Thirty Years of Growth and Change in a West African Independent Church-a Sociological Perspective

Abstract

Thirty years is not a long time in the history of a religious group, even in the case of the African independent churches whose phenomenal growth over the last century continues to attract attention from the corridors of academic, ecclesiastical and political power. However in thirty years a religious group can undergo a transformation, not least the independent churches which are particularly characterized by their 'mobility' and 'movement'.2 It is precisely the volatile and dynamic nature of these churches that seems to have led to the confusion among both members and academics alike, regarding their terminology. It is not the aim of this paper to propose any over-arching scheme of classification, but rather to trace the growth and development of one particular West African independent church-the Celestial Church of Christ through its course of existence of just over thirty years, and to examine the dynamics of these movements. By the same token we shall perhaps understand how the confusion over terms has arisen.