Factors impeding Financial Stability of the Church: A Study of Seventh Day Adventist, South East Kenya Field, Kenya
##article.subject##:
Challenges, finance, mission, relevance, sustainability
##article.abstract##
The relationship between church and finance is critical since without finance the church is inept to society as it cannot realize its socio-economic and religious functions that define her. The unfortunate reality is that the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church in South East Kenya Field (SEKF) is being incapacitated by a multiple of financial misgivings that almost render it irrelevant to society. The paper argues that the SDA church cannot fold its hands and not to address financial factors that are consistently pulling her backwards. The study employed Stewardship theory by Donaldson and Davis (1991), which argues for individuals to work for others and have a collective spirit to achieve organizational goals. It used a descriptive research design that captured opinions and experiences of participants for a deeper understanding of the study problem. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview schedules from a sample size of 355 respondents. Two sampling techniques were used: purposive for pastors and simple random for church development officers, treasurers, elders and secretaries. Censors was used with the leadership of South Kenya Field. The study found that financial challenges the SDA church is facing adversely affect her ability to be relevant to society that looks to her for solutions. It recommended for a financial strategic plan for the church that will ensure a comprehensive address of the critical financial challenges encountered by the church in SEKEF.
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Smith, A.D. (2011). Church business: Achieving an optimal balance between business ventures and church ministries. USA: Indiana University.
Ukah, A.F.K. (2005). The local and the global in the media and material culture of Nigerian Pentecostalism. IFRA, 285-313.
Weerawardena, J., McDonald, R. E., & Mort, G. S. (2010). Sustanability of nonprofit organizations: An empirical investigation. Journal of World Business, 45, 346-356. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com/locate/jwb
Zech, C. (2007). Agency Relationship in Churches: An Empirical Analysis. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 66(4), 727-746.
Amadi, H. (2015). The impact of board effectiveness and business planning on financial sustainability of NGOs in Nairobi. Retrieved from http://erepo.usiu.ac.ke/handle/11732/691
Anderson, P. (2018). Whether through tithing or free will gifts, giving is for your own good! Posted on December 2nd
Awiti, H.M & Gathaiya, R. (2012). Income diversification strategies and financial sustainability for Catholic societies of apostolic life in Kenya. In African Journal of Emerging Issues (AJOEI) Online ISSN: 2663-9335, Vol (3), Issue 6, Pg. 84-106.
Brielle, B. (2009). A Comprehensive Bibliography Of Resources Related To Diversity Within the Philanthropic And Nonprofit Sectors: Diversity In Philanthropy Retrieved from http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/topical/diversity_in_phil.pdf
Budiselić, E. (2014). The Role and the Place of Tithing in the Context of Christian Giving, Part 1. Biblijski institut, Zagreb.
Choi, S., & McNamara, G. (2018). Repeating a familiar pattern in a new way: The effect of exploitation and exploration on knowledge leverage behaviors in technology acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 39, 356-378. doi:10.1002/smj.2677
Cornett, M. M., Erhemjamts, O., & Tehranian, H. (2016). Greed or good deeds: An examination of the relation between corporate social responsibility and the financial performance of U.S. commercial banks around the financial crisis. Journal of Banking & Finance, 70, 137-159. doi:10.1016/j.jbankfin.2016.04.024
Donaldson, L., & Davis, J. (1991). Stewardship Theory or Agency Theory: CEO Governance and Shareholder Returns. Australian Journal of Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, 49±64.
Eagle, D., Keister, L.A., & Ghazal Read, J. (2018). Household charitable giving at the intersection of gender, marital status, and religion. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 47, 185–205. doi:10.1177/0899764017734650
Field, D. N. (2015). Holiness, social justice and the mission of the Church: John Wesley’s insights in contemporary context. Holiness, 1(2), 177-198.
