Assessment of Socio-Economic and Spiritual Benefits of Moratorium within the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties, Kenya

Abstract

The growth of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) is based on Jitegemea (Self-sufficient) principle which entails the three self’s which are self-reliance, self-consciousness and self-determination. This Jitegemea principle was birthed by the moratorium call on western missionaries and funds in Africa as brought out by John Gatu through whom the church considered itself mature enough to determine its own destiny. This paper therefore assesses the practical benefits of moratorium within the PCEA in Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties in Kenya. The study adopted both descriptive and inferential research designs. This study was guided by Henry Venns Theory of a self-sufficient, self-governing and self-propagating church. The target population consisted of all the 13,180 members, 418 elders and 20 parish ministers. Yamane’s formula of 10% was used to select a sample comprising of 99 full members, 80 elders and 11 parish ministers yielding to a sample size of 190 respondents. Simple Random Sampling procedure was used to select the church elders and the members. The Parish Ministers were selected through purposive sampling. Data for this study was collected using questionnaires and interview guides that were administered to the respondents. The data showed that there were several Spiritual and financial benefits that the PCEA reaped from the call for moratorium on support from churches of the west. There were also some recommendations that were made in light of the findings and discussion of the study.