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

This study stems from the need to understand the disparate treatment oftrained female missionaries, often triggered by gender and maritalconsiderations and which results in unemployment, limited opportunitiesfor education, or participation in leadership processes. Therefore, thisstudy examined female missionaries' perceptions, attitudes, andexperiences regarding marital challenges in The Redeemed ChristianChurch of God (RCCG) Mission Engagements. Grounded in theIntersectional Feminism Theory, it contributed to the literature on theexperience of female missionaries in Nigeria. The study used a descriptivesurvey research design to randomly select 69 respondents from theestimated population of 250-trained female missionaries across Nigeria. Itused a validated questionnaire, administered through Google Forms, togather data on demographics and specific research questions. Findingsreveal that female missionaries align with RCCG's mission and are activelyengaged (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 onengagement (coefficient = 0.135, p = 0.036), explains approximately 4.1%of variances, but is not a significant barrier (mean score = 2.23) to missionengagement, though non-significant p-values (Fisher's Exact Test;p=0.152) call for caution when interpreting their impact. The studyconcluded that trained female missionaries in RCCG show high levels ofmission engagement and positively perceive marital considerations. Thestudy recommended that the Church protect female missionaries' well-being, expose senior pastors to missions training, and incentivise thoseprioritising mission work over marital status.