Keywords
Innovation, Creativity, Commitment, Relationships
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for innovations in churches around the world. Organizational innovativeness, a precursor of successful innovations in organizational contexts, is rarely studied in churches. This study of American church attenders (N = 244) found that perceived innovativeness of churches (conceived of as the elements of a church’s culture which promote innovation, specifically, creativity, organizational openness, future orientation, risk-taking, and proactiveness) was a very strong predictor of church commitment (conceived of as intentions to stay in the church, r = .60, p < .001). Of the moderators examined in this study (membership tenure, age of participant, church size, and gender), only gender moderated this relationship; the relationship between perceived innovativeness and church commitment was stronger for females than for males. This suggests that innovations that facilitated relationship development and relationship maintenance had the greatest impact on church commitment during the pandemic.
Recommended Citation
Covarrubias, A., Dunaetz, D. R., & Dykes McGehee, W. (2021). Innovativeness and Church Commitment: What Innovations Were Most Important During the Pandemic?. Great Commission Research Journal, 13(2), 49-70. Retrieved from https://place.asburyseminary.edu/gcrj/vol13/iss2/4
Included in
Christianity Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
