| dc.description.abstract | Witnessing to Muslims and people of other faiths has faced challenges in the past and
in present times. Ministering the word of God to Muslims has been hindered by several
factors in Christians’ evangelistic mission. These factors include ministers and lay
preachers’ potential to evangelize to Muslims, lack of theological training ministers and
lay preachers, and lack of receptiveness to the gospel by the Muslims. Due to such
factors, the work of evangelism has realized less impact on Muslims. Regarding MCK
Nyambene Synod Maua town, not much has been achieved by the Christians as far as
reaching out to the Muslim community is concerned. This can be attributed to a lack of
preparedness among the ministers and lay preachers (MCK Nyambene Synod minute
book 2018, 2019, and 2020). The main reason for doing this thesis was to seek out what
is hindering the evangelization of Muslims by Christians in MCK Nyambene Synod
Meru County, intending to come up with a recommendation on the best ways of doing
evangelism among the Muslim community. This is because there are many Muslims in
Maua Town, which is in MCK Nyambene Synod, and there is no or little evidence of
any of them converting to Christianity, yet there are so many Christians and churches
in the Synod. This is an indicator that ministers and lay preachers who are involved in
the work of evangelism are not impacting the lives of Muslims living in MCK
Nyambene Synod as far as making them disciples of Jesus is concerned. This thesis
therefore searched for the theological training of ministers on evangelism to Muslims
in MCK Nyambene Synod. It was necessary also for the researcher to find out the
receptiveness of the gospel of Jesus Christ by Muslims in MCK Nyambene Synod. The
study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The researcher used questionnaires
as data collection tools. The researcher preferred qualitative research which used
Questionnaires to collect the data. Random sampling was done to ensure the
representation of the sample. The research used the theory of communication by S.F.
Scudder which seemed to fit well in this type of research. This study relied on a call for
setting a framework for the success of communication of the good news of Jesus Christ.
The researcher used communication theory because communication penetrates all parts
of human life which gives the understanding of human behavior and lead to healthy
behavior change among individuals, populations, organizations, communities, and
societies. The findings were tabulated, analyzed, and presented in the form of tables
and percentages for comparison of responses. The study is on findings on factors
hindering Christian evangelism in reaching out to the Muslims living in MCK
Nyambene Synod. On the outline of the outcome, the thesis revealed that there was a
need for the empowerment of Christians involved in the work of evangelism with the
necessary skills to be able to evangelize to the Muslims. The study therefore
recommends that top church leaders and heads of institutions of higher learning come
up with a curriculum that would empower Christians to be involved in the work of
evangelism. The researcher recommends that the church should create an environment
that encourages its members to mingle more often with people of other beliefs in Maua
Town with a view of getting a better understanding of one another, culminating in
sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ | en_US |
