Exploring prosperity as understood in indigenous churches today and its relation to biblical teaching

Abstract

Prosperity is a subject that is found both in the Old and New Testaments. Today, we have preachers who major in prosperity teaching as they propagate it. Some of these preachers are found among the indigenous churches both in the West and in Africa. In Kenya today, especially in Nairobi County, this kind of teaching is common and has a lot of impacts on people. In the year 2016, the government of Kenya, through the Attorney General’s office gave directives to scrutinize churches in general and order them to provide annual returns to the government. This was intensified when an indigenous church leader was caught by the media in a clip that showed how he extorted money from the public who came to “his” church. This study aimed at exploring prosperity as taught among indigenous churches and its relation to biblical teaching. It focused on three selected churches in Nairobi County. As such, the study explored possible reasons why prosperity teachers engage in such preaching. This research employed both qualitative and quantitative design that aimed at identifying the underlying motives and desires through use of interviews and questionnaires. The target population was: Maximum Miracle Center (MMC), Sanctuary of Truth Center (STC) and Jesus Jubilation Center (JJC), which were a case study that represent the larger population of indigenous churches in Nairobi County. The sampling procedure was purposive and depended on the researcher’s interests or judgment. Data was collected through questionnaires and information was acquired on the respondents’ motivation, feelings, attitudes and beliefs. Moreover, the researcher integrated both library and field research. In conclusion, most of the respondents understood prosperity is being successful in all areas of life while a minority said that it was an incomplete gospel. Besides, 95.8% of the respondents agreed that not all prosperity teaching upholds what the Bible teaches on prosperity. Therefore, church leaders should undergo biblical studies training to ensure proper biblical interpretation to their congregants and effective leadership generally. Above all, ministers among indigenous churches after training should ensure that their teaching on prosperity is coherent with the biblical teaching on prosperity.