation Network. This network will sustain collaboration through symposia, joint publications, and mentoring relationships and ensure that the conference serves as a launch point rather than a one-off event.

 

Timelines

No Activity Date
1 Abstract submission deadline (See CFP below) November 15, 2026
2 Notification of acceptance December 15, 2026
3 Deadline for conference registration (See reg. link below) January 31, 2027
4 Conference at Pentecost University, Ghana March 10-12, 2027
5 First Volume of publication July 2027
6 Second Volume of publication December 2027
7 Curriculum Developed December 2027

Call for Papers

You can access the Call for Papers here!

 

 

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