Walden University

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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Collection

2019

Leadership Styles and Their Impact on Church

Growth in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia
Yera Keita
Walden University

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 Walden University

College of Management and Technology

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by

Yera Keita

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by
the review committee have been made.

Review Committee

Dr. Teresa Lao, Committee Chairperson, Management Faculty

Dr. Terry Halfhill, Committee Member, Management Faculty
Dr. Kimberly Anthony, University Reviewer, Management Faculty

Chief Academic Officer

Eric Riedel, Ph.D.

Walden University
2019
 Abstract

Leadership Styles and Their Impact on Church Growth in

Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia

by

Yera Keita

MA, Walden University, 2014

BS, Kent University, 1998

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Management

Walden University

July 2019
 Abstract

Even though millions of Americans attend church, church worship practices have

declined in recent years. Also, church leaders lack understanding of transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant leadership styles and their potential to promote

the growth of church membership. Gaps exist in the literature regarding the connection

between development and efficacy, organizations and outcomes, and church leaders’

styles and church membership growth. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to

explore the perception of church leaders (pastors, deacons, ministers) and members of

congregations regarding leadership styles and how the implementation of those styles

influences the growth of church membership. The conceptual framework of this study

was Bass’s full-range leadership theory and Greenleaf’s servant leadership theory. The

data collection methods were semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 40 church

leaders and members of 4 congregations, a focus group interview with 5 of those

participants, and review of church documents. Transcript review and triangulation

increased the credibility and trustworthiness of the data. Thematic analysis was used in

data analysis. Data analysis yielded 12 themes: ideal church leadership styles, church

leadership management, church leadership motivation, leadership that ensures church

growth, effective leadership communication, leadership practices, developing leaders,

perceptions of leadership, church attendance growth and decline rates, leaders’ roles,

church administrator’s handbook, and vision and mission statements. The findings of this

research may influence social change for leaders of Pentecostal churches who function as

leadership mentors and believers within their church environment.

Leadership Styles and Their Impact on Church Growth in

Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia

by

Yera Keita

MA, Walden University, 2014

BS, Kent University, 1998

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Management

Walden University

July 2019
 Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Adama Wurie Keita, and my children,

Lans Keita, and Zainab Keita. You were such a wonderful team that gave me all the

support and encouragement throughout this long and difficult journey. Last but certainly

not least, God, for giving me a favor, grace, and mercy to finish this journey.
 Acknowledgments

I sincerely acknowledge and say thank you to the Walden University Research

Committee that helped me with the development of this dissertation document. First, I

thank my committee chair and mentor, Dr. Teresa Lao, for all of her inspiration, patience,

support, and constant encouragement to keep going till the end. Second, I thank Dr. Terry

R. Halfhill, my second committee member, who was willing to provide valuable

feedback. Lastly, I thank Marguerite E. Barta, my University Research Reviewer, for her

readiness to offer advance feedback.

I do realize that the implementation of research and the completion of this paper

were possible because of the Lord God, who gives blessings of health, strength, and

ability as well as placing individuals who are always ready to help in all terms and time.

God has taught me everything I know that is good including Col. 3:23 “Work hard and

cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for

people.” God will always give more according to his will and giving it more than one

request. Therefore, the author gives praise and gratitude to the Lord God Almighty.

I give sincere thank you from my heart to my wonderful wife Adama Keita for

her modeled patience, trust in God, and emotional temperament that brings calm and

faith. Always offering words of encouragement like “Don’t worry; you will get this done,

and everything will go great” in every situation. To my two wonderful kids, Lans Keita

and Zainab Keita, for their continuous support, help, and comfort at all times. I must

thank Dr. Sam Kargbo, who carefully directed me at the start of the dissertation process

when I was completely lost as to how to commence the study. I am indebted to my

family, mother Madam Bambeh Kumalah Keita, all my Brothers and Sisters and the

entire Keita family. Finally, I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to all who helped me

in one way or the other in the process of this research. I ask God to bless you all!
 Table of Contents

List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study....................................................................................1

Background of the Study ...............................................................................................2

Problem Statement .........................................................................................................4

Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................6

Research Questions ........................................................................................................6

Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................7

Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................9

Definitions....................................................................................................................12

Assumptions.................................................................................................................14

Scope and Delimitations ..............................................................................................15

Limitations ...................................................................................................................16

Significance of the Study .............................................................................................17

Significance to Practice......................................................................................... 18

Significance to Theory .......................................................................................... 18

Significance to Social Change .............................................................................. 19

Summary and Transition ..............................................................................................20

Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................22

Literature Search Strategy............................................................................................23

Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................24

Literature Review.........................................................................................................26

i
 Defining Leadership.............................................................................................. 26

Leadership Styles .................................................................................................. 30

Church Leaders ..................................................................................................... 37

Leadership Characteristics .................................................................................... 41

The Full-Range Leadership Model ....................................................................... 43

Summary and Conclusions ..........................................................................................58

Chapter 3: Research Method ..............................................................................................60

Research Design and Rationale ...................................................................................60

Role of the Researcher .................................................................................................65

Methodology ................................................................................................................67

Participant Recruitment and Selection .................................................................. 68

Instrumentation ..................................................................................................... 71

Procedures for Data Collection ............................................................................. 73

Data Analysis Plan ................................................................................................ 74

Issues of Trustworthiness .............................................................................................77

Credibility ............................................................................................................. 77

Transferability ....................................................................................................... 78

Dependability ........................................................................................................ 78

Confirmability ....................................................................................................... 79

Reliability.............................................................................................................. 80

Validity ................................................................................................................. 81

Ethical Procedures .......................................................................................................82

ii
 Summary ......................................................................................................................84

Chapter 4: Results ..............................................................................................................86

Introduction ..................................................................................................................86

Research Setting...........................................................................................................87

Demographics ..............................................................................................................88

Data Collection ............................................................................................................89

Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................93

Data Analysis Procedure ....................................................................................... 95

Discrepant Cases ................................................................................................. 100

Evidence of Trustworthiness......................................................................................100

Credibility ........................................................................................................... 100

Transferability ..................................................................................................... 101

Dependability ...................................................................................................... 101

Confirmability ..................................................................................................... 101

Study Results .............................................................................................................102

