THE MEDIATING EFFECTS OF LEADER POWER ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND GROWTH OF EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of the Study: This study sought to establish the mediating effects of leader power on the relationship between servant leadership and growth of the evangelical churches in Kenya. The study examined five indicators of power as outlined by French and Ravel and how they mediate the relationship between servant leadership and growth of the evangelical churches in Kenya. The indicators include legitimate power, referent power, coercive power, reward power and expert power. The objective of the study was to establish the intervening effect of leader power on the relationship between servant leadership and church growth.
Methodology: Pluralist theory of power was used to develop a theoretical background of the study. The study used positivistic research philosophy while adopting cross sectional design. The total population of the study was the 179 churches registered under the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya umbrella. A Stratified random sampling technique was used to choose a sample size of 124 churches scientifically calculated using the Slovin’s formula from which the leader will respond making a total respondent of 124. The study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected using questionnaires which contained both open ended and closed ended questions. Closed ended questions were based on Likert scale while open ended questions sought additional details on the answers provided at the end of every section. Data collection through the questionnaire was done electronically and distributed using email requiring the respondents to fill in google forms for the questionnaires after an informed consent. Upon completion of data collection period and achieving the desired response rate, the data collected using the electronic tools was downloaded and transferred to a statistical software for data analysis. Quantitative data from the closed ended questions was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 while qualitative data from the open ended questions was analyzed using NVivo version 12. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviation were used for the quantitative data while inferential data analysis was done using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results: The findings of the study showed that when servant leadership and leader power are both held constant, growth of evangelical churches will remain at -.250. At the same time, an increase in servant leadership by one unit would improve the growth of evangelical churches by 0.605 units (p-Value=0.000) and same as leader power where the increase would be 0.462 units p-Value=0.000<0.05).
Conclusion: This implied that leader power, when controlling for servant leadership, has a significant influence on growth of evangelical churches in Kenya. Equation (iii) below summarizes the relationship. The study rejected the null hypothesis (H0) and conclusion drawn as follows: there is significant intervening effect of leader power on the relationship between servant leadership and growth of evangelical churches in Kenya.The findings will be critical for the evangelical alliance of Kenya’s secretariat as they develop policies on the influences of church growth in Kenya.
Keywords: Servant leadership, church growth, evangelical churches
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