CHURCH-LED STEWARDSHIP AND VALUE CREATION: ASSESSING CHRIST-CENTERED APPROACHES TO HOUSEHOLD LIVELIHOOD RESILIENCE IN MACHAKOS COUNTY, KENYA

Food and livelihood insecurity are ongoing global concerns that continue to increase due to changing climate conditions and unreliable market conditions. In Machakos County, one of Kenya's semi-arid regions, households frequently face recurring droughts, crop failures, livestock deaths, and seasonal food shortages. Churches and faith-based organizations have implemented programs to support livelihoods, but the benefits and impact on household resilience remain unknown. This study examines whether Christ-Centered Approaches (CCA) foster household resilience, with a particular focus on Christian Stewardship and Faith-Driven Value Creation (FDVC). The study employs a descriptive mixed-methods design, involving 384 households and key informants, including program coordinators and local actors. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses served as the tools for quantitative data analysis. A thematic analysis was employed to capture the mechanisms and constraints in the qualitative data. Regression analysis revealed that stewardship and FDVC were statistically significant and positively predictive of livelihood outcomes among households (β = 0.12, p < 0.001; β = 0.11, p < 0.001), with a conditional R² ranging from 26% to 29%. The findings indicate that households participating in CCAs have improved planning, safer resource utilization, greater income diversification, and enhanced cooperation. Participation in these strategies is associated with measurable improvements in household livelihood indicators and accounts for approximately one-quarter of the conditional variance in the fitted models.