Need for Self-Management of Local Churches in the Process of Church Leadership Development ()
1. Introduction
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Since leading various services at the 8th CEPAC as a choir leader, evangelist and teacher, experience shows that the preparation of new leaders is often overlooked in this community. While we know that leadership in every organization is very important. Leadership is the heart of the Church and without it the Church becomes unable to accomplish its mission in the world. According to some members of this denomination, they say there is no need to prepare leaders in the Church if only the Holy Spirit is in them. But when we read the Bible as a great director of our Christian faith, we discover that the leaders were led by the Holy Spirit but also, they should be prepared and undergo training in different institutions (in the family, synagogue, schools…). This can include both the Old and New Testaments and throughout Church history.
But in the 8th CEPAC, where we have chosen to conduct our research, it is identified that education for church leaders is neglected in local churches. Forgetting about human responsibility, some local leaders and members argue that the Church has no responsibility to prepare its members for leadership. They argue that one can be a good leader without treading on one’s feet in school or seminary if the Holy Spirit comes first. These estimates, which are based neither on the Bible nor on science, cause Church leaders to be intellectually unprepared and to reach spiritual maturity. A wrong leadership is practiced by certain ecclesiastical leaders for their personal interests. The lack of sufficient training in the preparation of leaders is at the root of the problem of developing the leadership of the Church.
When the Church was still led by missionaries, the government of the Church in this denomination had no difficulty. It was after the enthronement of the first legal representative that the Church faced governance problems. By giving this chief all the responsibilities to decide on all the local churches, he introduced a leadership of dictatorship and injustice. He could choose and remove whomever he wanted to lead the local church, regardless of the necessary criteria a church leader must have. Sometimes, he could retain or dismiss whoever he wanted to lead a local church of the 8th CEPAC without taking into account the intellectual capacity of the candidate.
This way of governing had given local churches no chance to prepare effective leaders. To change this precarious situation, the missionaries suggested assigning self-management to local churches for not only the development of church leadership; but also for the development of all dimensions and aspects of the Church. But today this system creates confusion between the leaders and the local churches because of the lack of preparing leaders, which causes the non- development of effective leaders which requires a solution.
In the next section, we discuss the study objectives, study questions, assumptions, and thoughts of previous authors who have spoken on this topic. Then, we will move on to the methodological approach and the presentation, analysis and interpretation of the results and finally the conclusion and new perspectives.
The main objective of this study is to examine the importance of the self- management of local churches in the process of the development of ecclesiastical leadership within the 8th CEPAC, District of Sange. It is also based on the following specific objectives:
Determine local churches self-management strategies to promote church leadership development,
Determine the contributions of local churches self-government to the development of church leadership.
Our main question is how important is local church self-management in developing church leadership? And the specific questions look like this:
What are the local churches self-management strategies in developing church leadership in the 8th CEPAC, Sange District?
What are the contributions of the local churches self-management in the development of leadership within the 8th CEPAC, District of Sange?
Our work takes as its main assumption: the self-management of local churches is important in the development of church leadership. The specific assumptions state that:
The self-management of the local churches requires strategies in the development of the leadership of the Church within the 8th CEPAC, District of Sange.
The self-management of the local churches contributes to the development of the leadership of the Church within the 8th CEPAC, District of Sange.
In the following part, which is the literature review of our study, our interest is centered on the identification, presentation and analysis of the thoughts and opinions of previous works on our theme. The framework of this part revolves around the following major elements: the biblical basis for church leadership development, the nature of local church self-management in leadership development, leadership development strategies of the church, the role of leaders in the development of church leadership, the role of local churches in the development of church leadership and finally the contributions of local church self- government in leadership development.
2. Biblical Basis for Local Churches Self-Management Leadership Development
The Bible is replete with examples of God seeking leaders, and when they were found, they were used to their full limit as they met his spiritual demands, despite their human failures. The first to consider is Joseph. He was placed in a high administrative position in Egypt soon after his jealous brothers sold him to a passing caravan. He was entrusted with the monumental harvest in Egypt (Genesis 41: 14-57) (Engstrom, 1976: p. 26).
