Developing an Original Methodology for Contextual Bible Study in Conflict-Affected Nigerian Communities

Contextual Bible Study (CBS) is an established methodological approach that uses Scripture as a transformative community resource, but its application in conflict-affected Nigerian communities, which face particular social, psychological, and theological challenges, requires methodological development. This study develops an original methodology for Contextual Bible Study specifically designed for conflict-affected Nigerian communities, making an original methodological contribution to biblical hermeneutics and practical theology. A participatory action research design was employed over three years, working with fifteen communities in Plateau, Benue, and Kaduna States that have experienced ethno-religious violence. The methodology development proceeded through five iterative cycles: initial community needs assessment, CBS prototype design based on Contextual Bible Study methods from the Ujamaa Centre South Africa, pilot implementation and community feedback, theoretical reflection on the conflict-affected community's specific hermeneutical needs, and revised methodology construction. The developed methodology, designated Lament-to-Hope Contextual Bible Study, incorporates four distinctive elements absent from conventional CBS: a trauma-sensitive facilitation protocol that creates space for traumatic narrative before hermeneutical engagement, a lament tradition integration approach drawing on Nigerian indigenous lamentation practices alongside biblical lament psalms, a justice-seeking hermeneutic that connects biblical justice texts to community reconciliation priorities, and a communal resilience building framework that uses Scripture for community agency reconstruction. The methodology was validated through implementation with 300 community participants and evaluation by 20 international CBS scholars and Nigerian practical theologians.

Keywords: Contextual Bible Study, original methodology, conflict-affected communities, biblical hermeneutics, Nigeria