Lecturer · Department of Practical and Missional Theology
Ordained Minister · AFMSA | Community Development Practitioner | WCC Faith & Order
A bridge-builder between people, communities, and ideas researching Pentecostalism, social cohesion, eco-justice, and community transformation across the Global South.
Dr. Daniel Nicolas Andrew is a lecturer in the Department of Practical and Missional Theology at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. An ordained minister in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, he has pastored four congregations and serves on ecumenical bodies locally and globally including the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
His scholarly work spans Practical Theology, Missiology, community development, eco-justice, social cohesion, and the intersection of faith and politics in the Global South. He brings to the academy three decades of lived pastoral experience alongside rigorous academic formation holding two doctoral degrees, an MTh, an MA in Development Studies, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Beyond teaching, Dr. Andrew serves on the Faculty Engaged Scholarship Committee (FESCO), mentors students, and sits on the Faculty Examinations Board. He is a recipient of the Academic Excellence Award in Teaching and Learning at UFS, and currently participates in both the UFS Academic Leadership Programme (2024–2025) and the Accelerated Scholarship Program (2025–2027).
"Students are more than a number to me. They are people from real life contexts, coming to higher education spaces where they sometimes feel alienated."
Dr. Andrew's approach to teaching is rooted in the belief that a student's background and lived experience are cardinal to their learning. He rejects the tendency to decontextualise students and attribute weak academic performance solely to individual deficit.
Relationships of collegiality and mutual learning replace hierarchical dynamics. Timeframes are negotiated in the best interest of students within institutional policy. Students are regarded as equal partners with genuine agency over the learning process.
Practical Theology
The marks of the church one, holy, catholic, apostolic in Pentecostal tradition, and how the early church vision has been received and transformed within the AFM of South Africa.
Social Theology
Multicultural congregations as spaces of inclusion or exclusion. The role of the church in building or frustrating social solidarity in post-apartheid, pluralist South Africa.
Missiology
Faith actors in local development, resilience-building, and community transformation. Glocal missional approaches to corruption, gender-based violence, and socio-economic inequality.
Eco-Theology
Pentecostal contributions to eco-theology and environmental ethics. Waste, water, and the differential burden of ecological degradation on poor and disadvantaged communities.
Public Theology
The intersection of faith and political power in the Global South. Decolonisation of theological interpretation and the legacies of apartheid in religious life.
Digital Theology
How digital platforms reshape Pentecostal practice in rural congregations, and the equity implications of digital access in faith community life.
Dr. Andrew welcomes enquiries from students, research collaborators, ecumenical partners, and institutions engaging with theology, community development, and social justice in the African context.
