Abstracts Category : Other

An Exploratory Study of a Nondenominational Church and Leadership Behaviors, Principles, Strategies, and Practices

by Celeste B Palmer-Atkins

Leadership plays a significant role in the advancement of the church, the followers, and the community that the church serves. If the church fails to train leaders, growth within the church becomes hindered, and its mission becomes aborted. The problem researched in this study is the declining support church leaders are receiving from the community. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore church leadership effectiveness in meeting the expectations of followers, the local church community, and the church. The target population consisted of 3 nondenominational church leaders located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conceptual framework for this study was leadership that captured the connection between effective leadership, organizational growth, financial stability, and success for the local church. Interviews were conducted, and the research questions revealed the best practices, procedures, and leadership behaviors used by the study church leaders for the success of the 3 local churches. Based on the methodological triangulation of the interview data, 10 themes emerged after the using NVivo 11 data analysis software: (a) people-centeredness, (b) communication between the leader and followers, (c) good morals, (d) prayer life that involves constantly talking with God, (e) strategic planning, (f) Christ-centeredness that causes the leader to acknowledge God at all times, (g) love, (h) integrity, (i) God, and (j) Biblical education. As a result of the findings from this study, the potential contributions to social change can include a blueprint for developing future church leaders, increased strategies for creating employment opportunities, and strengthening the family unit through leading people to follow the laws of God and man.