Results from Interviews ...................................................................................... 104

Results from the Focus Group ............................................................................ 116

Results from Document Review ......................................................................... 118

Summary ....................................................................................................................121

Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations ..........................................123

Interpretation of Findings ..........................................................................................123

Limitations of the Study.............................................................................................130

iii
 Recommendations for Further Research ....................................................................132

Implications................................................................................................................135

Implications for Social Change ........................................................................... 135

Implications for Theory ...................................................................................... 137

Implications for Practice ..................................................................................... 138

Conclusions ................................................................................................................140

References ........................................................................................................................143

Appendix A: Invitation to Participate in a Doctoral Study ..............................................171

Appendix B: Interview Protocol ......................................................................................173

iv
 List of Tables

Table 1. Participant Demographics ....................................................................................90

Table 2. Detailed Descriptions of Participant Transcriptions ...........................................94

Table 3. Summary of Data from Semistructured Interviews, Focus Group, and

Document Review ..................................................................................................98

Table 4. Alignment of Data Sources, Themes, and Research Questions .........................103

v
 1
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study

Leadership consists of characteristics such as intellect, fluency, confidence,

emotional intelligence, stature, vigor, and cordiality (Northouse, 2013). These

characteristics are ways leaders influence their subordinates or followers by paying

attention and appreciating their opinions, actions, and thoughts and supporting them to

work effectively on their given objectives (Northouse, 2013). These characteristics are

some of the most vital factors that can assist leaders in encouraging and influences

individuals to achieve a common purpose in the organization (Northouse, 2013). Church

leaders’ duties include preaching, teaching, guiding the church congregation, and

managing and directing events of the church (Franck & Iannaccone, 2014). The focus of

this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of church leaders’ and members

of congregations regarding leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles

influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia.

The results of this study will enlighten leaders of Pentecostal churches about how

their leadership practices help build their organizations efficiently and enable their

members to create a positive impact that will change their communities and cities.

Chapter 1 includes the background of the study, problem statement, purpose of the study,

research questions, conceptual framework, nature of the study, definitions, assumptions,

and limitations of the study. Finally, this chapter offers a description of the method of

data collection procedure and process from leaders, deacons, and ministers within the

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

 2
Background of the Study

The growth of a church as a nonprofit organization depends considerably on its

leadership. The leader is a proponent of change who has to customize management styles

conforming to the attributes and conduct of his/her followers (Băeşu & Bejinaru, 2013).

Many components impact a leader’s style as observed from the management stance

(Băeşu & Bejinaru, 2013). The leader of the church makes decisions, communicates with

stakeholders, and deals with the process of change. The positive impact of the church

leaders on the growth of churches has not recently been evident in churches in the United

States because churches have experienced a decline in membership and a resulting

closing of many churches (Rainer, 2013). Data on church attendance indicated an unequal

distribution of opinion among adults on the significance of going to church; 49%

assumed it is somewhat or very significant, and 51% assumed it is not at all significant

(Barna Group, 2014). These data reflected a stark disagreement between the people who

are faithfully active and people who are resistant to attending church; this discrepancy

has affected American culture, morality, politics, and religion (Barna Group, 2014).

This study was an exploration of the different leadership styles, transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant of pastors, deacons, ministers, and members of the

congregation of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia, and the

influence of those styles on church membership growth. An investigation of these

leadership styles may present church leaders with the knowledge to formulate policies for

effective leadership and membership growth in the church.

 3
Although churches may be described using several different metaphors or models

from a theological perspective, in basic terms, a church is just like any other nonprofit

organization in that it is a group of people who come together to work toward a common,

specific purpose (Banks, 2013). An organization’s structure consists of components such

as vision, mission, values, goals, and beliefs, which provide understanding and purpose to

its existence (Banks, 2013). In other words, all types of organizations possess these

elements, and all leaders impact these components through the inevitable process of

change for an organization

Continual growth is an important factor in shaping the future of a church, and the

role of the church leaders is also significant. Church leaders must design organizational

and leadership structures of church groups with the purpose of facilitating growth,

change, and production for the church (Banks, 2013). In recent years, churches have

experienced a decrease in membership and attendance, and 59% of churches in the

United States have fewer than 100 members and supporters (White, 2015). To remedy

this decline, church leaders may need to change their leadership style and methods to

reach the people of the church and community. Leadership structure varies among

churches, and no standard or static form of leadership exists. Implementation of a

leadership style or form depends upon the situation or needs of the church (Banks, 2013).

Leadership types or styles for a church may change based on its needs, and leaders must

address the needs of the future church by considering trends and change so that the

church may continually grow and expand (Banks, 2013).

 4
Problem Statement

The aim of this qualitative case study was to explore church leaders’ perceptions

of their leadership styles and examine how the implementation of these styles influences

the growth of church membership. The aim of this study was to help leaders understand

their leadership practices, build their organizations efficiently, and enable their members

to create a positive impact that will change their communities and cities. In the past two

decades, church attendance has declined in Christian churches in the United States

(Bruce, 2011; Coleman, Ivani-Chalian, & Robinson, 2004). Several factors, including a

lack of leadership, vision, and communication and an inability to reach millennials

contributed to this decline (Barna Group, 2014; Rainer, 2013).

Also, church attendance by individuals with religious connections continues to

decline in these technological times. Fewer and fewer Americans attend a church or any

house of worship (Yates, 2014). Advances in technology such as computers, mobile

devices, and the Internet, are creating significant changes in the social lives of Christians

and the ways they worship (Yates, 2014). Pervasive reliance on these devices is

eliminating the individual need for traditional religion and attendance at traditional

houses of worship (Yates, 2014).

Between 2004 and 2014, the percentage of Americans who regularly attended

church decreased from 43% to 36% (Barna Group, 2014). Among churches in the United

States, 50% averaged under 100 individual worshipers, 40% averaged between 100 and

350 worshippers, and 10% averaged more than 350 worshippers. The smallest category

included growing churches with the largest memberships, while the lower 90% included
 5
the declining churches with smaller numbers of members (Rainer, 2015). In any church,

the leader is the change agent, and readiness for change is more likely to occur in

organizations with leaders who employees/members trust and respect (Allen, Smith, &

Da Silva, 2013). The leadership style represents the views of subordinates regarding the

leadership traits of a single individual (Allen et al., 2013).

