Church unity and membership retention: Lessons from Lagos East Baptist Conference for South African ecumenical praxis

Abstract

This study explored the factors influencing church and retention of members within the Lagos East Baptist Conference (LEBC) in Nigeria. It examined how these findings are capable of informing the ecumenical witness of churches in South Africa, particularly in light of the theological insights of the Belhar Confession. The investigation was motivated by shared challenges in Baptist and Reformed ecclesial communities, including declining congregational vitality, intergenerational disconnection and a diminished public theological presence. This study used a mixed-method approach in the form of surveys, interviews and document analyses and sought to understand the reasons for the decline in congregation and the capacity of the church to preserve congregational vitality in the 21st century. The findings revealed that although the LEBC churches remain resilient as a result of their discipleship activities, small-group frameworks and various organisational church activities, demonstrating an 89% retention rate among small-group participants, the study identified four critical challenges to retention in the form of leadership succession, migration of youth, socio-economic factors and differing opinions on the issues of faith. Most importantly, the unity of the LEBC associations encouraged cooperative problem solving, enhanced retention of a shared missional identity and strengthened resource retention, all of which made retention of members possible.
Contribution: The study advances seven principal recommendations for policy reform, ecumenical collaboration and leadership formation, proposing that unity functions not merely as a theological aspiration but also as an operative mechanism for ecclesial resilience. It concludes that lessons from LEBC experience could be beneficial to South Africa, where churches are facing challenges of declining attendance, shifting generations and reclaiming an ecumenical witness in the midst of socio-political polarisation. Moreover, the unity of African church communities as a theological and strategic imperative could also be a measure of the capacity of African churches to realise the Belhar Confession.