Factors inhibiting the development of Curriculum materials for Christian Education Ministries in the Africa Gospel Church, Kenya

Abstract

Dynamic and rapid changes in the current society call for urgent attention in the area of curriculum development in the church. Such demands require curriculum developers to study new conditions and their implications for church education. Although evangelical churches in Africa are currently involved in improving the shape of Christian education curriculum, it is being faced with a number of challenges. Africa Gospel Church (AGC) is no exception. Compelled by the inadequacy of curriculum materials for all age groups in the AGC plus the continued halting of curriculum development, the researcher embarked on this study. The study sought to investigate the factors inhibiting the development of curriculum materials for CE ministries in the AGC. The study further aimed at exploring some ways for improving the development of curriculum materials in the church. This was a descriptive study, which employed a case study research design. In the study, two crucial questions were addressed. Data was gathered from forty individuals through self-administered questionnaires. The validity of the instrument was determined by a jury test which was given to ten students from the Educational Studies Department at NEGST. Data was analyzed statistically and presented based on the research questions and hypotheses. In this procedure, six null hypotheses were tested using a Chi-square test of independence at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that six factors were perceived to be inhibiting the development of curriculum materials for CE ministries in the AGC. The factors were lack of training in curriculum, lack of funds, lack of cooperation, lack of planning, lack of curriculum evaluation and lack of emphasis on Christian education. Major recommendations were (1) AGC needs to mobilize local churches to financially contribute toward curriculum material development, (2) CE curriculum materials need to be evaluated and revised periodically and (3) church leaders at all levels of the AGC structure should trust and support (cooperate with) the curriculum committees in their endeavors to draw plans and produce relevant materials.