The general problem was that even with tens of millions of Americans attending

churches every weekend, church worship practices have declined in recent years (Barna

Group, 2014). According to Allen et al. (2013), the problem may be an indication that

church leaders are not ready to accept or adjust to change. The specific problem was that

church leaders, such as pastors, deacons, and ministers, lack the understanding of the

different leadership styles (transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) and

how their implementation can promote the growth of church membership in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia.

In trying to control the problem of decreasing membership in churches, the

present leaders must be ready to promote and accommodate change (Allen et al., 2013).

Given the challenges that churches are currently facing, creative problem solving and

change efforts by leaders may be vital for organizational longevity (Allen et al., 2013).

The aim of this study was to fill a gap in the literature regarding the connection between

development and efficacy, organizations and outcomes, and church leaders and church

membership growth (McCleskey, 2014).

 6
Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore four leadership styles

(transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) of church leaders (pastors,

deacons, and ministers) and the influence of these styles on the growth of church

membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. The

qualitative approach offered an all-inclusive structure for a comprehensive exploration of

complex issues related to human behavior, human perception, and lived experience

(Khan, 2014; Schwandt, 2015). Also, the central aim of this study was to contribute to the

body of scholarly knowledge on the leadership styles of church leaders and the extent to

which they influence membership growth. The findings of this study can be used in

churches to strengthen the leadership styles of leaders and members and to expand

knowledge and understanding of leaders in the church. A single interview protocol for

semistructured, face-to-face interviews were used to collect data from church leaders.

Research Questions

The overarching research question for this case study was What are church

leaders’ perceptions of their leadership styles, and how does the implementation of these

styles influence the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria,

and Springfield, Virginia? Two subquestions provided a focus for this inquiry:

RQ1. What are the leadership styles commonly employed by church leaders to

increase membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and Springfield,

Virginia?
 7
RQ2. What is the church leaders' (pastors, deacons, and ministers) knowledge and

understanding of the implementation of the leadership styles (transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) to increase membership growth in Pentecostal

churches in Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia?

Conceptual Framework

The central phenomenon of this study was to contribute to the body of scholarly

knowledge of the leadership styles of church leaders and determine the extent to which

these styles influence membership growth. The problem of the decline of church

membership and its connection to church leadership styles was the focus of this

qualitative case study. The conceptual framework of this study was the full-range

leadership theory by Bass (1996) and Greenleaf’s (1970) servant leadership theory. The

full-range leadership theory (Bass, 1996) places leaders at the heart of the group process

and argues that their efforts influence followers (Oberfield, 2014).

The full-range leadership theory has been embraced by scholars and practitioners

across a range of disciplines and organizations and has achieved a level of public acclaim

that is rare for academic concepts (Oberfield, 2014). The full range leadership theory

(Bass, 1996) derived from the concepts of the transformational, transactional, and laissez-

faire leadership styles. Transformational leaders influence their members to transcend

their self-interests for the benefit of the organization (McCleskey, 2014). Transactional

leaders focus on the roles of supervision, organization, and group performance (Cherry,

2016). Laissez-faire leaders avoid responsibility, delay decision making, and provide no

feedback to church members (Allen et al., 2013).

 8
The full-range model presumes followers accomplish well in a transactional

connection with the leaders, although compensation alone is not sufficient in all

circumstances. Thus, it is essential for the leader to exhibit transformational leadership

behaviors to motivate great success, inspiration, and dedication among followers

(Antonakis & House, 2014). The full range of leadership theory, therefore, includes

elements of transformational leadership theory, the transactional leadership theory, and

the laissez-faire leadership theory (Luo, Wang, Marnburg, & Øgaard, 2016). The full-

range leadership theory served as a theoretical foundation to guide this study in exploring

the broader leadership approach.

Greenleaf (1970) defined servant leadership not only as a management technique

but also as a way of life that begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve and to

serve first. The central idea in Greenleaf’s (1970) theory was that leaders should serve

with flair, kindness, and bravery, and followers would answer to capable servants as

leaders. Thus, the idea of the servant as a follower was as important as the servant as

leader. Individuals may encounter these two roles at a certain time, stressing the desire

for discernment and determination, two significant features of the servant as leader or

follower (Greenleaf, 1977).

Together, Bass’s and Greenleaf’s theories provided basic explanations of the roles

of leaders in a nonprofit organization such as a church. In the context of organizational

change, these theories offered insight into the assessment and analysis of leadership

styles and their influences on growth in an organizational setting. Leaders use variations

of transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant leadership styles in their

 9
various churches. These leadership styles will lead to various decision-making

procedures for resolving individual and group problems.

Therefore, these theories also provided a foundation for this study; the

participants were able to answer the research questions and other subquestions to address

the issue of leadership styles of the leaders of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. Participants received definitions of the various leadership styles or

attributes referenced in this research to achieve a coherent understanding. The goal of this

study was to employ a qualitative research method to explore the different leadership

styles, such as transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, of pastors,

deacons, and ministers, of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia,

and those styles’ influence on the growth of church membership. A detailed discussion of

the theories will appear in Chapter 2.

Nature of the Study

A qualitative methodology with a case study research design was appropriate for

this study. Qualitative examination supports the study of how individuals and groups

establish significance. This qualitative investigation involved gathering data in the form

of interviews, observations, and documents to identify substantively relevant patterns and

themes (Patton, 2015). Qualitative methods supported identification of the whole

phenomenon in its natural, organic setting. Rather than aiming to achieve comparable

understanding and law-like generalizations, I was more interested in establishing

comprehending and holistic gratitude for the addition of knowledge (Morden et al.,

2015). By examining details and narratives from participants’ perspectives (Yin, 2014),
 10
qualitative researchers devote substantial awareness to deciding what data is relevant to

the phenomenon under study (Patton, 2015).

In contrast, the quantitative research methodology was not appropriate for this

study because it underlines objective measurements, gathering numerical data, and

generalizing the data to provide clarifications on a specific issue (Bryman, 2015).

