The Revd Sophirina Sign
PhD student

Current situation

I am an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (UMCZ), currently serving as the Conference Connectional Ministries Director, responsible for stewarding the vision of the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference of the UMC. My office has the following responsibilities.

Envisioning the ministries necessary to live out the mission of the church in and through the annual conference;

Creating and nurturing relationships and connections among the local, district, annual conference and general Church ministries;

Providing encouragement, coordination and support for the ministries of nurture, outreach and witness in districts and congregations for the transformation of the world;

Ensuring the alignment of the total resources of the annual conference to its mission;

Developing and strengthening ethnic ministries, including ethnic local churches and concerns;

Providing for advocacy and monitoring functions to ensure that the church is consistent with its stated values.

I am also an adjunct faculty member at Africa University, teaching Christian Education and Evangelism.

 

Research Area

An Indigenous Model of Christian Education (CE) in The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (UMCZ).

My research attempts to explore how indigenous education practices can be a basis for generating a home-grown Christian education model in the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe that addresses the local believer’s real needs, feelings and experiences. The assumption being that the current Christian education models are not contextualised and the study seeks to respond to the Christian education’s lack of indigenous character. The study argues for a contextual pedagogy that addresses the challenges encountered within Christian education programs in the UMCZ. My study will respond to the practical theology question: how might the indigenous educational processes in Zimbabwe impact and shape the educational programs of faith communities in Africa.

 

Publications

Everything Belongs to God. Christian Stewardship. African Ministry Series Discipleship Resources International. 2016.

 

Supervisory team

Dr David Bishau

Helen Cameron