Oswald Sanders (1994) argues that spiritual leadership requires higher spiritual power, which can never be generated by the self. The personality of the spiritual leader influences others because it is radiated, pervaded and empowered by the Holy Spirit. When the leader gives control of his life to the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit flows through him to others and strengthens them (Engstrom, 1976: p. 28).
The Bible is more concerned with the congregation having leadership than leaders. We are convinced that the ministry of leadership emerges in the systematic life of a congregation. The task and purpose of Christian leadership is to build a community of love and justice for the purposes of the kingdom of God (Stevens and Collins, 1993: p. 103).
Michael Youssef says leaders are people of vision. A leader sees a future that no one else can see, then leads his followers there. He gives the example that Jesus had a plan of action for his disciples. He never intended for them to remain locked up in a small group in Jerusalem. His church would be a community in movement (Youssef, 2013: pp. 37-38).
3. Nature of Local Church Self-Management in Leadership Development
Gary Yukl says that participatory leadership involves the use of various decision procedures that allow other people to influence the leader’s decisions. Other terms commonly used to refer to an aspect of participatory leadership include consultation, joint decision-making, power-sharing, decentralization, and democratic management (Yukl, 2000: p. 81).
The best way to develop member leadership begins with having a self-man- agement local congregation. The autonomous local congregation has the responsibility of strengthening its followers to participate in different activities that it organizes daily. This involves giving them the chance to access different responsibilities to embrace obstacles and draw experience into them. Through experience they learn lessons that develop their steadfast leadership skills.
David Johnson noted that not all members feel comfortable participating in group discussions. Some are too shy. They should be invited and encouraged to participate. Their participation is necessary to increase their commitment to the group, to other members, and to everyone’s accomplishment and learning (Johnson, 1996: pp. 6-59).
According to Charles Manz C. and Christopher P. Neck, team members have increased responsibility and control. Teams perform many tasks that were previously the responsibility of management, such as conducting meetings, resolving technical and personal issues, making a wide range of decisions on many issues, including performance methods, and the choice of who will do what task (Manz and Neck, 2004: pp. 81-82). The big problem that impedes the development of leadership in the Church is the lack of self-management of local churches. And some so-called self-managed ones do not apply the principles of leadership development at the local level. It is often found that there are specified services to the ruler which a ruled can never perform. But the worthy leader initiates his followers into the various ecclesiastical services so that they become more and more capable. Such a leader is not jealous of the leadership progress of his followers. He rejoices when his members are able to direct themselves to his presence of course than to his absence. For a church to reach this summit the pastor must take the model of Jesus by delegating his parishioners to the service of the Church (Matthew 10: 5-14).
4. Church Leadership Development Strategies
According to Robert Wayach, participatory leaders try to involve and empower group members to do the work of the group. They don’t see themselves as in charge or in control. They see themselves as administrators of the group responsible for taking initiative, identifying problems and structuring activities so that the group can do its job effectively (Wayach, 1993: pp. 21-22). Charles C. Manz and Christopher P. Neck also point out that true masters of self-management realize that they cannot achieve all of their goals on their own. They know that building a team through networking with key people can be an important self- management strategy (Manz and Neck, 2004: p. 101).
The thoughts of these two authors are the means that self-governing local churches should use to develop strong leadership. Succeed in raising the awareness of a group to get to work, each with the spirit that they are responsible; builds a nucleus of leadership capable of carrying out the Christian mission. Self-governing local churches with a mission to win souls for Christ must develop this team spirit and self-responsibility among members. This strategy quickly facilitates the growth and development of leadership skills in the Church.
5. Role of Leaders in Church Leadership Development
Robert Lussier N. and Christopher, F. Achua assert that although an important goal of a team organization is for group members to participate in leadership, leaders still play an important role in influencing team performance. The need for leadership still exists, because in each working group, someone will ultimately be responsible for the outcome (Lussier and Christopher, 2007: p. 302).
The strategy of developing team members into leaders does not preclude having a leader. Team-based organizations need leaders who know the team process and are able to develop a productive and effective team. To have satisfied, productive, and loyal team members, team leaders must recognize that not everyone knows how to be a team player. The leader plays the role of guiding and encouraging the weak to become confident leaders.
