Theological Perspectives on Poverty and the Church’s Response in Sokoto State

This study examines theological understandings of poverty within Christian communities in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria, and assesses how these understandings shape the church's practical response to poverty. Sokoto State is consistently ranked among the poorest states in Nigeria, and the small but active Christian community in the state faces unique challenges in conducting social ministry in a predominantly Muslim context. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data are collected through interviews with eighteen church leaders across six denominations operating in Sokoto, Wamakko, and Bodinga Local Government Areas. The study also reviews church mission statements, social outreach reports, and relevant theological literature published within the last five years. Findings reveal diverse theological frameworks for understanding poverty, ranging from prosperity-oriented views that attribute poverty to spiritual deficiency to prophetic frameworks that locate poverty in structural injustice. Churches operating with prophetic or liberation-oriented frameworks demonstrate more systematic and sustained social interventions. The study recommends the development of a contextual poverty theology curriculum for church leaders in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim northern states, one that draws on both biblical justice mandates and practical community development principles. These findings contribute to social theology and missiology in the Nigerian north. Keywords: poverty theology, church social ministry, Sokoto State, liberation theology, northern Nigeria