Prophets praying for, or preying on people’s faith: A reflection on prophetic ministry in the South African context

Abstract

In mainline churches, the ministry of prophecy or the prophetic ministry involves the proclamation of the gospel. This, in turn, is related to the every-believer ministry. However, there is now a resurgence of the prophetic ministry as a special office as evidenced by the establishment of neo-prophetic churches. This article argues that neo-prophetic churches are tapping into people’s longing for the fresh divine word to speak directly into their personal situations. The article also probes whether neo-prophets in the prophetic activities are not also preying on people’s faith.

Keywords

• prophets
• prophecy
• neo-prophetic churches
• threefold office
• prophetic theology
• prophetic office
• traditional churches
• pentecostal
• charismatic.