Marital Status as Determinant of Mission Engagement among Female Missionaries in The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Nigeria

Abstract

This study stems from the need to understand the disparate treatment of
trained female missionaries, often triggered by gender and marital
considerations and which results in unemployment, limited opportunities
for education, or participation in leadership processes. Therefore, this
study examined female missionaries' perceptions, attitudes, and
experiences regarding marital challenges in The Redeemed Christian
Church of God (RCCG) Mission Engagements. Grounded in the
Intersectional Feminism Theory, it contributed to the literature on the
experience of female missionaries in Nigeria. The study used a descriptive
survey research design to randomly select 69 respondents from the
estimated population of 250-trained female missionaries across Nigeria. It
used a validated questionnaire, administered through Google Forms, to
gather data on demographics and specific research questions. Findings
reveal that female missionaries align with RCCG's mission and are actively
engaged (Mean scores of 3.45 and 3.38). They acknowledge challenges,
(mean score = 2.52) but view mission work as central to their purpose
(mean score = 3.58). Marital status wields a modest positive effect on
engagement (coefficient = 0.135, p = 0.036), explains approximately 4.1%
of variances, but is not a significant barrier (mean score = 2.23) to mission
engagement, though non-significant p-values (Fisher's Exact Test;
p=0.152) call for caution when interpreting their impact. The study
concluded that trained female missionaries in RCCG show high levels of
mission engagement and positively perceive marital considerations. The
study recommended that the Church protect female missionaries' well-
being, expose senior pastors to missions training, and incentivise those
prioritising mission work over marital status.