Self-management strategies can be used by local leaders to build confidence, stimulate greater effort, and manage time more effectively. It is a way for a leader to empower his subordinates and to encourage and facilitate their self-management activities. We need to find a way to integrate them. It is also essential to find appropriate ways to share leadership functions within teams, at all levels of the hierarchy of authority and between interdependent sub-units of the organization (Yukl, 2010: p. 147).
From the roles above, local leaders articulate their vision, motivate the team, and set direction and priorities. The leaders decide the training sessions and the activities that its members must do for their development. For example, Jesus took time to prepare his disciples in several sessions. After he was satisfied with their maturity, he threw them into the activities of reaching the world and they were still as a team. His intervention when the disciples encountered difficulties was to encourage them to have faith and to press on. No matter how weak a team’s leadership is, the leader is required to encourage and strengthen it.
However, when it comes to developing the leadership of the church, leaders should not disregard the leadership capacity of its members. They must no longer have to discredit them because of their inability to respond in favor of their needs. Rather, they are happy to watch their circle become more self-reliant in matters of leading and taking charge of themselves. The role of leaders is to strengthen those who are spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially and financially weak to become strong.
6. Role of Local Churches in Developing Church Leadership
Robert Lussier N. and Christopher, F. Achua affirm that because of the role of local churches in developing leadership in self-management teams, decision-making authority in many areas of accomplishing the team’s mission is left to the individual and team members. In self-directed teams, there are many roles to trade as members learn to be followers as well as leaders. In a self-directed team, members are responsible for tasks such as managing, assigning tasks, planning and scheduling work, making production or service-related decisions, and acting on problems. Members take responsibility for describing how they will achieve the team’s goals (Lussier and Christopher, 2007: pp. 325-327).
According to Yukl, local churches are more likely to be effective if they see themselves as active and independent rather than passive and dependent on the leader. Followers can help make their leader more effective by providing accurate information, challenging weak decisions, resisting inappropriate influence attempts, providing support and encouragement, and providing coaching and guidance (Yukl, 2010: p. 147).
Eugene B. Habecker thinks it is biblically incorrect to say that the pastor or pastoral staff should be the only ones involved in the work of ministry. On the contrary, the Holy Scriptures teach that each Christian, as a member of the body of Christ, has the responsibility to do his part of the work of the Church (Hebecker, 1990: p. 136).
Members of self-governing local churches play a very vital role in the process of leadership development in the church. They are at the center of their leadership development and without their implication, the leader will not achieve any positive results. The Bible does not hold that leadership is specified for a few people, but rather it proclaims the priesthood of all believers. Only the Church is made up of diversity of gifts and ministries which are to be used in the church by each Christian according to what he is called to do.
As we have seen previously, let’s underline that both leaders and church members are important in developing church leadership and complement each other. They cannot be separated for each depend on the other. The leaders have their duties to their church members as the church members also must respond their duties to their leaders. The leader prepares his member to replace him, and the members help him to fulfill his purpose.
7. Contributions of Local Churches Self-Government to Leadership Development
Self-management of local churches contributes in many different aspects to the development of church leadership. The latter contributes to the economic, moral, political, social, spiritual and cultural development of the leadership of the Church. Let’s consider the study of each of these contributions:
7.1. Church Leadership Economic Development
Elias Masilela maintains that the Church has an essential role to play in the economic development of any country. In the past, churches conducted crusades to educate people. In most countries, the education system that exists has its roots in the Church (Masilela, 2012). He again argues that churches should consider creating a fund, geared towards economic development. Contributions to the fund should be open to all denominations passionate about development (Idem). In Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians chapter 8, Paul describes how the Macedonian churches responded to the poverty of other Christians in other countries. Paul uses the example of the Macedonians to motivate Corinthian believers; he uses influence as a force for good (https://www.preciousseed.org/article_detail.cfm?articleID=2995).
Local churches are required to educate capable leaders to promote the economy of the church. But it does not preclude motivating members to make financial contributions to meet their needs and those of sister churches. Education is the key to economic development. This dimension favors both the growth of the economy of the Church and of the country. It is through the self-management of local churches that the economy of the church in leadership development increases.
