The history of bread of life church international and its contribution to the growth of pentecostalism in Zambia from 1992 – 2017.
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Date
2019
Authors
Musonda, Judith
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The study investigated the history of Bread of Life Church International and its
contribution to the growth of Pentecostalism in Zambia. The objectives of the study
were to establish the history of BLCI; to determine the factors that had given rise to the
growth of the church and; to establish the contribution of BLCI to the growth of
Pentecostalism in Zambia. The study adopted phenomenological design which
employed the qualitative strategy in order to effectively address the issues raised by the
research questions. The study was guided by social capital theory and it was conducted
in Lusaka District of Zambia. Non-probability sampling design was used. Within this
design, purposive sampling was used and the sampling techniques used were key
informant and snowball sampling. These techniques were used because they allowed
the researcher to purposively select a sample of 30 respondents with reliable and
relevant information to the study. Data was collected through interviews, unstructured
questionnaires and participant observation. Data was analyzed by classifying and
extracting emerging themes from the raw data.
The study established that Bishop Imakando received a prophetic word in August, 1992
which gave birth to BLCI. The study further revealed that Bishop Imakando started
preaching in institutions of learning and that BLCI was first established in Lusaka an
urban area and later on it spread to other provincial towns in Zambia. The study also
revealed that BLCI was established during the period when Zambia was facing harsh
economic hardship enabling many people to join BLCI. Additionally, many people
were attracted to BLCI because of factors such as; messages of hope and faith, music
and worship, prayer, cell homes, giving and the vision carrier. The study further
established that the growth of BLCI was also due to biological growth. BLCI was an
evangelistic church whose main purpose was to bring tens of thousands of people into
the Kingdom of God, share the word of God and win more souls for Christ hence its
contribution to the growth of Pentecostalism in Zambia. BLCI further contributed to the
growth of Pentecostalism in Zambia from 1992 to 2017 through the ‘Hour of Blessing’
a television programme and sending of missionaries within and outside Zambia.
The study recommended that; BLCI documents its history and the church’s
contributions to society so that they could apply for tax exemptions from Zambia
Revenue Authority. The study further recommended that other Pentecostal churches
need to take a study and espouse the strategies used by BLCI to grow and manage their
churches.
Key words: History; Growth; Pentecostalism; Contribution; Bread of Life Church
International.
Description
Thesis
Keywords
Religious, history,growth-- Pentecostalism--Zambia , Bread of life church international--History--Zambia