Quantitative researchers employ statistical methods to gather numerical data and produce

an additional group of data for review (Quick & Hall, 2015). Furthermore, numerical and

statistical methods do not permit participants to provide specific statements about their

experiences (Morgan, 2015). The mixed-method technique employs concurrent

gathering, examination, and clarification of qualitative and quantitative data (Zohrabi,

2013). Additionally, the mixed methodology improves the validity, reliability, and

clarification of information from different resources. A mixed method was not suitable

for this study, however, because as quantitative data was neither essential nor required for

this study.

Qualitative researchers stress the social nature of reality, and because the focus of

this study was social organizations, the exploratory case study design was appropriate. A

case study research design stands on its own as a detailed and rich story about a person,

organization, event, campaign, or program (Patton, 2015). This method ensured that the

subject was not observed from a single viewpoint but through a variety of different

perspectives, which permitted disclosure and understanding of various aspects

surrounding the problem (Patton, 2015; Yin, 2014). In a qualitative case study, I could

gather the perspectives of church leaders and members of congregations to explore four
 11
leadership styles, transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, and how

those styles influenced the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in

Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

A case study is an empirical inquiry into a contemporary phenomenon (the case)

in depth and within its real-world context, especially when the boundaries between

phenomenon and context may not be evident (Yin, 2014). The scope and features of a

case study comprise three aspects. The first aspect is that the study deals with technically

distinctive situations. The second describes that several informational resources merge by

triangulation, and the third aspect holds that the case study method can direct the

collection and analysis of data by setting up theoretical propositions (Yin, 2014). Further,

Yin (2014) described the case study method as an all-encompassing approach that can be

applied in both quantitative and qualitative research. However, a case study is usually

classified as a qualitative method because it emphasizes the in-depth understanding

acquired predominantly by qualitative methods (Yin, 2014).

A case study concentrates on the development within a group, resulting in a

complete examination with an existing broad picture of subjects from varied information

resources (Yin, 2014). An exploratory case study involves a single association and

setting, or a comparative case study includes multiple associations and settings (Yin,

2014). Other techniques would not meet the purpose of this research, including grounded

theory, narrative, content analysis, ethnography, and phenomenology. A

phenomenological or ethnographic study was not helpful for this research as the design

focused on a cultural group from a definite information source, without a procedure in a

 12
group of persons (Morgan, 2015). The grounded theory could not accommodate the

incorporation of numerous wide-ranging responses from participants within an

organization (Mellon, 2015). Also, the narrative design is an author’s narrative and may,

therefore, involve omitting details and issues from the providers (Wolgemuth, 2014).

Furthermore, these specific study methods cannot describe as well as distinguish the

powers and distinctiveness of the case study research (Merriam, 2014). To a certain

extent, the distinctiveness of case study research established the kinds of inquiries raised

with the connections established among the studied phenomena.

The case study design incorporated numerous methods of collecting information

with the capacity to make ordinary dynamics of the data (Merriam, 2014). Once the data

collection and transcript review processes were complete, I used NVivo software to help

generate themes and inscribe the purpose of the research (Brandão, 2015). In this study, I

conducted individual face-to-face interviews with the participants, 10 pastors, 10

deacons, 10 ministers, and 10 members of the congregations and one focus group of five

of those participants, from four Pentecostal Churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia. I generated an interpretation of the information, reviewed ideas or themes that

appeared, evaluated information with each participant, and asked additional questions to

elicit clarification if needed.

Definitions

This section presents important terms to explain or interpret a familiar

understanding and bring coherence to the wider scope of this research study.
 13
Case study: A qualitative case study a demanding, holistic account and

examination of a bounded phenomenon, for example, a plan, an organization, an

individual, procedure, or a social entity (Merriam, 2014).

Coding system: An instrument that contains the possible codes and organizes

them into categories (Busjahn, Schulte, & Kropp, 2014).

Deacon: Individuals chosen and situated within the Pentecostal church who are

responsible for evaluating the members’ desires within the church and for gathering and

allocating monetary and other possessions (Wiersma & VanDyke, 2009).

Laissez-faire: The obvious lack of leadership (Bass & Avolio, 1990).

Leader effectiveness: Determination of whether leaders have the skills to bring

about preferred outcomes. Effectiveness entails meeting secondary professional matters

and adding to the efficiency of organizations (Bass & Avolio, 1990).

Leadership: The procedures of persuading others to appreciate and consent on the

issues about what needs to be completed and assisting individual and combined attempts

to achieve divided purposes (Yukl, 2013). Leadership is a procedure by which an

individual, guides other individuals to accomplish an ordinary goal (Northouse, 2013).

Servant leadership: The leaders in this style of leadership share power and invest

in the wants and growth of the individuals they guide and serve their communities (Laub,

2014).

Transformational leadership: A leadership method that appeals to the good values

of followers by trying to uplift their awareness concerning moral matters as well as to

prepare their vigor and resources to improve organizations. Followers perceive a feeling
 14
of hope, admiration, loyalty, and respect and are motivated to exceed the expected levels

of performance (Yukl, 2013).

Transactional leadership: A leadership method that involves inspiring followers

by appealing to their self-interest and interchanging benefits. The result might require

benefits significant to the interchanging procedure, such as truthfulness, equality, control,

and mutuality (Yukl, 2013).

Assumptions

Assumptions are ideas or conditions that exist beyond the researcher’s control;

nonetheless, they may significantly impact the research (Baranyi, Csapo, & Sallai, 2015).

The first assumption was that the qualitative case study was suitable to explore the

elements connected to this research study. The second assumption was Alexandria, and

Springfield, Virginia was a geographical area of suitable size to yield good data for this

research study. The third assumption was that the pastors, deacons, ministers, and

members of congregations would have knowledge of the different leadership styles and

how they were practiced within the Pentecostal churches and that these participants

would provide correct, thoughtful, and pertinent information. Also, the individuals who

participated in the research study would be aware that the purpose of the study was to

determine the most appropriate leadership styles practiced in the Pentecostal churches in

Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. Finally, I assumed that the church leaders or

administrators and the participants would offer their consent and total support as this

research aimed to help their nonprofit organizations in discovering the

appropriate/suitable leadership style.