7.2. Moral Development of Church Leadership
According to Kent Keith M, the service model has a moral basis. The point of the service model is to be of service in identifying and meeting the needs of others. It’s about paying attention to others and treating them right. Accepting the reality of pain and suffering in the world, and only exploiting it for private gain, is morally wrong and ignores all the higher aspirations of human beings since time immemorial; aspirations found in moral and ethical codes, as well as in religious and spiritual teaching (Keith, 2008: p. 23).
Self-governing local churches are required to lead their members to understand that they are in the world to serve all faithfulness and not just to be served. This thought is based on the philosophy of Jesus “theson of man did not come to be served but to serve.”In other words, it is the acceptance of being a slave to others. Developing the spirit of serving others is a very important step in developing leadership within the church. Self-governing local churches must prepare members to serve others as Christ agreed to suffer and die for the salvation of the world.
7.3. Church Leadership Political Development
In the political development of church, leadership political skills are essential to achieve its goals. Many people with personal position and power and with admirable goals that would benefit the organization have failed because of their political unfitness. So, to have a successful career, career counselors suggest you develop your organizational political skills. Because political skills are part of power, we need to understand politics in terms of power. Politics is a fact of organizational life (Lussier and Christopher, 2007: pp. 128-129).
To develop competent leaders within the church, self-governing local churches must educate their members about church policy. Although the world is corrupt this dimension helps develop the ability to govern the Church in the way that pleases God. The leader does not use his power to intimidate and foster corruption and injustice, but rather his policy is based on good governance and winning souls for Christ. The development of the political knowledge of the church leader is a task that must be taken on by the autonomous local churches.
7.4. Church Leadership Social Development
According to Peter G. Northouse, sociability is a leader’s propensity to seek pleasant social relationships. Leaders who demonstrate sociability are friendly, outgoing, courteous, tactful, and diplomatic. They are sensitive to the needs of others and care about their well-being (Northouse, 2010: p. 21).
Leadership in the team structure involves a primary concern with motivating a group of individuals to work together towards a common goal, while mitigating any conflicts or obstacles that may arise in striving to achieve that goal. The emphasis is on building relationships with all members of the group, not just a few special people (Lussier and Christopher, 2007: p. 255).
The self-management of autonomous local churches facilitates the social maturity of leaders in the Church. Sociability or building social intimacy is one of Jesus’ policies for winning the world. He was interested in all social classes to meet their needs. He stood to discourage the social injustice that was supported by the leaders of his time. He was the friend of despised men though he was the Son of the living God. It is this model that self-governing local churches should encourage members to follow to develop effective church leadership.
7.5. Spiritual Development of Church Leadership
Programs at this level aim to help each employee better understand their values, spiritual principles and sense of purpose. The organization is committed to helping individuals live in harmony with their spiritual path, and may offer meditation rooms or classes on spiritual practices and teachings and may bring in speakers to talk about spiritual development (Lussier and Christopher, 2007: p. 503).
Craig E. Johnson points out that the practice of spiritual discipline is one way to promote our spiritual progress as a Christian. Here he suggests the following spiritual disciplines: the discipline of meditation, the discipline of prayer, the discipline of fasting and the discipline of study, the discipline of simplicity, the discipline of solitude, the discipline of submission, the discipline of service, the discipline of confession, the discipline of worship, the discipline of leadership and the discipline of celebration (Johnson, 2001: pp. 88-91).
7.6. Church Leadership Cultural Development
According to Jon L. Pierce and John W. Newstrom, a culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group or class of people from another (Pierce and Newstrom, 2003: p. 230). On the other hand, Peter G. Northouse defines a culture as the acquired beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols and traditions that are common to a group of people (Northouse, 2010: p. 336).
Developing the cultural aspect of church leadership requires that the values of the culture be internalized by managers growing up in a particular culture, and these values will influence their attitudes and behavior in ways that may not be conscious. Values are also reflected in societal norms about how people interact. Cultural norms specify acceptable forms of leadership behavior and in some cases can be formalized as societal laws limiting the use of power to influence decisions (Yukl, 2010: p. 436).
