Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another

This article aims to determine the reasons why members of one congregation migrate to another, and to identify factors that play a role in this process. These are determined by the nature and functioning of congregations. This qualitative research involved members of three different congregations t...

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Main Authors: I. M. Bredenkamp, W. J. Schoeman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2015-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2730
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author I. M. Bredenkamp
W. J. Schoeman
author_facet I. M. Bredenkamp
W. J. Schoeman
author_sort I. M. Bredenkamp
collection DOAJ
description This article aims to determine the reasons why members of one congregation migrate to another, and to identify factors that play a role in this process. These are determined by the nature and functioning of congregations. This qualitative research involved members of three different congregations that had recently experienced a positive growth in membership numbers. The effects of secularisation and the Enlightenment, and their consequences at various levels, as well as the theories of McDonaldisation and Consumerism were taken into consideration to explain the migration of church members between congregations. The answer is not simple in the sense that two tendencies can be identified: ‘push’ factors that activate the tendency to move out of the previous congregation, and a drawing or ‘pulling’ tendency, representing those factors that attract people. It can be stated that the reasons for migration can, to a large extent, be traced to the nature and functioning of the congregation. In addition, clear tendencies can be identified in terms of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors.
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institution Kabale University
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2309-9089
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publisher University of the Free State
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series Acta Theologica
spelling doaj-art-23321b9efc4e47a7821eba397717dd7d2025-02-11T09:53:58ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892015-12-012210.38140/at.v0i22.2730Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to anotherI. M. Bredenkamp0W. J. Schoeman1University of the Free State, South AfricaUniversity of the Free State, South Africa This article aims to determine the reasons why members of one congregation migrate to another, and to identify factors that play a role in this process. These are determined by the nature and functioning of congregations. This qualitative research involved members of three different congregations that had recently experienced a positive growth in membership numbers. The effects of secularisation and the Enlightenment, and their consequences at various levels, as well as the theories of McDonaldisation and Consumerism were taken into consideration to explain the migration of church members between congregations. The answer is not simple in the sense that two tendencies can be identified: ‘push’ factors that activate the tendency to move out of the previous congregation, and a drawing or ‘pulling’ tendency, representing those factors that attract people. It can be stated that the reasons for migration can, to a large extent, be traced to the nature and functioning of the congregation. In addition, clear tendencies can be identified in terms of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2730
spellingShingle I. M. Bredenkamp
W. J. Schoeman
Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
Acta Theologica
title Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
title_full Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
title_fullStr Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
title_full_unstemmed Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
title_short Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
title_sort reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2730
work_keys_str_mv AT imbredenkamp reasonsforthemigrationofchurchmembersfromonecongregationtoanother
AT wjschoeman reasonsforthemigrationofchurchmembersfromonecongregationtoanother