Theological Education Institutions in Kenya and the Future of the Church

Abstract

The Christian Church in Kenya is currently experiencing high numerical growth. But what is its future? Is numerical growth an indication that the Kenyan Church has a secure future? To answer these questions this paper utilizes the case of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), which is the largest Protestant denomination in Kenya, with a membership of about 4 . 2 million people and a growth rate of 6 . 7% per annum. While there may be other indicators as to the future growth and sustainability of the Church in Kenya, the paper assumes that Theological Education Institutions (TEIs) where church leaders are formed and trained largely determine the strength of the future church. Quantitative and qualitative field research is described covering the five key ACK TEIs identifying several weaknesses in them. While the purpose of theological education in the ACK is to equip the clergy with the necessary skills to lead the church, the paper suggests a more integrative model incorporating knowledge, skills, character, empathy, and action. Further proposals are offered to remedy the deficiencies of ACK TEIs such as utilizing new modes of study e.g. distance learning, e-learning etc., revitalizing the Theological Education by Extension program which has been allowed to die, and a revised curriculum is suggested.

Effects of Strategic Direction on the Performance of Africa Inland Church Theological Training Institutions in Kenya

“…The motivation behind carrying out of this study was the poor performance of organizations in Kenya as a result of various reasons. For example, the results of previous studies by Mumo (1997) and Nkonge (2013) in A.I.C and Anglican Church of Kenya (A.C.K) theological training institutions respectively showed that these institutions were facing performance problems. Specifically, the results of the two studies cited globalization, inadequate curriculum, dropping number of students joining theological training intuitions, lack of donor funding, poor utilization of resources, inadequately prepared graduates and styles of leadership as some of the problems facing theological training institutions belonging to the two denominations.…”

“…This is the reason therefore, why the concept of organizational performance has received substantial attention in the professional discourse as is evidenced by the quality and quantity of both the empirical and theoretical literature on the subject (Ng'ang'a, 2018). For Ivancevich, Konopake, and Matteson (2014), some of the factors that have been hindering organizations from achieving optimum performance are globalization, advancement in technology, styles of leadership and the speed of change and innovation Similarly, www.ijsrp.org Mumo (1997), Nkonge (2013) and Naidoo (2015) explained that despite the vital role of leadership in organizational performance, previous studies indicated that in the past, some organizations had underperformed due to ineffective strategic leadership.…”

Effects of Organizational Resource Portfolio on the Performance of Africa Inland Church Theological Training Institutions in Kenya

“…In the previous studies done in A.I.C and Anglican Church of Kenya (A.C.K) theological training institutions respectively, results had showed that these institutions were facing performance problems due to lack of resources such as lack of donor funding, poor utilization of available resources and lack of technological infrastructure (Mumo, 1997& Nkonge, 2013.Further, Hendricks (2010) in a study on reliable leadership and sustainable seminaries in Kenya found out that theological training institutions lacked enough staff members in seminaries besides overreliance on financial support from Western countries that was on the decline. The results of previous studies at the global, regional and local perspectives pointed out to an existence of a problem of performance as a result of lack of resources in organizations with a few studies having been done to link the two variables (Barley, 2015).…”

Effects of Organizational Culture on the Performance of Africa Inland Church Theological Training Institutions in Kenya

“…Although on the onset, organizations are started for the purpose of achieving set objectives, previous research studies had pointed out that majority of them fell short of this expectation. According to Mumo (1997), Nkonge (2013), Naidoo (2015) and Ng'ang'a (2018), several organizations have been undergoing performance challenges for some time now due to various reasons. For example, after the opening of many A.I.C theological training institutions was done without proper planning since each Regional Church Council wanted to have one of its own (Mumo, 1997), many of them found themselves not able to attract the required number of students to financially sustain them besides of donor funding, poor utilization of resources, resistance to change and styles of leadership.…”