Original Research - Special Collection: Faith Based Organisations

Leveraging social capital of the church for development: A case study of a farming community in Wellington

Jacques W. Beukes
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 75, No 4 | a5528 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i4.5528 | © 2019 Jacques W. Beukes | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 30 April 2019 | Published: 14 November 2019

About the author(s)

Jacques W. Beukes, Department of Theology and Ministry, Hugenote Kollege, Cape Town Department of Practical Theology and Missiology, Faculty of Theology, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

This article explores how a farming community in Wellington (Bovlei) moved from dependence towards an empowered community through non-profit organisations’ (NPOs) transformative community development initiatives, undertaken together with the church’s social capital. This example serves as the backdrop to explore critical viewpoints by various scholars who are critical about how the church engages in an unequal and unjust society. The critical questions that remain are the following; who is the church?, what is the church’s role as a change agent? and how should churches leverage social capital for development? Although various definitions have been given in conceptualising the church and its role in society, through this article, the author engages with the social capital theory in understanding how the transformation came about in this community by describing the churches’ involvement through a case study.

Keywords

Social capital; Church; Development; Community; Faith-based organisations

Metrics

Total abstract views: 3441
Total article views: 4917

 

Crossref Citations

1. Diaconia and Development: The Study of Religious Social Practice as Lead Discipline in the Religion and Development Debate
Philipp Öhlmann
Religions  vol: 14  issue: 8  first page: 1032  year: 2023  
doi: 10.3390/rel14081032

2. Linking organisational life cycle models to church’s dual nature for effective management
Osward Sichula, Patrick Nanthambwe, Vhumani Magezi
Theologia Viatorum  vol: 49  issue: 1  year: 2025  
doi: 10.4102/tv.v49i1.294

3. Examining the Role of the Church in Socio-Economic Development of the Rural Poor in the Sub-Saharan Region: Insights from Previous Research and Future Research Directions
Pauline K. Mwaura, Daniel M. Nzengya
African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research  first page: 147  year: 2022  
doi: 10.71064/spu.amjr.1.1.122

4. Faith-based organizations and poverty alleviation: a scoping review on definitions and terminology (2010–2021)
Sarah Maes, M. Schrooten, P. Raeymaeckers, B. Broeckaert
Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought  vol: 43  issue: 1  first page: 69  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1080/15426432.2023.2270930

5. Development and the role of the church: Exploring public pastoral care positioning within congregational ministry
Vhumani Magezi, Patrick Nanthambwe
Verbum et Ecclesia  vol: 43  issue: 1  year: 2022  
doi: 10.4102/ve.v43i1.2414

6. Church and poverty in South Africa: Historical analysis and missional ecclesiology
Christoffel B. Prinsloo, Willem A. Dreyer
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies  vol: 80  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.4102/hts.v80i1.10213

7. Christian Ethics and Community Development in South Africa: A Framework for Social Transformation
Patrick Nanthambwe
Religions  vol: 17  issue: 4  first page: 447  year: 2026  
doi: 10.3390/rel17040447

8. Bringing faith to the public: Positioning church communities for social good in sub-Saharan Africa
Patrick Nanthambwe, Vhumani Magezi
Theologia Viatorum  vol: 48  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.4102/tv.v48i1.272

9. Die Study of Religious Social Practice als Paradigma der Erforschung religiös motivierten sozialen Handelns in Entwicklung und Diakonie
Philipp Öhlmann
Zeitschrift für Religion, Gesellschaft und Politik  vol: 9  issue: 1  first page: 465  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1007/s41682-025-00206-w