Use of Information and Communication Technology in Promoting the Great Commission in Full Gospel Churches of Kenya in Meru County-Kenya

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dc.contributor.advisorJosephine Gitomeen_US
dc.contributor.advisorJohn Peter Bwireen_US
dc.contributor.authorKathambi, Fridah
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-06T09:07:24Z
dc.date.available2024-02-06T09:07:24Z
dc.date.issued2023-11
dc.descriptionA Thesis Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies of Kenyatta Universityen_US
dc.description.abstractICT has become an integral part in the lives of the people in the contemporary society. The church being an essential component of the societies in the world informs and communicates to the society and vice versa. The church aims to reach out to the whole world through preaching, baptism and mentorship for discipleship. To achieve this, ICT which is cheap and convenient is inevitable. There exist records that the church uses ICT to preach the Gospel. Unfortunately little has been documented on how the church uses ICT for pre-baptism training and mentorship for discipleship. This prompted a study to explore the use of ICT in preaching, pre-baptism training, and mentorship for discipleship, identifying factors influencing its usage and strategies to overcome challenges. This study was guided by the following objectives: To examine the FGCK theology of the Great Commission, investigate the extent in which FGCK has used ICT in preaching, pre-baptism training and mentorship for discipleship, establish factors that have contributed to use of ICT tools and platforms in promoting the Great Commission in FGCK and to establish ways of mitigating the challenges hindering the use of ICT in promoting the Great Commission in FGCK. This study was guided by Mediatization Theory and employed a descriptive research design to obtain information from various congregants. Interview guides, observation schedules, FGDs and questionnaires were used to collect data from a total of 129 respondents. These included 29 (clergy and lay) leaders who were interviewed, 41 children who participated in FGDs and 59 congregants from different strata filled the questionnaires. This study focused on Four FGCKs in Meru County. Key informants were selected using purposive sampling technique and stratified random sampling. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis whereas descriptive analysis was done for quantitative data where by SPSS version 21 was used. The results indicated that FGCK has long used ICT tools such as loud speakers and microphones in preaching. Additionally, advancement in technology has seen use of ICT in FGCK advance greatly with the use of computers, TV and mobile phones in promoting the Great Commission. The church reaches out to new converts and teaches them through phone calls, messages, WhatsApp groups, Facebook and YouTube videos. The clergy and congregants of all ages including Sunday school children and the youth appreciate ICT because it is faster, convenient, easy to use and able to store or retrieve information. However, ICT use faces various challenges including insufficient skilled ICT personnel, insufficient internet connectivity and limited ICT tools. Some of the proposed ways of mitigating these challenges include: training ICT personnel, educating the congregants on proper use of the ICT tools and platforms, and maintaining active Gospel-based church websites. It is hoped that the findings of this study will improve the use of ICT to promote the Great commission. The findings will also inform policy formulation and implementation on the use of ICT so that it adheres to teaching, baptism and mentorshipen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipkenyatta universityen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/27564
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherkenyatta universityen_US
dc.subjectInformation and Communication Technologyen_US
dc.subjectFull Gospel Churchesen_US
dc.subjectKenyaen_US
dc.subjectMeru County-Kenyaen_US
dc.titleUse of Information and Communication Technology in Promoting the Great Commission in Full Gospel Churches of Kenya in Meru County-Kenyaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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