REFLECTIONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE SOCIAL GOSPEL ROLE OF THE ADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT AND RELIEF AGENCY IN NIGERIA

Abstract Faith-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are institutions that are wholly owned by religious institutions or private individuals with core faith-oriented values. As not-for-profit organisations, they perform evangelistic functions using the mode of the social gospel in a manner akin to corporate social responsibility (CSR). To this end, they approach their roles from the compassionate eye of Jesus, by seeking to alleviate poverty and promote development that will engender just and positive changes. Nevertheless, for some reasons, these organisations have hardly achieved their goal to the fullest at any time. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Nigeria (ADRA-Nigeria) is one of such NGOs described in the foregoing comments. This paper explored the activities of ADRA-Nigeria to assess how effectively it has fulfilled its core mission as a faith-based NGO, focusing on its social gospel efforts as legitimate CSR initiatives benefiting the Nigerian populace. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design, which incorporated the use of in-depth, key informant interviews (KII) for data collection from the Director and five beneficiaries of ADRA services located in the Northeastern Nigerian states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe ravaged by Boko Haram terrorism. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that ADRA-Nigeria has been rendering non-discriminate social services to vulnerable people in the study areas; its operations tally with the concept of CSR; and the institution has become socially relevant through its social gospel activities. Consequently, the paper concludes that ADRA-Nigeria has lived up to expectation through its social gospel cum CSR functions in Northeastern Nigeria.