A Strategy to increase youth Retention rate in Nyakongo District of Kenya Lake Conference

Abstract

There are indicators that in Nyakongo district many youths are leaving the church and the church leaders do not have strategies to retain them in the church. Churches in Nyakongo have many adults than youths, youths are there in the region but they are not church members. This study seeks to find reasons as to why many youths were leaving the church. The study sets out to design and implement programs which eventually will yield results of reclaiming many youths and winning new ones. Hence, the purpose of this study was to design a program to reclaim the youth who had left the church and also nurture those who are still in the church. The programs were carried out in Nyakongo district from August 2011 to December 2013. The participants were youths, church officers, non-church members who had left the church. The data for the study was collected by interviewing the youths and adults. Many youths were retained and among those who had left the church 40% were won back. Members agree that the programs can help the church to retain the youths and reclaim the missing ones. It can be concluded that with the implementation of this program the problem of youths dropping out of church due to social, religious and economic factors like peer influence, non-involvement in church activities can be curbed and the youths reclaimed and retained, through the programs developed, the nurturing of youths will be taken care of by involving youths in the youth ministry which was not there before. The backsliding youths will also be cared for which was not there before in the churches in Nyakongo District. The researcher recommends the programs develop to be used by Nyakongo district, Kenya Lake Conference, and other church institutions which may have the problem of nurture, reclamation and finally retention of youths.