| Despite all the efforts to eliminate global poverty, the number of the urban poor in Kenya has been growing. At the same time there has been notable expansion of the middle-classes and middleclass churches particularly in Kenya's urban areas. This dissertation is a study of aims the barriers keeping CITAM churches from more fruitful ministry engagement with their neighbors in the slums in Kisumu and Nairobi cities in Kenya. Out of this investigation, the researcher has proposed a theory and a model for promoting a more intensive and effective engagement.;Although CITAM and CITAM assemblies have made various attempts to reach out to the poor and the surrounding communities, most of the efforts have been through relief benevolence and emergency response. The main lessons from this study are as follows: (1) Poverty is a complex phenomenon. Its causes are multiple and diverse, hence its alleviation requires a multi-disciplinary approach with a holistic, Kingdom-based perspective. (2) The needs of the urban poor in Kenya are overwhelming. No one social institution can single-handedly meet them or alleviate poverty. Therefore, church organizations like CITAM must seek local and international partnerships with other churches, communities, government departments, international development organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and corporate bodies which could help mobilize resources to alleviate urban poverty. (3) CITAM assemblies' effective involvement with the urban poor is hindered by various barriers: theological, ecclesiastical, personal fears and social-cultural. They are committed to continue reaching out to the urban poor and hope to do more to meet their felt needs in the future. However, moving from relief development is limited by the hinds corporately assigned by CITAM for social ministry. |