Hayek, M., Williams, W.A., Taneja, S., & Salem, R. (2015). Effective succession of social entrepreneurs: A stewardship-based model. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(2), 93-111. doi:10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2015.ap.00008
Henrickson, P. (2012). Financial Management in the Church: Internal Control/ Financial Oversight. Retrieved March, 18 2015 from http://www.churchfinancialmanagement.com Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK
Jameson, T. (2017). Communication Strategies as Drivers of Nonprofit Donor Retention. Walden University Scholar Works. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3096453
Kessler, V., & Kretzschmar, L. (2015). Christian leadership as a trans-disciplinary field of study. Verbum et Ecclesia, 36, 1-8. doi:10.4102/VE. V36I1.1334
Khodakarami, F., Petersen, J.A., & Venkatesan, R. (2015). Developing donor relationships: The role of the breadth of giving. Journal of Marketing, 79(4), 77-93.
Kiiru, M. (2010). Mobilizing & Managing resources; Foundations, Principles & Strategies. Nairobi: Evangel Publishing House.
Mason, D. (2015). Advocacy in nonprofit organizations: A leadership perspective. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 6(3), 297-324. doi:10.1515/npf-2014-0036
Melao, N.F., Maria Guia, S., & Amorim, M. (2017). Quality Management and Excellence in the third sector: Examining European Quality in Social Services (EQUASS) in non-profit social services. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28, 840-857. doi:10.1080/14783363.2015.1132160
Mohamed, M.M., & Muturi, W. (2017). Factors influencing financial sustainability of local non–governmental organizations in Puntland, Somalia. International Journal of Social Sciences and Informational Technology, 3(2), 3-28.
Okorley, E.L. & Nkrumah, E.E. (2012). Organisational factors influencing sustainability of local non-governmental organizations; Lessons from a Ghanaian context. International Journal of Social Economics, 39(5), 330–341.
Omura, T, & Forster, J. Competition for Donations and Sustainability of not-for-profit Organizations. Humanomics, Vol.30, Iss. 3: 255-274 DOI: 10.1108/H-12-2012-0026
Pattiniemi, S. (2010). A community development project management model in a deprived community in Moretele, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Pressgrove, G.N. & McKeever, B.W. (2016). Nonprofit relationship management: Extending the organization-public relationship to loyalty and behaviors. Journal of Public Relations Research. Retrieved from 28:3-4, 193-211, DOI:10.1080/1062726X.2016.1233106
Prot P.N., Ntibalema R., & Mugaya A. (2012). Sources of finance in the Church today: Reliability and sustainability. Saarbrücken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, GmbH & Co.KG, Saarbrücken, Germany
Reese, R. (2010). Roots and Remedies of the dependency syndrome in World Missions. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library
Santora, J.C., Sarros, J.C., Bozer, G., Esposito, M., & Bassi, A. (2015). Nonprofit executive succession planning and organizational sustainability: A preliminary comparative study in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Russia, and the United States. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(4), 66-83. doi:10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2015.oc.00006
Sazonov, S.P., Kharlamova, E. E., Chekhovskaya, I. A., & Polyanskaya, E. A. (2015). Evaluating financial sustainability of higher education institutions. Asian Social Science, 11(20), 34-40. doi:10.5539/ass.v11n20p34
Schoemaker, P.J.H., Heaton, S., & Teece, D. (2018). Innovation, dynamic capabilities, and leadership. California Management Review, 61, 15- 42. doi:10.1177/0008125618790246.
Sejeli, D.S., & Mansor, N. A. (2015). Leadership derailment: Does self-leadership matter? International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 5(1). 21-25. Retrieved from www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi
Smith, A.D. (2011). Church business: Achieving an optimal balance between business ventures and church ministries. USA: Indiana University.
Ukah, A.F.K. (2005). The local and the global in the media and material culture of Nigerian Pentecostalism. IFRA, 285-313.
Weerawardena, J., McDonald, R. E., & Mort, G. S. (2010). Sustanability of nonprofit organizations: An empirical investigation. Journal of World Business, 45, 346-356. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com/locate/jwb
Zech, C. (2007). Agency Relationship in Churches: An Empirical Analysis. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 66(4), 727-746.
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2024-05-18
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