The contribution of strategic management and organisational development theory, models and practice to the effectiveness of local churches : a study on a selected sample of South African urban and suburban churches at congregational level

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The idea of deliberately planning and measuring the work of congregations does not settle easily withmany church leaders and theologians. This study suggests that churches are becoming increasinglysocially ineffective because they do not understand and apply scientific management knowledge andmethods. Strongly held ideologies and dichotomies characterise the milieu of this topic.There remains a very real social problem concerning the role of churches. That is what this study hasbased its relevance on. The study is encouragingly supported by its finding that 90% of church leaderssurveyed, disagreed with the notion that the church has no responsibility to society at large for its actions.92% of respondents further agreed that the role of the church is the well-being and upliftment of itscommunities and not just to create converts. This study presents evidence that questions the successclaims of the Church Growth body of knowledge.Evangelism world-wide has recently experienced the most extraordinary acceleration in the number ofconversions in the history of the Church, but research in the countries where this phenomenon has beenmore prevalent, has found little equivalent growth in church membership. The work of researchers in theUSA has repeatedly drawn attention to the alarming levels of unchurched Christians and the fallingaway of Pentecostal churches. This study confirms the trend in South Africa and reveals our unchurchedlevel to be 53%.Analysis of congregational development interventions attempted by the sample reveals an almost threetimes greater success rate reported by churches that did not apply the church growth principles orcombined them with management methods. The aim is to present explanations and solutions for thedifficulties churches are having both in the areas of managing their own development and in retainingcommitted members for a nobler purpose than to laud their size over smaller, but possibly more caring andsocially effective churches.An objective of this study is to present existing knowledge and methods from the field of managementscience as a conceptual framework for systematically fitting disconnected elements of contemporaryChurch Growth Theory into a holistic and integrated development approach that goes deeper than a meremechanistic extrapolation of theoretical ideas and praxis from one context into another. The survey founda 74% support base from the South African church leaders surveyed for a synthesis of the best of bothChurch Growth and business management methods in fulfilment of its mission.The most compelling finding that this research contributes to social knowledge, however, is that localchurches found to have reported significantly more externally focused growth such as evangelism,community work and church planting, applied strategic thinking, formal planning and managementmethods to their development without compromising the Gospel message that the Church is called bringto society.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University