The Significance of Strategic Control on the Growth of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The research aimed to assess the effect of strategic control on the growth of churches in Harare, Zimbabwe. The research looked at the influence of strategic control on the growth on both Mainline and Pentecostal churches. The study followed a positivism philosophy, where an explanatory research design was applied. A multi-stage stratified random sampling was used to select the study participants who were adult congregants and church leaders from two strata, one stratum being made up of mainline churches and the other one by Pentecostal churches. Multi-stage stratified random sampling was deemed appropriate for the research as it ensured that there was representativeness within and across the strata. Data was collected from systematically selected congregants and church leaders in selected churches through interviewer-administered questionnaires using Open Datakit, a mobile data collection platform. Data analysis revealed that there was evidence of implementation of strategic control (mean score of 4) as part of strategic management practices in both Mainline and Pentecostal churches. Additionally, the findings show that strategic control influences the growth of churches (p-value <0.001). These findings showed that churches like any other organizations can be affected by the change in the socio-economic environment and thus they should implement appropriate strategies to remain viable and relevant. Strategic control plays a crucial role in ensuring that those strategies are effectively implemented. An effective Strategic Management Framework should be formulated and guide how churches can continuously control the implementation of their strategies to remain viable and achieve their mandate.

Keywords: strategic control, church, church growth, strategic management

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-32-06

Publication date: November 30^th 2020