Abstract:
This article dealt with the process of building up the local congregation and the manner in
which missional objectives are achieved. The article was undertaken against the background
of the disturbing decline in membership numbers, particularly in the two traditional
Reformational churches in South Africa, namely the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the
Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa. This decline is in line with similar tendencies in
mainstream churches the world over. The key aspects of the theory of building up the local
church was discussed and mission in the current South African context dealt with, particularly
in view of the fact that an entirely new mission field has opened itself up with the influx into
the country of so many people from neighbouring countries who have come to live in our
midst. Missional objectives for the local church, as well as aspects that can be subjected to
empirical testing are determined all along. The hypothesis wanted to verify whether local
churches that have undergone a structured process of building up the local church are more
successful missionally than those that have not undergone a structured process.
