The future of Children and Teenage Ministries in Kenyan Churches

Fear of an Emergence of a Generations without a solid Christian Foundation after COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every part of the World. It brought unfortunate consequences; unexpected deaths, sudden unemployment, strain on healthcare systems, economic near collapse and the worst of all is the unprecedented disruption in places of worship. On the 13^th of March 2020, the government of Kenya ordered an immediate closure of Churches as a containment measure against the spread of the pandemic. As at March 26^th 2020 millions of children and adolescents in 165 countries were affected by the closure.  Due to high level of vulnerability, children and the elderly were advised to stay at home to avoid risk of exposure. This move forced the Kenyan church leaders to navigate through unfamiliar territory of adopting new ways of doing ministry through online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Zoom, and Church Websites and Televisions to offer spiritual services such as preaching, discipleships, follow-ups, fellowships and even visitations to all groups’ children, teens, youths and adults. This study sought to establish which of the groups in the churches did not receive adequate or specific attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was carried out on 22^nd May through 20^th June 2020. The study used survey research design, a valuable tool of assessing the attitudes, opinions and trends of church leaders. An exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling technique was used to identify respondents. 429 (n) pastors and church leaders from 33 Counties of Kenya and among 161 denominations participated in the study. The online survey was hosted by US-based data company SurveyMonkey Inc. that processed and analyzed the data. The study findings indicated that Children between the ages of 0- 11 years (64.57%) and Teenagers between the ages of 12- 19 years (30.77%) received inadequate attention. The knowledge gained in this research is helpful for churches and various denominations to formulate appropriate and practical methods of effectively ministering to the children and teenagers even in seasons of crises.