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Application of Management Principles to Church Growth: a Case Study of Global Evangelical Church, Amakom-Kumasi

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Application of Management Principles to Church Growth: a Case Study of Global Evangelical Church, Amakom-Kumasi CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES TOPIC: APPLICATION OF MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES TO CHURCH GROWTH: A CASE STUDY OF GLOBAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH, AMAKOM-KUMASI. NAME OF STUDENT FORESTONE FRANCIS KORSHIETSAGLI DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY SEPTEMBER, 2017 i CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES TOPIC: APPLICATION OF MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES TO CHURCH GROWTH:A CASE STUDY OF GLOBAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH, AMAKOM-KUMASI. BY FORESTONE FRANCIS KORSHIETSAGLI (INDEX NUMBER: 60000289) A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN CHRISTIAN MINISTRY WITH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY SEPTEMBER, 2017 ii DECLARATION I, FORESTONE FRANCIS KORSHIETSAGLI do hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own original research, except for sections for which references have been duly made, and to the best of my knowledge, no part of it has been presented to this University College or any other institution for the award of a degree. 1. Signature: ……………………………………….. Date: ……………………………… FORESTONE FRANCIS KORSHIETSAGLI (Student) 2. Signature: ……………………………………….. Date: ……………………………… DR. GEORGE ASUMADU (Supervisor) 3. Signature: ……………………………………….. Date: ……………………………… DR. SAMUEL BREFO ADUBOFUOR (Head of Department of Theology) iii DEDICATION To the Triune God To my wife, children and the entire family To the Global Evangelical Church- Head Office, Kumasi Presbytery and Amakom Parish To the Christian community in Ghana, Africa and the World iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To the Supreme ruler who has been my power, strength and shelter throughout this period I express my enormous gratitude. My gratitude again goes to my supervisor, Dr. George Asumadu for his fortitude and flexibility to make this research work a success. I say God bless you richly for your extraordinary supervisory role in criticism and suggestions. I declare my heartfelt thanks to Dr. S.B Adubofuor Dean of Graduate School, Rev Dr Peter White Head of Department of Theology, all Lecturers of Department of Theology and Dr. Thomas Yeboah of the IT Department. Also to all those who worked in the CSUC Chapman Library: Mr. Oti, Brothers David, Matthew and Eugene. Special appreciation goes to my sister and daughter Miss Lydia Owusuaa for your selfless support in helping typing all my assignments since I came to the school, most especially for sacrificing your time and energy to type this research work. May the faithful God who rewards the faithful‟s reward you abundantly and meet you at the point of your needs. My thanks also go to my family, friends and church members who through sincere love expressed their support and encouragement during my time of education, especially for the Master of Arts Programme. Finally, to the Global Evangelical Church, Head Office, Kumasi Presbytery Office and the Amakom Parish for furnished me with the needed information for this dissertation. I say God bless you all abundantly for contributing immensely to the achievement of the research goal to God glory and to the benefit of my church (GEC) and the Christian Community. Many Thanks!!! v ABSTRACT This work was a study of Application of Management Principles to Church Growth. The Global Evangelical Church was used as the case study organization. The research sought to find out the impact of the application of management principles on the church‟s major policies, programs and projects in her effort to achieve its Vision, Mission, Core Values and Strategic Plans. There was a need to conduct this study because there was a dearth of literature in the area. It further looked at the managing of the “Five Church Growth Pillars” – namely Policy, Programs, People, Projects, and Purse Management. It takes into account the application of management principles to the 10% Numerical Growth Policy of the GEC to bring about the expected growth. In brief the research dealt with the GEC‟s major policies, programs, and projects toward growth, the impact of application of management principles on growth, the gaps and challenges identified to be addressed. The respondents were thirty four consisting of Top Management (Head Office), Middle Management (Kumasi Presbytery) and Lower Management (Amakom Parish). Questionnaires and interviews were used. The study revealed that the GEC has been applying some of the basic management principles to its growth policy, program and project, but the impact on growth was not very good. Also there were some gaps and challenges identified which must be addressed through the effort of all the three management levels. Therefore, it was recommended that the GEC should intensify education on its vision, mission, core values, strategic plans and policy decisions to enhance members‟ commitment toward the expected growth, both numerical and conceptual or quantitative and qualitative growth. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS PAGE Declaration .................................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................... v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... x List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of Study ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 6 1.4 Research Objective(s) .......................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Scope and Focus of the Study .............................................................................................. 7 1.6 Research Methodology and Methods of Data Collection .................................................... 7 1.7 Literature Review............................................................................................................... 12 1.8 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................... 19 1.9 Organization of Structure of the Study .............................................................................. 20 CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 2.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 21 2.1 Historical Background of GEC ......................................................................................... 21 vii 2.2 Organizational Profile of GEC........................................................................................... 37 2.3 Conclusion: . ...................................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER THREE: CHURCH GROWTH PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATION ............ 40 3.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 40 3.1 Application of Church Growth Principles ......................................................................... 40 3.2 Application of Management Principles to Church Growth ............................................... 48 3.3 Conclusion: . ...................................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ............... 64 4.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 64 4.1 Demographic Background of Respondents ....................................................................... 64 4.2 Major Church Growth Policies, Programs and Projects of the GEC ................................ 67 4.3 Application of Management Principles to Enhance Church Growth ................................ 69 4.4 Assessing Impact of Application of Management Principles on Church Growth ............ 71 4.5 Identified Gaps and Challenges in the Application of Management Principle to Church Growth .........................................................................................................................................
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