Personal Evangelism and Church Growth: A Case Study of Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

One of the Christian groups tasked with bringing the gospel to every corner of the globe is the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church. Through a variety of evangelical strategies, it has expanded since its founding. One strategy for sharing the message and ensuring church growth is personal evangelism. The purpose of this study was to determine whether personal evangelism had significantly increased the number of members at the SDA Church in Dagoretti South Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya. Three objectives served as the study's guidelines: The first step is to determine the doctrinal and biblical foundation for personal evangelism within the SDA Church. Second, evaluate the SDA Church's evangelism strategies to achieve numerical growth. Thirdly, to examine what makes personal evangelism in the SDA Church difficult. Donald McGavran's Church Growth Theory (1970) was deemed a suitable theory for this investigation to demonstrate the connection between individual evangelism and numerical church growth. 1,401 respondents were the study's target group. Using a basic random selection technique and purposive sampling, 302 respondents, including 3 pastors, 6 elders, and 293 church members, were selected from six congregations to make up the sample group. Data was gathered using a descriptive survey design, questionnaires, and interview schedules. With the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), the quantitative data were examined using means, frequencies, and percentages.  According to the study, the Great Commission serves as the foundation for the church's theological and biblical evangelism practices. Additionally, the survey discovered that the highest mean was found in service evangelism, which was followed by relational, invitational, testimonial, direct, and intellectual evangelism. Financial difficulties, conflicts among church leaders, poor member training, and the ongoing problem of member retention are some of the significant obstacles that personal evangelism faces. According to the report, the church should teach its members that personal evangelism is a divine calling. Utilizing all available channels for personal evangelism is also necessary to support the church's numerical expansion. It also suggested that funds be set aside for evangelism to support successful individual evangelism. If members are prepared and taught to evangelize, personal evangelism can drive the Church's numerical expansion. Comparing the effects of personal and public evangelism on numerical growth in the SDA Church and other churches warrants more investigation.