ISSN 2360-7998
This study investigated church planting issues and strategies for growth in selected Christian groups in Lagos State, Nigeria. The increasing establishment of new churches across Nigeria has not always translated into sustainable growth, as many church plants experience leadership challenges, financial instability, inadequate discipleship, weak organisational structures, and socio-cultural constraints that threaten their long-term survival. The study was therefore undertaken to examine the major issues affecting church planting; assess the influence of leadership and organisational challenges; examine the role of discipleship; and identify strategies for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of church planting in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised pastors, church planters, and senior church workers drawn from selected religious groups in Lagos State. A sample of 298 respondents was selected using appropriate sampling procedures. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Church Planting Sustainability Questionnaire (CPSQ). The instrument was validated by experts in religious studies, educational management, and measurement and evaluation, while its reliability was established through a pilot study using Cronbach's Alpha, which yielded an acceptable reliability coefficient. Data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean, and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Multiple Linear Regression and the Independent Samples t-test were used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that inadequate financial resources, ineffective leadership, weak organisational structures, poor strategic planning, inadequate discipleship programmes, and socio-cultural challenges were the major factors affecting church planting in Lagos State. Leadership quality was found to have a significant positive influence on the sustainability of church plants. The hypothesis tests showed that financial resources and leadership quality had significant effects on church planting sustainability, leading to the rejection of the corresponding null hypotheses. However, no significant differences were found between the responses of clergy and congregants regarding the major challenges confronting church planting and the strategies required to address those challenges, indicating a shared understanding of both the problems and solutions. It recommends that denominations, theological institutions, and church planting agencies strengthen leadership development programmes, institutionalise financial accountability mechanisms, promote structured discipleship and leadership succession planning, improve community engagement, and provide continuous mentoring and administrative support for newly planted churches. The study contributes to knowledge by proposing an integrated framework for church planting sustainability that combines leadership, stewardship, organisational effectiveness, contextualisation, and strategic management as essential pillars of sustainable church growth in Nigeria.
Keywords: Church planting, church sustainability, leadership quality, financial stewardship, discipleship, organizational effectiveness, socio-cultural factors, Lagos State, Nigeria.