Governance and democracy in the church: The experiences of women in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFMZ) is a Pentecostal church that has grown numerically, and there are more women than men. Though there is a preponderance of female members, men are dominantly the leaders in the AFMZ. Since 1996, the AFMZ has opened the door for pastoral training for women. Of the few female pastors, none has held top-ranking leadership roles. This situation is happening despite Zimbabwe being a signatory to declarations that uphold the inclusion of women in leadership. The Zimbabwean government has taken great strides towards achieving the goals of the declarations by giving women top leadership positions in some government departments, such as the Zimbabwe Electoral Committee. On the contrary, Pentecostal churches, as represented by the AFMZ, which have been hailed as liberal, inclusive and democratic, are not as they seem to be. This was a qualitative study, which used an African feminist missiology to thematically analyse the findings. Previous research records the theological and cultural factors that lead to women being excluded from church governance. The argument of this study is that the AFMZ is also using political reasons, such as manipulating the nomination process, allowing few women to vote, and giving placement powers to overseers, to bar women from leadership. The study concluded that the church, instead of being progressive by embracing equality in leadership, continues to be retrogressive in this aspect.
Contribution: The study concluded that the church, instead of being progressive by embracing equality in leadership, continues to be retrogressive in this aspect.