Small Group Ministry as a Strategy for Church Member Retention and Backslider Reclamation in West Congo Field
Mbaya Mbaya Grégoire
School of Theology Seminary, Adventist University of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
Email: mbayag@aua.ac.ke
Abstract: For several decades, the rate of backsliding of church members in West Congo Field (WCF) has been glaring and ever increasing, despite the use of various strategies to close the back door. Having discovered, in a previous study, the factors associated with backsliding in the said mission Field, the present study targeted small group ministry for discipleship as a strategy to reduce the rate of backsliding and reclaim backsliders. It is true that there is a lot of literature on small group ministry and that it has been used in WCF, but the bottom line is that they have not done enough to address the high rate of backsliding and reclaiming backsliders. The researcher used the methodology of program development. The implementation of this strategy, which consisted of the creation of new small groups and the revitalization of existing ones resulted in a significant reduction of backsliding rate of around 33 %, an increase in the church growth rate of up to 11 percent, and also in the backsliders’ claim of the order of 17%. The findings of this study are crucial for the Seventh-day Adventist church in WCF because they have shown the improvement of member retention, effectively nurturing of new converts, the growth, and the stability of the church in this Field. So, researcher recommends that WCFpromotes the creation of small groups in all local churches in its territory and revitalize those that are not operational.
One Reply to “Small Group Ministry as a Strategy for Church Member Retention and Backslider Reclamation in West Congo Field”
Nous sommes convaincus de tout ce que vous venez d’énumérer et de donner comme résultat après diverses recherches. Nous ajoutons que si les membres diminuent, il ya plusieurs cause telles que: 1. Après baptême, il n’y a pas de suivies.
2. Beaucoup fuient pour raison de service.
Plusieurs succombent suite aux mariages avec les garçons d’autres confessions surtout nos filles.
3. Même ceux qui envient la pastorale et n’en trouvent pas, mais ayant le soucis d’être pasteur la condition d’être théologien le fait peur et finissent par embrasser d’autres religions.
4. Le chômage.
5. Influence familiale. En conclusions, il est impérieux de faire un effort pour l’encadrement des nouveaux baptisés et chercher comment créer des emploies, enfin que les mariage soient endongamiquement religieux.