Enhancing Evangelism through Education Sponsorship: A Case of Church Sponsored Schools in Mombasa County

Abstract

Evangelism means proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that people may believe in God through Him, for the sake of their salvation and inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. Evangelism is crucial to the church's mission as a fulfilment of the Great Commission. In order to fulfil this commission the Church applies different ways such as education sponsorship. The purpose of this thesis was to examine how education sponsorship enhances evangelism among church sponsored schools in Mombasa County. The specific objectives of this study were: to establish the role of education sponsorship in enhancing evangelism by church sponsored schools in Mombasa County; to determine how education sponsorship enhances evangelism through church sponsored schools in Mombasa County and evaluate education sponsorship as a means of enhancing evangelism among church sponsored schools in Mombasa County. Descriptive survey research design was applied in this study. The target population consisted of 10 Church sponsored Primary Schools in Mombasa County. A representative sample wasselected using purposive sampling method. These included Pastors, School Principals, CRE Teachers and Church members. To collect data, the researcher used a questionnaire as the research instrument. These questionnaires contained structured questions that were constituted using a likert scale. Questionnaires were either emailed or delivered to the respondents and were picked once filled. Data was analyzed statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Descriptive statistics as well as tables were used to present the analyzed data. The study found out that church sponsored schools in Mombasa County provide a conducive forum for spreading the gospel hence play a crucial role in enhancing evangelism. The results also indicated that the church sponsored schools in Mombasa County engage in all three forms of education sponsorship; school ownership and management, funding as well as bursaries and scholarships. The findings also showed that the church sponsored schools in Mombasa County promote evangelism through their curriculum and also integrate spiritual and moral teachings. Christian morals are taught in schools, spiritual teachings are part of the curriculum and clergy regularly give spiritual inspiration to learners. The study therefore concluded that education sponsorship through church sponsored schools in Mombasa County enhances evangelism. The study recommends that more church sponsored schools should be opened in Mombasa County as well as across the country to propagate further Christianity. The study also recommends that the existing church sponsored schools should be expanded to cater for even special needs such as the hearing impaired, sight impaired and physically challenged persons in the society. The study further recommends that the church sponsored schools’ administration should design more programmes that allow the pupils to be taught Christian values. This can involve morning devotions in the school chapels, regular visits by the clergy and Christian youth rallies. Further research should be carried out to analyze the effect of education sponsorship on evangelism by church sponsored schools in other Counties in Kenya to assess whether the outcome will vary or be similar. In addition further research should be carried to establish the effect of church sponsored health facilities on enhancing evangelism.