Pastoral Pitfalls and Its Implications on Church Growth in Nigeria

This work accentuated that the moral and spiritual virtues of many pastors in Nigeria have deteriorated in recent times, and this has dire consequences on the life of the Church. The research is aimed at unravelling the implications of pastoral pitfalls on Church growth and to proffer possible solutions to the menace. Using descriptive phenomenology, the study uncovered that lack of proper theological training and formation, distractions and discouragement, self-control, adherence to biblical virtues, spiritual laziness, and giving in to societal pressure and standard, are some of the reasons why pastors stray from the main calling into the ministry. Consequently, these have negatively affected the general spirituality of the society; stunted church growth, and brought about personal and family reproaches. The work recommended that obedience to the word of God, self-control, discipline, mentoring and openness to the Holy Spirit and personal spiritual development can go a long way in addressing pitfalls among pastors. The pastor should be a man of secret prayer and exacted piety, a man of sound Biblical principles and strong persuasion about his ministry and that the family of the pastor should be contented with the resources available to them. The church, the family of the pastor, as well as the entire society should play a supportive role to pastoral ministry to avoid the temptation of falling away. This way, the life of Church will be restored and growth will be seamless.