Baptism, Church Attendance And Their Economy of Salvation In African Christianity: Covenantal Fidelity As Panacea

Abstract

Statistics show that Christianity has moved from the global north to the global south. Same statistics show that about 85% of Kenya’s population is Christian, yet, observably, not all people with baptismal names attend Church regularly. Many have understood baptism as salvific in itself and thereby not needing to continue with Church worship after they are baptized. Research shows that most people after they are baptized, they become nominal Christians, only attending Church services on special occasions while others abandon church attendance all together. Baptism is understood to be the sacrament of salvation, Acts 2:37. Thus it has been understood as a rite of entry into membership of the Church. Therefore, this article poses the question: Is baptism sufficient for one’s salvation and does one need to maintain church attendance to retain their salvation? To respond to these questions, this article explains the meaning of baptism, the place of baptism in salvation, the significance of church attendance in relationship to endurance of salvation and shows how people’s culture could help in their understanding of baptism and its economy in salvation. The hypothesis of this article is that if baptism and its economy of salvation is explained in the light of African covenantal fidelity to African Christian converts, they would understand it and this would solve the problem of Church apathy.