International Council for Education, Research and Training

Praxis Of Pastoral Care To Teenagers In The Nigerian Context


Adeyanju, Janet Omotola1 and Akano, Omolola Adepeju2

1&2The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, Nigeria


Abstract

Pastoral care is the spiritual and morally sustaining concern of the pastors for their flock, of which teenagers are inclusive. Every teenager needs the full attention of the pastoral caregiver in the area of healing, sustaining, guiding, educating, nurturing and reconciling to God. The paper examined how pastoral caregivers can comprehend the peculiarities of teenagers in Nigeria to minister accurately and adequately to them. The findings of the study revealed that there is a wide generational gap that often causes a problem between adults and teenagers. It also revealed that teenagers have a hardened lifestyle when their survival needs are deficient or are neglected due to parental or societal challenges that negatively affect them. The paper recommends that pastoral caregivers familiarize themselves with the peculiarities of teenagers, especially in Nigeria, and also get a proper understanding and adequate deployment of the pastoral care functions to minister effectively to teenagers in this contemporary time.


Keywords: Pastoral care, Teenagers, Nigerian context, Contemporary, Praxis.


Impact Statement

The paper examined how pastoral caregivers can comprehend the peculiarities of teenagers in Nigeria to minister accurately and adequately to them. There is a wide generational gap that often causes problem between adults and teenagers. The study investigated how the generational gap can be filled and found that pastoral caregivers need to study the teenagers well enough and should be able to cut them some slack when and where it is needed. The study establishes that guided and balanced familiarization with the peculiarities of the teenagers could be of immense help to the practice of pastoral care to teenagers in Nigeria.


About Author/s

Janet Omotola Adeyanju, PhD is a lecturer in the Administration and Leadership Department of the Faculty of Education at the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso. She holds a PhD in Pastoral Care and Counselling from the same institution. She also holds another Ph.D. in Educational Management from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Her interest is in Christian Leadership through timely Caregiving and Empathic Counselling.

Omolola Adepeju Akano, is a Master’s student at the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, specializing in Pastoral Care and Counselling. She is a passionate teacher of God’s word, a Missionary, an educationist, an astute writer, and a communicator with a mandate among teenagers and youth for raising kingdom leaders. She possesses a good sense of humor and delights in seeing that her arts and acts contribute to people’s happiness. 


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