 15
Scope and Delimitations

The scope of the research consisted of pastors, deacons, ministers, and members

of the congregation as participants of their various Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia. I conducted face-to-face interviews with a sample from the

target population: 10 pastors, 10 deacons, 10 ministers, and 10 members of the

congregations from four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

Yin (2014) stated that the aim or reason for choosing a specific sample size is to achieve

a group of participants who will provide significant and pertinent information,

considering the research topic. The rationale was that this number of participants could be

accurately connected to the depth of thoughts and diverse accounts of an issue

(Kaczynski, Salmona, & Smith, 2014).

Delimitations reflect the limits of a study (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). In this study,

some issues described the borders of the study’s techniques and purposes, questions,

conceptual framework, and population. The population included leaders and members of

congregations within the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

The population did not include leaders and members of congregations outside the

Pentecostal denomination, congregations situated outside of the geographical borders of

this study, or members of other religious nonprofit organizations. Even though related to

the study, the bureaucratic, democratic, and charismatic leadership theories were not

reviewed in detail; however, references to them will be used to distinguish leadership

styles and characteristics. With regards to transferability, my intention was for this study
 16
to benefit other Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal churches in other geographical locations

and cultures.

Limitations

A study’s limitations are potential weaknesses that exist outside the control of the

researcher (Depoy & Gitlin, 2015). The design of this study created some limitations.

First, the data collection methods for this study were individual face-to-face interviews

with a sample from the target population, 10 pastors, 10 deacons, 10 ministers, and 10

members of the congregations, and one focus group interview five of those participants

from four Pentecostal Churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. Also, the study

was limited to church leaders and members of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and

Springfield, Virginia; these limits meant that findings of this study would apply only to

churches in this geographical area.

Another potential limitation of this study was that bias from the researcher might

limit the findings of this study, because personal bias may emerge from a researcher’s

previous affiliations or relationships. It is significant to mention that researchers

performing case study research are prone to bias because the method entails that the

researcher determines the basis of the topic in advance (J. Smith & Noble, 2014; Yin,

2014). Even though I am a member of a local Pentecostal church in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia, the leaders and members of the congregation of my church did not

participate in this research study. Additionally, I had no private or professional

connection with any of the sample participants. I protected the confidentiality of the

research participants’ identities and communication and employed ethical procedures to

 17
eliminate any bias. Checking for and recognizing biases via continuous reflection

supported the achievement of sufficient depth and relevance of data collection and

analysis (Wegener, 2014).

Significance of the Study

The significance of this study derived from several sources. Its findings may

reveal the consequence of leadership styles, operations, and reliable components among

leaders in church organizations. The findings may guide church leaders to secure a sound

understanding of how church leadership styles relate to the prosperity of the church as a

nonprofit organization. The data may also provide notable information on prevailing

leadership styles and how they aid in the future of the church in a nonprofit

organizational setting. The results of this study could be used in Pentecostal churches in

Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia, to strengthen the leadership styles of leaders and

members and to expand a better knowledge and understanding of their role as leaders in

the church.

Findings of this study may also prove useful as the church continues its efforts to

serve as the cornerstone organization for meeting the needs of diverse communities

(Watkins, 2014). After the completion of this study, the administration of upper and mid-

level church leadership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia,

may become more relevant in a culture that threatens to leave the church behind. Also, in

this study, Pentecostal church leaders could gain a new outlook on their leadership

practices, obtain tools that will help them build their organizations effectively, and
 18
support their members’ efforts to create a positive influence that could change their

communities and cities.

Significance to Practice

The study aimed to present an improved awareness of leadership and

organizational procedures in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia, and the level at which leadership styles influences church growth. This study

may prove to be important to the senior pastors and other church leaders, especially the

leaders who participated in the research study. These leaders may develop into more

effective church leaders, thus achieving a meaningful appreciation of their capabilities,

activities, and organizational results. The leaders in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia, who are concerned with creating a more comprehensive and

pleasant atmosphere for church members, should positively appreciate these qualities and

offer leadership possibilities for members to further their leadership goals. Finally, the

results of this study may encourage other members of the Pentecostal churches to learn

how to be leaders and understand what it will take to fulfill a leadership position within

the church.

Significance to Theory

The problem of the growth of church membership and its connection to church

leadership styles was the focus of this qualitative case study. For this study, the elements

that may influence church leaders and membership growth include leadership, church

vision, communication, and outreach to millennials. The conceptual framework of this

study was the full-range leadership theory (Bass, 1996) and servant leadership theory
 19
(Greenleaf, 1970). The theories explained important details of leadership function within

a nonprofit organization such as a church. In the context of organizational change, these

concepts provide awareness of the evaluation and study of leaders’ leadership styles and

influences on growth. These concepts served as a foundation for identifying the

leadership styles of leaders in a church environment.

Significance to Social Change

Churches have a special responsibility to the communities they serve, and church

leaders’ duties are vital to creating an impact on the members of those communities.

Individuals look for protection within the church and put their faith in church leaders.

The impact of the church leaders within the communities can help to motivate and raise

awareness of the leadership styles of leaders and the care and services they give to

individuals within the church environment. Moreover, churches continue their efforts to

act as the cornerstone and meet the needs of diverse communities (Watkins, 2014). If a

connection exists between leadership styles and organizational growth, numerous

changes in the education, recruitment, and professional development of churches need

examination. In this study, the direction for midlevel church leadership in the United

States can become more applicable in a society that threatens to leave the church behind,

rendering it unfruitful and unsuccessful at a time when its members are in desperate need

of a powerful signal of pertinent, relevant values, and scope for guidance.

Furthermore, with information regarding the effectiveness of church leaders and

churches, the lives of individuals within the communities can be changed through a

process of social transformation. Individuals will no longer be hungry as they will be

 20
provided for, protected from abuse and neglect, and have their lives transformed for the

better. With this study, leaders in churches in America will understand their leadership

practices to help build their organizations efficiently and empower their members to

make a positive impact that will change their communities and cities.

Also, with the help of good and generous church leaders, the communities will go

on to benefit from required services, and individuals will be supported to develop their

abilities to become effective leaders. The creation of strong leaders within the church

environment may lead to more direct and organized help while communities experience

unexpected challenges. Therefore, leadership is an important factor in preparing members

for the turbulent change in the future. Such change includes technological advancements,

political change, and new ways of meeting the demands of the future church due to social

change.

