Influence of Strategic Management Practices on the Performance of Christian Churches in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The essence of strategic management practices in firm performance has been recognized widely both in and outside academics. Christian churches in Nairobi operate within a dynamic environment where they are faced with various challenges emanating from political, economical, socio – cultural and technological challenges. Churches have been caught unprepared for such challenges and the reason could be lack of adequate strategies to deal with the same. This paper established the influence of strategic management practices in the Christian churches operating in Nairobi. It used a cross sectional design, which was considered most appropriate for the study since the Christian churches, are widely spread throughout the Nairobi County. To obtain the primary data, the study used a questionnaire, which was administered to one hundred key respondents drown from the churches in Nairobi County. These included the church ministers, pastor, administrators and congressional church members. The secondary data, especially from the already documented materials such as the strategic plan and annual reports was used to supplement the primary data which had been received from the interview. Content analysis was used to analyse data to arrive at analytical conclusions. The study revealed that most Christian churches in Nairobi have a strategic plan, which provides clear plans for the operations of the respective churches. Findings further reveal that strategy had a significant positive relationship and played a major role in the performance of Christian churches. The study recommends that church leadership involve members in formulation of the Strategic in order to increase buy in and expedite the implementation.