Understanding leadership style in a contemporary church growth, a study of Sunyani Baptist association

Abstract

This study explored the leadership style in a contemporary church growth in Sunyani Baptist Association churches. The study comprised of 40 pastors and 80 church executives from the Sunyani Baptist Association, using Krejcie and Morgan (1971) mathematical table. A self-administered questionnaire was the main research instrument. The study concludes that the Sunyani Baptist Association church is governed mainly with democratic leadership style. The study further disclosed a positive relationship between the democratic leadership style and the church growth. Again, there was a weak positive relationship between paternalistic leadership style and church growth. On the contrary, the study discovered negative relationship between autocratic leadership style and church growth. Furthermore, there was a negative relationship between laissez-faire leadership style and the church growth. The church members indicated a very high level of satisfaction with the leadership style in their church. However, the pastors face numerous challenges in managing church growth, with the main issue being Lack of collaboration from the church members. The study recommends that leadership training programme for pastors should emphasize on three foci: the vision of the church, the individual's needs, and the culture. The church must provide social support and create environment for pastors to overcome their challenges in contemporary church management