Summary and Transition

In this study, I explored the various leadership styles, transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant of church leaders and those styles’ impact on

church growth within the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

This study is important because it is an examination of the effect of leadership styles,

process, and dependable mechanism among leaders in church organizations. Qualitative

data collection methods allowed church leaders to display their beliefs about how church

leadership styles connect to the success of the church as a nonprofit organization. The

data may offer important information on current leadership styles that will help in the

prospects of the church in a nonprofit organizational setting. The results of this study will
 21
help churches and their leaders to promote leadership development efforts and offer

extensive implications for social change within church communities. Also, strong

organizations will appeal to and connect more individuals in leadership by creating and

expanding individuals through the development of communities and exhibiting

legitimacy (Laub, 2014).

Chapter 1 of this study included a summary of this research study, comprising the

background of the study, the problem statement, the research questions, conceptual

frames of the study, scope and limitations, delimitations of the study, and definitions of

the key terms of study. Chapter 2 contains a comprehensive literature review concerning

transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant leadership styles, and their

impact on the growing membership within Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. Also, Chapter 2 examines the basis for applying the full-range

leadership theory (Bass, 1996) and the servant leadership theory (Greenleaf, 1970). The

literature review will discuss leadership styles and how they impact membership growth

in churches.
 22
Chapter 2: Literature Review

This qualitative case study of leaders of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia, presented church leaders’ perceptions of their leadership styles and

how the implementation of these styles influenced the growth of church membership. The

aim of this study was to help leaders understand their leadership practices and help build

their organizations efficiently and to enable their members to create a positive impact that

will change their communities and cities. Over the past two decades, attendance has

declined in Christian churches in the United States (Bruce, 2011; Coleman et al., 2004).

Reasons for reduced attendance include lack of leadership, vision, and communication

and an inability to reach millennials (Barna Group, 2014; Rainer, 2013).

Also, church attendance by individuals with religious connections continues to

decline in these technological times. Fewer and fewer Americans make an appearance at

a church or any house of worship (Yates, 2014). Advances in technology such as

computers, mobile devices, and the Internet have created significant changes in the lives

of Christians and the ways they worship (Yates, 2014). Therefore, the widespread

acceptance of mobile devices, like iPhones, iPad, and other social media devices have

caused a profound social change. Reliance on these devices is eliminating the individual

need for traditional religion and attendance at traditional houses of worship (Yates,

2014).

Between 2004 and 2014, the percentage of Americans who regularly attended

church decreased from 43% to 36% (Barna Group, 2014). Among churches in the United

States, 50% averaged under 100 individual worshipers, 40% averaged between 100 and
 23
350 worshippers, and 10% averaged more than 350 worshippers. The smallest category

included growing churches with the largest memberships, while the other 90% included

the declining churches with smaller numbers of members (Rainer, 2015). In any church,

the leader is the change agent, and readiness for change is more likely to occur in

organizations with leaders whom employees/members trust and respect (Allen et al.,

2013). The leadership style represents the views of subordinates regarding the leadership

traits of a single individual (Allen et al., 2013).

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore church leaders’

perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles

influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. Chapter 2 will present a discussion of the full-range leadership

model and a review of literature related to leadership styles and characteristics, leadership

in the Pentecostal church, church growth, and the relation between those factors.

Literature Search Strategy

I searched for peer-reviewed articles using these academic databases: Academic

Search Complete, Business Source Complete, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Sage. I also used

the Google Scholar search engine. Most literature on leadership came from management,

business, and nonprofit organizations. The literature addressed the most significant

concepts, ideas, and constructs relevant to my research questions. Review of peer-

reviewed articles, scholarly journals, and academic texts was useful in finding academic

approaches to link the different leadership styles with church membership growth.
 24
The following is a list of search terms used to locate the articles: leadership styles,

transformational leadership, transactional leadership, laissez-faire, servant leadership

styles. Additionally, church vision, communication, growth, leadership effectiveness,

church attendance, decline, vision, leadership styles, worshippers, millennials, decreasing

membership, church membership, and church membership growth.

Also, I limited the search for literature related to this study to the last five years.

In topics such as leadership styles in nonprofit organizations like the church, the literature

search yielded a small quantity of previous research. Further, I developed a literature

matrix that summarized every article’s research question, method and study design,

sample, analysis and results, and recommendations for the study.

Conceptual Framework

The central purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of scholarly

knowledge on the leadership styles of church leaders and the extent to which they

influence membership growth. The problem of the decreased growth of church

membership and its connection to church leadership styles was the focus of this

qualitative case study. The conceptual framework for this study was the full-range

leadership theory by Bass (1996) and the servant leadership theory by Greenleaf (1970).

Bass’s theory places leaders at the heart of the group process and argues that their efforts

influence followers (Oberfield, 2014). This theory by Bass has been embraced by

scholars and practitioners across a range of disciplines and organizations and has

achieved a level of public acclaim that is rare for academic concepts (Oberfield, 2014).

Bass’s full-range leadership theory derived from the concepts of the transformational,
 25
transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles. Transformational leaders influence their

members to transcend their self-interests for the benefit of the organization (McCleskey,

2014). Transactional leadership focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and

group performance (Cherry, 2016). Laissez-faire leaders avoid responsibility, delay

decision making, and provide no feedback to church members (Allen et al., 2013).

Greenleaf (1970) defined servant leadership theory not as a management

technique but as a way of life that begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve

and to serve first. Bass's (1996) and Greenleaf's theories provide basic explanations of the

role of leadership in a nonprofit organization like a church. In the context of

organizational change, these theories offered insight into the assessment and analysis of

leadership styles and influences on growth in an organizational setting. These theories

also formed a foundation for understanding the leadership styles of leaders in a religious

setting. The goal of this study was to employ a qualitative research method to explore the

different leadership styles, such as transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and

servant, among pastors, deacons, and ministers, of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia, and those styles’ influences on the growth of church

membership.

