Major Factors Inhibiting the Growth of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in Cross River State (1953 – 2005), Nigeria

Abstract

Major Factors Inhibiting the Growth of Seventh-dayAdventist (SDA) Church in Cross River State (1953 -2005), Nigeria IntroductionIn the book, Understanding Church Growth and Decline, issues about growth problems in some Christian denominations in North America were raised in the following sentences: An unprecedented period in the life of the North American Church began in the mid-1960s. For the first time since records allow us to recall, many major denominations actually stopped growing in membership and began to decline, and the growth rate of most others slowed considerably (17).C. Peter Wagner indicates that, from 1965 to 1975, a period of ten years, this declining experience affected many Churches in North America, among whom are, the Episcopal Churches which lost 17 percent of its membership which was a total of 575,000 persons. The United Presbyterian lost a total of 12 percent of its membership, which is an equivalent of 375,000 members. And the United Methodists lost in this same vein 10 percent, that is, 1,100,000 of its membership (31, 32).Robert K. Hudnut, commenting on the reaction of the Church leaders of some of the denominations losing members in North America, says that these church leaders were proclaiming, "People are leaving the church. It could not be a better sign!" (xi).And Wagner, already quoted, commenting on the assertion of Church Growth Movement in North America and its divine acceptance says, "The Church Growth Movement has boldly asserted that not only is Church growth Ok, it is the will of Almighty God"(13).Thus the research on "Major Factors Inhibiting the Growth of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cross River State" is loaded with a crucial concern, especially, if it is the will of God for any church to grow. It simply means that it should as well be the will of God for Seventh-day Adventist Church to grow in Cross River State.The missionary work of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cross River State started in 1953 in Calabar. Both Seventh-day Adventist foreign and national evangelists held several evangelistic meetings in Calabar. It was not until November 28, 1959, a period of seven years after the church's missionary work had started, that the first Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cross River State was organized with fourteen (14) baptized members (Calabar Church Record 63).By 1978, few years after the Nigerian Civil War, as churches were reorganized, that is, twenty-five years after the work started in Calabar, and the church membership rose to eighty-six (86). In 1994, a public crusade was conducted in Calabar (in addition to those already conducted) where 70 people were baptized. In the next two or three months, out of those baptized in this Calabar crusade, only one member remained as a member.

The sociocultural and productivity nexus in yam farming in Nigeria

“…There is, however, a tendency of syncretism among the various religious groups, which manifests through ancestral worship, sacrifices, libation, and beliefs in witchcrafts, myths, taboos, charms etc. Eko et al [24] explain that the prevalence of these beliefs has shaped the course of many practices, ceremonies, and festivals, for instance, the designation of special days, when no economic and related activities can be conducted. Saturdays are popularly reserved for major traditions and festivals during which all forms of farming activities are prohibited.…”