This element is very important for developing the leadership of the Church. Self-governing local churches cannot develop the spirit of leadership if they ignore its beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols and traditions. These cultural elements must be considered rigorously. Although the members are saved, we cannot forget that they have their particular culture different from the famous leaders whom the Bible presents to us. Of course the Bible must be at the center of any program of the Church, but also the inculturation of the message is necessary. Consideration of culture is necessary in the process of developing church leadership.
8. Methodological Approach
Regarding the methodological approach, this study is based on the documentary technique, through which we were able to collect various information obtained through discussion with previous authors who were interested in this theme. Then we used the exegetical method, the hermeneutic method, the sampling technique, and finally the data analysis and interpretation of the results.
In the exegetical study of the text taken as a paradigm, we have moved on to the careful and systematic study of the Holy Scriptures to discover the original and primary meaning of the text in this study. Through the same method, we proceeded to apply the message to the contemporary audience and draw from it the teaching or the exhortation in relation to the problem discovered.
The sampling technique served us as the subset containing the characteristics of our survey population so that the test includes all possible members or observations. The representative population is the members of the legal representation, the reverend pastors, elders, evangelists, deacons and choir leaders of the local self-governing churches. We were interested in a limited number to respond to the interview and survey as pertains in our survey population.
Indeed, the survey population allowed us to collect data for our work through a complete group of individuals with common characteristics that are of interest to the researcher. In this study, our survey population is 701 people. According to Alain Bouchard’s formula quoted by Donatien Bavugamenshi (2019: pp. 71-72) when the universe of the sample is equal to or less than 1,000,000 individuals, given a margin of error of 10%. It is from the following formula that we can obtain a representative sample:
_n
respondents
Thus the sample of our survey population amounts to around 84 people; including 4 legal representation council members (i.e. 4.76%), 8 reverend pastors (i.e. 9.52%), 20 church elders (i.e. 23.80%), 18 evangelists (i.e. 21.42%), 20 deacons (i.e. 23.80%) and 14 choir leaders (i.e. 16.66%). We decided to divide our survey population into these different categories, in order to be able to collect reliable information.
We were also guided by two research tools: observation and interview. For the latter, we took the time to get down to the field to observe how local churches self-management works in leadership development and decided to use two categories of questions, especially open and closed questions to allow people to express their feelings about the study.
And finally, we carried out the analysis of the data and interpretation of the results centered on two methods: the quantitative method and the qualitative method. The quantitative analysis allowed us to summarize the data through the statistical tables to better illuminate the results of the data, while the qualitative analysis helped us to interpret any act and behavior that we observed and the documents that we consulted on the ground.
In the following section, we will carry out the presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data collected in the local churches of the 8th CEPAC, selected in the ecclesiastical district of Sange and with the legal representation being that survey population of our study. The results were presented, analyzed and interpreted using Excel and Word.
Before landing the presentation of the results, we will first move on to the distribution of our respondents, as shown in the table below:
Table 1 Our respondents according to their respective sexes were 71% of the male gender and 29% were of the female gender.
Table 2 We can see that our research was very much based on the active population within the 8th CEPAC community. The largest proportion is made up of the population ranging from 31 - 40 years old which constituted around 36%, followed by that of 18 - 30 years old and 41 - 50 with each being 24%. These three groups are made up of a large number of church leaders (reverend pastors, elders and evangelists). And the following groups having a minimal proportion are made up of the majority of the old men of the Church 51 - 60 years and 61 and more with either 16%.
Table 3 We can observe that several respondents have a secondary education level with either 54%. Respondents in the second row are university executives with a proportion of 30%. And only 16% of our respondents have undergone primary education training.
Table 4 Church elders and deacons each occupy a large proportion of our respondents with either 23.80% each, followed by evangelists with either 21.42%, choir leaders with either 16.66%, reverend pastors with either 9.52% and members of the legal representation with 4.76%.
Table 5 It was found during this research that the self-management of local churches is the source of misunderstanding between leaders and local churches in the process of developing church leadership. The survey results show that 64 respondents said yes at least 76%, and 20 respondents said no, around 24%.
