Theology of Work and Its Implications for a Sustainable City Transformation: A Case Study of Nigeria

The purpose of this dissertation is to find how the understanding of the theology of work influences the transformation of the community in Nigeria West Africa. To this end, a survey was conducted in three locations among Christians in two cities; Kaduna and Lagos. A qualitative inquiry was carried out on a stratified sample of over three hundred Christians in four groups among seminar participants: Fulltime pastors, part-time pastors, full-time Christians in the marketplace and the unemployed. A literature review will focus on scholarly sources on the integration of faith and work and its attendant effect on community transformation. The rationale was to examine a holistic integrative model. The literary review revealed different relationships between faith and work over the centuries and identified models for community transformation.
In order to examine the thesis hypotheses, a pre-seminar survey was conducted. The pre-seminar survey questions focused on participants’ understanding of the concept of church, work, hierarchy of work and worker, as well as work satisfaction. A post-seminar survey was also conducted to investigate the impact of theology of work seminar among the participants and how its understanding can be used to mobilize Christians who are already located in the marketplace. Analysis of data and results was presented in tabular form, charts, graphs, and in other descriptive forms. Analysis showed that an understanding of theology of work is germane for Christians’ active and meaningful participation in the transformation of their communities. Conclusions and recommendations drawn from the analysis showed how Christians may be empowered through theology of work seminars for community transformation by integrating their faith and work.
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