Abstract:
This article addresses the challenge to the church in the struggle against poverty amidst
the COVID-19 pandemic. It starts by giving an overview of the enormity of poverty in a
post-apartheid South Africa. It also indicates how the pandemic has enlarged the problem to
extreme proportions. After looking at poverty through the lens of the Bible, the article attempts
to define poverty as different forms of deprivation on the one hand and inequality on the other
hand. In South Africa, deprivation and inequality are the two sides of the same coin, which
serve as important indicators for the local church in the struggle against poverty. This article
thirdly refers to the history of the church to describe how the church, as an agent of change, is
called to react to the challenge of poverty. The fourth part of the article introduces the action
plan that was developed by the South African Council of Churches through Local Ecumenical
Action Networks. This serves as an example of how different churches can work together in
communities in the struggle against poverty in a holistic way. The article concludes with the
emphasis that the struggle against poverty in South Africa is an ongoing struggle that has been
accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONTRIBUTION: This article examines the devastating effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has on
communities in South Africa with specfic reference to poverty. The focus is on how the church
as agent of change is in the perfect position to rise to this challenge to make a difference by
means of Local Ecumenical Area Networks.
