Marital Status as Determinant of Mission Engagement among Female Missionaries in The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Nigeria

This study stems from the need to understand the disparate treatment of trained female missionaries, often triggered by gender and marital considerations and which results in unemployment, limited opportunities for education, or participation in leadership processes. Therefore, this study examined female missionaries' perceptions, attitudes, and experiences regarding marital challenges in The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Mission Engagements. Grounded in the Intersectional Feminism Theory, it contributed to the literature on the experience of female missionaries in Nigeria. The study used a descriptive survey research design to randomly select 69 respondents from the estimated population of 250-trained female missionaries across Nigeria. It used a validated questionnaire, administered through Google Forms, to gather data on demographics and specific research questions. Findings reveal that female missionaries align with RCCG's mission and are actively engaged (Mean scores of 3.45 and 3.38). They acknowledge challenges, (mean score = 2.52) but view mission work as central to their purpose (mean score = 3.58). Marital status wields a modest positive effect on engagement (coefficient = 0.135, p = 0.036), explains approximately 4.1% of variances, but is not a significant barrier (mean score = 2.23) to mission engagement, though non-significant p-values (Fisher's Exact Test; p=0.152) call for caution when interpreting their impact. The study concluded that trained female missionaries in RCCG show high levels of mission engagement and positively perceive marital considerations. The study recommended that the Church protect female missionaries' well-being, expose senior pastors to missions training, and incentivise those prioritising mission work over marital status.