Effect of Idealized Influence on Conflict Resolution among Church Leaders of Nigerian Pentecostal Churches in Abuja

Conflict resolution has been one of the major challenges affecting the church in Nigeria with idealized influence being one of the best transformational leadership approaches that can be used to solve the problem. The aim of this research study was therefore to investigate effect of idealized influence on conflict resolution among church leaders of Nigerian Pentecostal churches in Abuja. The study used the pragmatism philosophy which is suitable for a mixed method research study that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The study employed a correlational research design suitable for explaining the extent of the relationship between variables chosen for this study. From the total population of 3171 senior pastors, women leaders, and youth leaders, a sample size of 371 church leaders was obtained using the Taro Yamane’s formula. Quantitative data was collected using closed-ended questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS software version 20 while qualitative data was collected using open-ended questions and analyzed for themes using NVIVO software version 14. Purposeful sampling design was used to select senior pastors, women leaders, and youth leaders who had taken part in conflict resolution. The results showed that there was positively correlation between idealized influence and conflict resolution (R=0.482). Further, the results showed that idealized influence contributed to 23.2 percent of conflict resolution among church leaders of Nigerian Pentecostal churches in Abuja. Further, the results showed a significance level of 0.000 which is lower than the recommended 0.05 making the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between idealized influence and conflict resolution in Nigerian Pentecostal Churches in Abuja to be rejected and the alternative hypothesis accepted.