Impact of the doctrine of seed planting on the mission of the church in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to find out the impact of the doctrine of seed planting on the mission of the church in Kenya. The Doctrine of Seed Planting (DSP) has been overemphasised above the mission of the church in Kenya. It emerged in the New Christian Movements (NCMs) in the 1950s among PG preachers and continued to spread into other denominations, including the Mainline, Pentecostal and African Independent churches. Continued preaching of DSP has become a challenge to the mission of the church. Despite the efforts of scholars to castigate it as a ruse and faulty doctrine in the church, it is still being preached to the extent that it has been categorised as the main doctrine in PG theology. However, how it influenced the mission of the church, her core business remained un-investigated systematically. This raised a great concern that necessitated an in-depth study of this kind. The data was collected and analysed from 364 church members, 10 clergy and 12 lay leaders from different church denominations. The results show that DSP has a negative impact on the mission of the church. It benefited the clergy and led to the suffering of believers. Therefore, the study recommended that the church de-emphasise DSP and embark on pragmatic transformative activities aimed at improving people’s livelihood. The study was significant in the area of sociology and psychology studies.