Abstract:
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the Dutch Reformed congregation Toringkerk in
Paarl longed to reach out to people within the local community who were in extreme need.
The congregation felt powerless because of the containment and the extent of the need in
poorer communities in Paarl. The general feeling was that networks should be set up in the
local community, but no one knew how to start this. An innovative process of Diaconia (Service
Group of the Western Cape Synod) and the Research Office (Western Cape Synod), called
‘Hidden Treasures’, was implemented to help the congregation with this. The result exceeded
the congregation’s expectations. In this article, the methodology of the Hidden Treasures
process is evaluated based on the Dutch Reformed Church’s intention to move from welfare to
restorative justice. Suggestions are also made about how the methodology can be improved.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This study, born out of the 2020
pandemic, has the potential to fundamentally influence the missionary diaconate of
congregations. The challenge that arose for the church regarding the missional question
during the pandemic period about the need among individuals and families in local
communities, drew some particularly important fields of study closer together, i.e. practical
theology, diaconal studies, as well as social work, development studies and sociology.
