The Impact of Public Relations on Church Growth in the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Cross River State

Abstract

Church is the gathering, an assembly and a body of believers in Jesus Christ who are joined together for the purpose, goal and objective of praying, fellowshipping as well as worshipping, praising and serving God. A church can be growing, plateaued or declining. The Redeemed Christian Church of God, chosen for this study, had between 1981 and 2016 grown from 40 parishes in the South-western Nigeria to becoming the fastest growing Pentecostal church in the world with presence in 190 countries and more than 40,000 branches across Nigeria. The main objective of this study is to assess how Public Relations impacted on fostering this monumental growth. The survey method was used in the research with 400 questionnaires distributed to ministers, workers and members of only the four provinces in Cross River State out of which 394 or 98.5 percent were returned as valid. Everett Roger's Diffusion of innovations theory, as cited in McQuail (2010:487), was used as the theoretical framework for the study. From the research, it has been established that applying Public Relations strategies, which include identifying the problems, defining objectives and vision, drawing systematic plan, preparing budget, engaging human resources and evaluating the process as it progressed assisted in the phenomenal growth the church has recorded since Pastor Enoch Adeboye assumed its leadership in 1981. At the end, it was recommended that in order to continue in the growth stride, the church should always keep its Public Relations machinery active and functional while the Corporate Social Responsibility Department, operating at different levels of the church, should not relent in identifying and meeting the needs of the people living in the community where the church operates.

Keywords: church, growth, planning, public relations, publics.