The qualitative research approach offered a method for exploring complex issues

related to human behavior, human perception, and lived experience (Khan, 2014;

Schwandt, 2015). Various theorists offered guidance for this type of inquiry. Antonakis

and House (2014) stated that leaders should not only concentrate on guiding followers to

accomplish new goals but also acquire leadership skills that relate to knowledge at
 26
creating plans for dealing with difficult issues. Bass and Avolio (1990) maintained that

each leader exhibits features of each of these leadership styles: transformational,

transactional, and laissez-faire.

Summerfield (2014) portrayed leadership from a very simplistic perspective in

describing the main purpose of leadership is to make things better. Summerfield

emphasized that the concept to make things better includes other important elements,

such as transforming leadership, project-based goals, the pursuit of personal happiness,

and emergent leadership, implying that everyone can make a difference. The expectation

was that exploring the components of these leadership styles would contribute to the

body of scholarly knowledge on the leadership styles of church leaders and members of

the congregations and explain how those styles influence membership growth in

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

Literature Review

Defining Leadership

The variety of research in the field of leadership revealed a difficult, multifaceted

process involved in defining this basic term. Bass (1990) suggested that several of these

views define leadership as the center of group procedures. Further definitions of

leadership describe it as a person’s trait, an act or behavior, a transformational procedure,

a collection of skills, or conditions of power relations (Northouse, 2013). Another

definition characterized leadership as a method wherein an individual can impact a set of

individuals to attain a mutual objective (Northouse, 2013).

 27
Aritz, Walker, Cardon, and Li (2017) explained that most descriptions incorporate

some essential parts of the leadership experience, including that (a) it is a process, (b) it

involves influences, (c) it occurs in a group context, and (d) it involves goal attainment.

Aritz et al. (2017) also stated that leadership is not a trait that resides in an individual;

rather, it is a temporal event that occurs in the interaction between the leader and his or

her followers. Kanyandekwe and Boateng (2013) defined leadership as the process

through which an individual influences the behaviors of followers to achieve

organizational goals. The followers perceive those influences as legitimate either through

election or by virtue of the leader’s position in the organizational structure. This

understanding of the concept of leadership assigns a pivotal role to a leader in an

organization, giving him or her various powers to fulfill his or her responsibility to lead

followers or employees towards the achievement of stated goals (Kanyandekwe &

Boateng, 2013).

Leadership is also a process of social interaction, in which the leader has an

influence on the behavior of his or her followers and strongly influences their

performance (McCleskey, 2014). It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to have a

meaningful discourse on leadership, leadership styles, and outcomes without an

operational definition of leadership (McCleskey, 2014). Further, it is paramount to

understand the research that demonstrates the attributes of an effective leader. Without an

understanding of these fundamental attributes, it is difficult to define the purpose and set

goals for leadership development and growth, making the outcomes of any adopted

leadership style far less valuable to leaders and organizations (McCleskey, 2014).
 28
According to Gandolfi and Stone (2016), leadership refers to how a leader

chooses to lead and how his or her behavior impacts an organization and its people.

Gandolfi and Stone also suggested that an operational definition of leadership requires

five components: there must be one or more leaders, leadership must have followers,

leadership must be action-oriented, leadership must have a legitimate course of action,

and there must be goals and objectives. Leadership is further defined as having many

facets, dimensions, and aspects (Allen, 2013). It also includes the simple paradigm that

leadership is good management, the semantic description that leadership is the process of

leading, the transactional definition that leadership is a social exchange between leaders

and followers. Allio (2013) also defined leadership as complex, invisible forces that act

on the leadership process, the expectations of the followers, and the culture of the

organization and the circumstances.

M. C. Taylor, Cornelius, and Colvin (2014) stated that leadership assists an

organization in adjusting to its surroundings by removing unproductive patterns of

behavior and replacing them with new ones. Leaders offer focus, support, direction, and

help to the organization so it can reach its goal. Leaders play a significant role in the

effectiveness of an organization, and their actions can result in positive perceptions of

workers, which increase the possibility that the organization will obtain lasting

achievements. Leaders are influential in initiating the vision of the organization, bringing

about and maintaining quality, and preparing and directing the way to prosperity (M. C.

Taylor et al., 2014). People in positions of authority need to have a strong understanding

of leadership, organizational change, and effectiveness.

 29
Nonprofit organizations such as churches face a quickly changing world and

should adapt to the rapidly changing realities of how other nonprofit organizations

conduct their activities (M.C. Taylor et al., 2014). Leaders within a church as a nonprofit

organization face a variety of pressures from increasing numbers of agencies seeking

support, shifting government funding, and the presence of for-profit organizations in

human services. Consequently, to answer to changes in the marketplace of nonprofit

organizations, decision-making directors need to be innovative and adaptive when

adjusting to their diverse funding sources, changing services for clients, and seeking

increased governmental accountability (M. C. Taylor et al., 2014). Despite their high

level of transformational leadership roles, decision-making directors also demonstrate

high-level affiliation with productive leadership roles (M. C. Taylor et al., 2014). The

ability to negotiate and communicate is vital to leaders and remains the most significant

leadership behaviors in the universal context (Yukl, 2013).

A qualitative method with a case study research design was appropriate for this

research study. The qualitative approach supported the study of how individuals and

groups establish significance. The qualitative investigation involved data collection via

interviews, observations, and documents and the analysis of data to discover

substantively relevant patterns and themes (Patton, 2015). Qualitative researchers

dedicate substantial awareness in determining what qualitative data is relevant to the

research problem (Patton, 2015).

A case study research design stands on its own as a detailed and rich story about a

person, organization, event, campaign, or program, regardless of the focus of the study
 30
(Patton, 2015). This method certifies that the subject is not observed through a single

viewpoint but rather through a variety of different perspectives, which permit disclosure

and understanding of various aspects surrounding the problem (Patton, 2015; Yin, 2014).

During this qualitative case study, I gathered the perspectives of church leaders and

members of congregations to explore four leadership styles, transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, and to determine how those styles influenced the

growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia.

