Pages: (133-148 )
Abstract
Development has been the key concern of most governments, especially in Africa and other developing nations in Asia and Latin America. However, what constitutes development and its nature differ from society to society. However, experience has shown that government, on its own, may not be able to achieve the desired development without the assistance and valuable interactions with other civil societies and international organisations coming to their aid. In this vein, the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) saw the convergence of the development agendas of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and other development agencies. Recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflect further strengthening convergence in the development agenda. The SDGs also strengthen equity, human rights, and non-discrimination. The focus of this paper is to interrogate the role and concern of the church in the state's agenda for development. This paper argues that the church and state must collaborate to achieve the state's developmental goals. As a living organism, the church exists within an environment (state) from which it takes in its input (worshippers and parishioners) and to which it is expected to release its outputs (better and well-developed citizens). The paper, therefore, contends that contemporary churches can assist in fulfilling the developmental aspirations of the state through viable corporate social responsibility programmes.
Keywords: CSR, MDG, Development; Pentecostalism, SDG, Civil Society; Synergy,