The development of strategies to tackle church divorce rates: a case study of Sefwi-Wiawso District of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ghana

Abstract

Divorce ranks high among the issues that threaten the church’s mission and growth. H. Wayne House observes that this problem is not only faced by the non Christian community, but Christians are also overwhelmed by the challenges of marriage and are calling for marriage professionals and counselors with the hope of finding solutions to issues of marriage. Most of the time, Pastors, Elders, members, and the Home and Family Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church have to deal with divorce issues among believers. The problem of divorce presents a threatening situation to the members involved, their families, and the church at large. Over the years, the rate of divorce has been an issue of interest to society and the church at large. Even though it is an issue with its rippling effect on many and affects almost everyone in the society and the church, the issue appears a topic that is rarely given attention and consequently poses a challenge to all. The church has ignored this reality at the expense of other equally important activities.The study examined the issue of the divorce rate among the church members of the Sefwi Wiawso District of SDA in Ghana. It looked at why there are cases of divorces in the District, how the issue can be addressed, and finally, in an attempt to deal with the issue (phenomenon), a program was developed, implemented, and evaluated. This study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative aspect focused on ideas or theological framework on marriage and divorce to help understand these concepts. The qualitative part of the study is more on the quality of ideas and forms the framework of the study. With the quantitative part, there was a survey to investigate the problem at hand to suggest appropriate solutions to the divorce problem. The study concluded that how people perceive marriage has a relationship with whether there will be failure or success in marriage. Also, the study found that the use of marriage professionals, pastors, counselors, psychologists, and experienced married couples could go a long way to help marriages and also make divorce an option to be least considered. The study discovered that involving church members in the development of programs and implementation is one of the effective ways of reducing divorce.