Perceived Spiritual Leadership Behavior, Leadership Skills, and Spiritual Well-being in Seventh-day Adventist Congregational Settings in Rwanda: A Quantitative Study

Abstract

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between perceived spiritual leadership behavior, leadership skills, and spiritual well-being in Seventh-day Adventist congregations in Rwanda. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire among 312 congregants. Significant correlations were found between spiritual leadership (r = .69; p <.01), leadership skills (r = .31; p <.01), age (r = .13; p <.05), and spiritual well-being. Spiritual leadership behaviors, such as leading by example (β = .14, p < .01), integrity (β = .13, p < .01), spiritual caregiving (β = .21, p< .05), and counseling (β = .16, p < .05), significantly influenced congregational spiritual well-being. However, age, educational level, and gender did not significantly impact spiritual well-being. Overall, spiritual leadership significantly predicted congregational spiritual well-being (adj. r2= 0.47; β = 0.69, p < 0.001) when all variables were considered. These results underscore the importance of spiritual leadership behaviors in enhancing congregational spiritual well-being and underscore the necessity for spiritual leaders to exhibit authentic leadership qualities to positively influence and nurture the spiritual well-being of their congregations.