Applying the principles of Missio Dei: Ministering to the Mozambican migrants in the North West province of South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is a country rich in minerals, mainly gold and platinum. Workers from various countries from sub-Saharan Africa journey to the country to get a job opportunity in the mining industry. This thesis is a study of Mozambican workers who migrated to South Africa in search of a job opportunity in the underground mines of the North-West Province. The large escalation of migrants from the various provinces of Mozambique to work in these mines has created a congestion of worker demand. This phenomenon has caused overcrowding in the communities around major provincial cities such as Rustenburg and Brits. As a result, Mozambican communities have begun to face very serious social problems affecting the areas of basic sanitation, health, food, education and housing. In addition to social problems, Mozambican communities also lack spiritual help. Local churches remain weak and face diverse problems such as difficulty in forming new leaders, lack of teachers for Bible schools, obstacles in reaching sinners with the gospel and structural problems in their churches. This thesis reflects on the actual quality of life of the Mozambican migrants and scientifically analyses their encumbrances. It also provides an assessment of the adaptability and resilience of the residents of these communities when facing the most diverse situations. This paper also presents ideas for solving some of the problems of communities through the contextualized application of Missio Dei and also presents a Biblical foundation for the application of integral mission in the lives of Mozambican migrants living in the North West Province of South Africa.