Enhancing men's participation in ministry at Nairobi Pentecostal Church, Valley Road

Abstract

The vision of Christ Is The Answer Ministries (CIT AM) to which Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC), Valley Road is a member, is to transform Nairobi and the rest of Kenya by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its mission is 'To know God and to make Him known' through evangelism and discipleship. NPC has been faced with the problem of very few men participating in church ministries. In this study, the researcher set out to establish why men do not actively participate in church activities compared to the women. Men are conspicuously few in almost every ministry of the church; notwithstanding the fact that God has given them a leadership role in society. Men are expected to playa pivotal role in the home, church and society. It is with this in mind that this study focused on the participation of men of CIT AM. Data collection was done through structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study population consisted of male adults of eighteen years and above drawn from CIT AM's church attendance register. The study hypothesized that if the church exposed men to appropriate Christian education and also attended to their personal needs they would be inspired to actively participate in ministry activities. A lot of insight was drawn from the Literature review. A cross-sectional study design was used which adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The researcher sought to find out whether proper grounding in the Word of God could enhance their involvement in ministry. Secondly, to establish whether ministering to personal needs of males could influence their degree of commitment to ministry participation. Finally, the researcher set out to explain whether change of Men's ministry structure particularly its timing, duration and frequency could enhance men's participation; with particular reference to involvement in social action, mentoring, counseling and leadership roles. The study established that ministering to men's spiritual, emotional, and socioeconomic needs by the church mainly through relevant Christian Education programs could result in spiritual growth. This could in turn lead to a change in their perceptions and attitudes about ministry roles and enhance their participation in church ministries. The study also revealed that men need mentors that they can look to in the church setting. They desire to see their mentors active in church ministries in the persons of the senior leadership in the church. Men are generally tasks and resultsoriented. They desire to participate in ministries where their contribution is measurable within specific periods of time. Finally, men want to belong. The church should structure ministries in such a way that they feel they belong to the group where their personal needs are met. The most important need for men as revealed by the study is desire for spiritual growth. The researcher recommends that the church focuses on fulfilling this cardinal spiritual need and men will be inspired to join and actively participate in ministries.