The Theological Significance of Social Action in the Context of Holistic Evangelism in Ugheli Diocese of the Anglican Church

This paper discusses the theological significance of social action against the backdrop of holistic evangelism in Ugheli (Anglican Communion). Generally, evangelism is the ultimate task of the Christian church as evident in the biblical account of the mission of the twelve (Matt. 10: 5-15; Mk. 6: 7-13; Luke 9: 1-6) and the seventy (10: 1-20). Holistic evangelism entails converting non-Christians to Christianity and retaining, as well as strengthening, the faith of the converts. Yet, one of the greatest impediments to effective holistic evangelism in contemporary times is the lack of enchantment on the part of the target audience. This paper therefore, examines how social action impacts on evangelism, using the Diocese of Ugheli (Anglican Communion) as a case study. Historical, analytical, and evaluative approaches were used in the study. More so, the study employed the phenomenological approach to data gathering. The study finds that social action, as a practical demonstration of commitment to the well-being of the people, is an impetuous tool for evangelism as the church addresses the socio-economic problems of the people alongside their spiritual needs through social action. The result of this is increase, not only in the number of converts, but also in the number of those effectively retained. The study concludes that evangelism without social action in contemporary times is counterproductive. The recommendation is that churches should pay adequate attention to social action as a tool for effective holistic evangelism, particularly in Ugheli (Anglican Communion). Keywords: Social action, Holistic evangelism, Effective tool, Ugheli Diocese, Anglican Church.