Table 6 We also discovered that Strategies for local churches self-management in developing church leadership need to be determined. The expression of respondents is around 83 out of 84, around 99% of respondents who said yes, and 1% of respondents said no.
Table 7 The majority of our respondents around 86% say that leaders do not fully assume their roles in the development of Church leadership. Only 14% reject this hypothesis. If the leaders fully assumed their roles, the eruption of misunderstandings between church leaders and local churches could not be visible as it is today.
Table 8 According to respondents’ sources, 88% of respondents maintain that local churches do not fully assume their roles in the development of church leadership and around 12% oppose that autonomous local churches fully assume their roles in the development of the leadership of the 8th CEPAC.
Table 9 Our respondents affirmed that the local churches self-management contributes to the development of church leadership. The results collected in the field prove that either 90% of our respondents accepted this hypothesis and 10% rejected it.
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Table 1. Distribution of respondents according to their respective genders.
Source: Personal investigation.
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Table 2. Distribution of respondents by age.
Source: Personal investigation.
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Table 3. Distribution of respondents by level of study.
Source: Personal Investigation.
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Table 4. Distribution according to the ministry in the church.
Source: Personal investigation.
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Table 5. Misunderstanding between leaders and local churches.
Source: Our field respondents.
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Table 6. Determination of local church self-government strategies.
Source: Our field respondents.
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Table 7. The role of leaders in church leadership development.
Source: Our field respondents.
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Table 8. The roles of local churches in developing church leadership.
Source: Our field respondents.
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Table 9. Contributions of the local churches self-management.
Source: Our field respondents.
9. Discussion and Interpretation of Results
After distributing our respondents and presenting the results collected in the field, let’s proceed to the analysis and presentation of the results. The challenges of self-governing local churches in developing church leadership, according to our survey population are many. The local leaders take power for his whole life, even if they no longer meet the needs of the church. This is a violation of the statute of the 8th CEPAC. It is impossible for a person unable to meet the needs of the Church to always be maintained on a ministry in the Church. Therefore, the maintenance of such a leader breeds the production of incompetent leadership and limb distortion after his death.
Apart from the previous challenge is the preservation from excommunication of a member or local leader who has committed a sin if he is wealthy or has already won the trust of those followers. When the Bible and the Statute of this community emphasize that he must be set aside, there are ministers who serve contrary to the will of God. Thus we find the weakness of the local churches to proclaim the Good News, whereas they are the means by which the Church must grow in all dimensions. But also some autonomous local churches remain unable to finance themselves.
Further, there is also misunderstanding of the self-management of local churches in the development of church leadership. Because of the misunderstanding of local church self-governance, there is a tendency for local churches and leaders to jump their limits when it comes to church governance. Some local churches and leaders think that local churches self-government means libertinism to do whatever they want without conforming to the Bible and the Church Statute. It is true that each local church is sovereign, but this sovereignty must conform to the Word of God and the internal regulations for good governance. It is then that the Church will be able to develop and produce a leadership capable of responding to the mission of the Church.
It was found during this research that the self-management of local churches is the source of misunderstanding between leaders and local churches in the process of developing church leadership. The results of the survey show that 48 respondents say yes, with around 76.19% and 11 respondents say no, with around 23.80 percent. But this does not mean that the self-management of local churches is bad, but rather it is caused by people’s misunderstanding of how it works. In effect, establishing self-governing local churches is the will of God and the way in which he impels the church to develop, in general and in particular, the members of the church so that they become capable of directing themselves. By reading the Bible, we see that this way of leading was established by God in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Although the term self-management is not mentioned literally in the Bible, it has always been applied there. Typical examples: each tribe among the twelve tribes of Israel had its own representatives; the approval of Moses’ father-in-law’s council to establish chiefs of a thousand, chiefs of a hundred, chiefs of fifty and chiefs of tens; the role that synagogues have played in different Jewish regions; and finally the schools of the prophets were at Gilgal, at Bethel, at Rama and at Samaria. Whereas in the New Testament, leadership development is clarified as a process that can be achieved if and only if local churches are granted self-governance. This argument well supported by Christ who prepared a group of twelve for effective leadership in the early church and bequeathed to them the great commission to make disciples, that is, future leaders who are to replace them. This command was practiced more and more by the apostles and more often we learn from Paul who established many of the churches during his missionary journeys where he took the responsibility of preparing leaders and giving leadership to those who were able who should also prepare other capable leaders to replace them.
