Church and its Role in Advancing Holistic Development: A Case of Selected PCEA Churches in Dagoretti South Constituency in Nairobi County- Kenya.

Abstract

This study sought to establish the role of church in Holistic development of the community. The researcher sought to understand the role of church in economic, psychosocial and spiritual development of the community and give recommendations of how best the church can help in bringing about holistic development of the community. The research was conducted in PCEA Riruta, Karinde and Mutuini in Dagoretti South constituency. Target participants were twelve 12 senior church leaders and 750 congregational members of the three sampled PCEA Churches in Dagoretti South. The sample size was 113. The study used descriptive research design and data was collected using self-administered semi-structured questionnaires and interviews for the key informants who were church leaders. Descriptive statistics was employed in analyzing data with the aid of SPSS. Results were presented using tables. The objectives of the study sought to examine the activities carried out by the church in promoting economic development of community members, to assess the contribution of the church in addressing psych-social problems of community members and to evaluate the contribution of the church in spiritual growth of community members. The study employed two key theories namely Structural-functional theory and Theory of change. The studies key findings showed that, the church has initiated programs that educate and support the various groups in the church such as the youths, the single mothers, married couples among others regardless of their status in society. In conclusion the study identified that the church is willing and has the intentions of supporting the members, however, the church faces a great challenge of financial constraint. The study recommended that further study to establish how the church can partner with other like-minded organizations to have a more effective outreach to the community.