Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered: Millennials and Social Change in African Perspective

by Wanjiru M. Gitau

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2018

Overview

Christianity Today 2019 Book of the Year Award, Missions/Global Church

Building from a behind-the-scenes case study of Kenya’s Nairobi Chapel and its “daughter” Mavuno Church, Wanjiru M. Gitau expands their story into a narrative that offers analysis of the rise, growth, and place of megachurches worldwide in the new millennium. In contexts experienced as deeply volatile, and on a continent reeling from the structural incoherence imposed in colonial times, megachurches provide a map of reality to navigate by, with the gospel as their primary compass. Gitau shows that recognizing the psychological, spiritual, and social destabilization of modernizing societies is the first step to valuing the place of megachurches in contemporary Christianity.

Through analysis of social demography, theology, philosophy of ministry, leadership development, and strategy, Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered makes integral sense of the historical and social forces that give megachurches their growth opportunity, and reclaims them as a subject of serious theological conversation.

This engaging account centers on the role of millennials in responding to the need for “a home for new generations” amid the dislocating transitions of globalization and postmodernity in postcolonial Africa and around the world. Gitau gleans practical wisdom for postdenominational churches everywhere (mega- and otherwise) from the lessons learned in Kenya’s remarkable urban, evangelical renewal movement.

Key Features

• Analyzes key historical and cultural dynamics related to megachurch movements
• Examines common traits and developments in megachurch communities
• Combines an engaging narrative with observations in theology, philosophy of ministry, and leadership development

Contents

• Oscar Muriu: Bold Leadership in a Liminal Decade
• Whither African Millennials? Crossroads and Chokepoints
• Comprehensive Missional Transformation: The Mavuno Marathon
• Muriithi Wanjau: Leading Change
• Mavuno Church’s Impact: A Fearless Influence on Society
• First-World Problems Worth Solving: Christianity’s Ambiguity with Modernity
• Conclusion: The Cultural-Translation Process

Praise for the Print Edition

While plenty of works now speak generally of African Christianity, this book is such a treasure because of its specific detail, its rich and textured account of the growth of a thriving megachurch. This is a smart and thoughtful analysis of an extraordinarily important phenomenon in contemporary Christianity.

—Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of history at Baylor University

It is now old news that the demographic center of Christianity has moved to the Majority World. This unusually insightful book goes well beyond the old news to explain how Mavuno Church in Nairobi, Kenya, became a thriving megachurch in a very short time. Besides an awful lot of fascinating ground-up information, Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered is also rich in cultural insight and social-political wisdom. The book is even more important for its deep theological testimony to the potential of holistic Christianity wherever it takes root.

—Mark Noll, author of The New Shape of World Christianity

This is not yet another book on African Pentecostalism. Rather it is a highly original study of a Kenyan megachurch whose roots lie in conservative evangelical traditions of a very different kind. The Victorian mission theorist Henry Venn dreamed of establishing autonomous churches supported by a prosperous middle class, able to take their own mission initiatives throughout the continent. Wanjiru Gitau's engaging account shows how Nairobi's Mavuno Church has remarkably fulfilled those dreams among the millennial generation in Africa.

—Brian Stanley, professor of world Christianity, University of Edinburgh

Product Details

• Title: Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered: Millennials and Social Change in African Perspective
• Author: Wanjiru M. Gitau
• Series: Missiological Engagements
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 190
• Christian Group: Pentecostal & Charismatic
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Church in Africa

About Wanjiru M. Gitau

Wanjiru M. Gitau (PhD, Africa International University) is a research fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, pursuing a multi-year global research project commissioned by the John Templeton World Charity Foundation on contemporary religion. She is a Kenyan educated in Nairobi, Edinburgh, and the United States, with extensive global experience, including research projects from Korea to Kentucky. She formerly served on the staffs of Nairobi Chapel and Mavuno Church.

Sample Pages from Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered: Millennials and Social Change in African Perspective