We also discovered that strategies for local churches self-management in developing church leadership need to be determined. The expression of respondents is of the order of 83 out of 84, around 98.80% of respondents who said yes, and 1.19% of respondents said no. To achieve leadership development, self-gov- erning local churches must follow certain steps, principles, and strategies for their development. Conversely, church leadership will become weak and unable to meet the needs of its members. The most effective strategy is to place members at the center of their leadership development by participating in various church activities and programs. The task of leaders is to organize, administer, and monitor or follow up to ensure that all activities and programs organized for the development of church leadership are carried out. They should also put in heart that they are members of the Church and encourage the members of the Church to move forward towards the realization of their goals.
We also found that the majority of our respondents, around 85.71% say that leaders do not fully assume their roles in the development of church leadership. Only 14.28% refute this hypothesis. But also 88.09% of respondents argue that local churches do not fully assume their roles in developing church leadership and around 11.90% oppose this assumption. We support the idea that leaders and local churches must be involved without exception to fully assume their roles in the development of church leadership. Without the effective involvement of leaders and local churches in the development of church leadership, no leadership development can take place within the church. Leaders focus on organizing, administering, controlling and encouraging involvement in the activities and programs organized for their development. Carrying out the various tasks and responsibilities strengthens them until they become competent. It is through this involvement that members become increasingly mature and responsible.
And finally, respondents affirmed that the self-management of local churches contributes to the development of church leadership. The results collected in the field prove that 90.47% of our respondents accepted this hypothesis and 9.52% rejected it. As previously seen, the latter contributes especially to the development of the following aspects: economic, moral, political, social, spiritual and cultural. Note that without preparing local churches, the church cannot achieve leadership development in all of these aspects. Leaders and local churches hold the responsibility to prepare its members to become competent to lead themselves. Reaching this pinnacle allows the Church to become more self-governing, self-financing and self-propagating. It would therefore imply that good governance of the church depends on the quality of its leadership.
10. Conclusion and New Perspectives
Self-management of local churches plays a big role in the development of church leadership. This way of leading was instituted by God in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. He developed powerful leadership in the community of believers and in the Christian community as mentioned in the Bible. Its abandonment is the source of the non-development of the leadership of the Church. Self-governing local churches are an incredible way to develop and help church members become competent leaders.
The ability to lead others well does not come instantly. It is a paradox whereby the local churches practice different strategies and disciplines to empower its believers. Different training sessions should be organized for children, young people, adults and old people. The teachings and life of Christ are fundamental examples in the Bible for building strong church leadership. This is why all training sessions should be centered on the Holy Scriptures to help believers lead like Christ. These help leaders have the ability to lead others perfectly and improve their skills to become perfect leaders. Leadership is no accident, but it is a process that every local churches should pass on to its members.
Finally, to develop leadership in the contemporary Church, local churches must be endowed with self-management and strive to apply the following measures:
To encourage their members to aspire to the good examples of the leadership of the remarkable people of the Bible;
Implement leadership development strategies by offering members the chance to participate in various parish activities;
Respond massively to the roles entrusted to them in the process of developing church leadership;
Develop programs that can facilitate the development of leadership skills of their members;
Depend completely on God’s excellent leadership, because there are obstacles that the leader will not be able to overcome on his own that require divine intervention.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Hope Africa University which allowed us to access their Theological library for carrying effectively this article. Special thanks to the 8th CEPAC which accepted to work with us by giving us the crucial information for constructing effectively our article. And finally, we are grateful to the director of this article Prof. Dr. Sébatien Munguiko Bintu for his orientations and academic advices while writing this article.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Prof: Professor; Dr: Doctor; 8th CEPAC: 8ème Communauté des Eglises de Pentecote en Afrique Central (8th Community of Pentecostal Churches in Central Africa); nc: The corrected sample size (for the finite statistical universe) of the study; n: The sample size for the infinite statistical universe; N: The size of the static universe.