Leadership Styles

Management experts have expressed a revised definition of leadership and

explanation of their approaches toward it. They have moved from a classical autocratic

approach to a creative, participative approach. According to Srivastava (2016),

identifying an individual leader’s style is central to evaluating leadership quality and

effectiveness, especially as it relates to organizational goals. Mauri (2017) stated that

leaders must tap into different leadership styles to learn quickly and cope in a world in

flux; for example, they must develop big-picture thinking versus detail thinking. To avoid

the risk of oversimplification when it comes to matters of the mind, leaders must adopt

the right style for the right context (Mauri, 2017).

Different leadership styles can function in all kinds of organizations, depending

on many diverse features such as leaders’ traits as well as context, a sector of activity,

industry, size, and formation of the proficient team (Fazzi & Zamaro, 2015). Further,

leadership styles might influence or be influenced by recognized differences among and

 31
within organizational cultures, patterns of organizational cooperation or competition

goals, group orientation, open or privileged communication channels among employees,

professional role identities, and values (Fazzi & Zamaro, 2015). According to Li, Gupta,

Loom, and Casimir (2014), leadership style has traditionally been construed as the extent

to which an individual emphasizes or displays particular types of leadership as measured

by the frequency or intensity of specific leadership behaviors or attitudes using multiple

items and Likert scales. A brief examination of each common leadership style and its

strengths and weakness follows, along with a discussion of each style’s potential impact

on a group as well as its relative usefulness for any organization.

Autocratic. Srivastava (2016) stated that autocratic leaders are classic do-as-I-say

types and may lack leadership experience; they may have had leadership forced upon

them in the form of a new position or task that entails managing people. Autocratic

leaders can harm an organization as they force their followers to perform programs or

services based on a subjective idea of what success looks like, but the followers may not

share the same vision. Cherry (2016) stated that autocratic leadership, as authoritarian

leadership, is a style marked with individual authority over all decisions and a small

contribution from other members of the group. The leaders normally make choices based

on their ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers (Cherry, 2016).

Lopez and Ensari (2014) stated that autocratic leaders provide the necessary

information to accomplish a task, create the rules, offer rewards for compliance, and

threaten to punish subordinates for disobedience. Giltinane (2013) concurred that this

leadership style requires its team members to be loyal and obedient rule followers and
 32
punishment occurs in some form when they do not meet objectives. A weakness of this

leadership style is that team members may have helpful suggestions for process

improvement or risk management, but their views are not required because the leader is

running the project and serves as the major decision maker (Giltinane, 2013).

Bureaucratic. Bureaucratic leaders are usually strongly committed to procedures

and processes instead of people, and as a result, they may appear aloof and highly

adverse to change (Srivastava, 2016), since the specific problem or problems associated

with using policies to lead are not always obvious until harm has occurred. Giltinane

(2013) mentioned that this leadership style is made up of policies and procedures.

Projects are completed according to a pre-determined set of procedures, and a lack of

creativity and motivation among followers is common. A weakness of this style is that

leaders who use this style to motivate and manage a team repeatedly overlook the

qualities and strengths of the people in their group and instead focus on whether everyone

is following instructions (Giltinane, 2013).

Democratic. This system of leadership leads to the development of trust and

loyalty among the subordinates (Srivastava, 2016). The leader takes his or her followers

into full consideration, utilizes their skills and knowledge, and considers their input

before arriving at a decision. In democratic leadership, rapport always exists between the

leader and the subordinates (Srivastava, 2016). The strength of this style is that

democratic is a participative leadership style in which members of the group contribute to

the process of making decisions. Also, Cherry (2016) stated that democratic leadership

works best in situations where group members are skilled and eager to share their
 33
knowledge. Democratic leaders also allow individuals enough time to contribute, develop

a plan, and then vote on the best course of action. The biggest problem with democratic

leadership is its underlying assumption that everyone has an equal stake in an outcome as

well as shared levels of expertise about decisions. Those situations are rarely the case.

While democratic leadership sounds good in theory, it often is bogged down in its slow

processes, and achieving workable results usually requires an enormous amount of effort

(Nagendra & Farooqui, 2016).

Charismatic. Charisma is typically seen in mystical terms, like some gift from

God, and originates in a set of qualities either present or absent in leaders themselves

(Kempster & Parry, 2013). The researchers reported that a large majority of individuals

spoke about happy, respectful, and even loving relationships between charismatic leaders

and their followers. Therefore, charismatic leadership is not a set of behaviors that can

and should be adopted or that can be trained, nor does it imply some form of weakness on

the part of the follower. Instead, charismatic leadership emerges within an “emerging-

and-becoming” relationship, wherein the identities of leaders and followers reflect an

ongoing and complex process of identity granting and claiming. Ultimately, charisma is

in the hands of the followers, who grant and respond, and in the hands of the leader, who

claims (Kempster & Parry, 2013). A charismatic leader has a vision, as well as a

personality that motivates followers to execute that vision (Srivastava, 2016). As a result,

this type of leadership is immensely valued. Charismatic leadership provides fertile

ground for creativity and innovation and is often highly motivational (Srivastava, 2016).

One significant problem may potentially undercut the value of charismatic leaders: they
 34
can leave. Once a leader has exited, an organization can appear rudderless and without

direction. The floundering can last for years because charismatic leaders rarely develop

replacements. Their leadership is established on the strength of their personalities

(Nagendra & Farooqui, 2016).

Transformational. Transformational leadership is a form of leadership wherein

leaders are connected to and engaged with their followers (Mencl, Wefald, & van

Ittersum, 2016). Four elements comprise this higher-order concept of leadership; the first

is idealized influences, which refers to arousing solid feelings from followers and

creating recognition with the leader (Yukl, 2013). The second element is an

individualized consideration, which gives aid, motivation, and training. Third,

inspirational motivation is the process of conveying an attractive vision while using signs

to focus effort and model appropriate behaviors. The fourth element is intellectual

stimulation, which increases followers’ awareness about problems and involves followers

in resolving those difficulties by different methods (Yukl, 2013). Also, a transformational

leader is an excellent coach to direct employees with individualized consideration, no

matter whether the mission is exploratory or exploitative (Yukl, 2013). Vito, Higgins, and

Denny (2014) stated that the transformational leadership concept makes provisions for

power and influences in the leadership process, similar to the transactional leadership

theory. According to Burns (1978), the relationship between the leader and the

subordinates depends on emotion. The leader utilizes the trust and confidence that the

subordinates place in them to motivate behavior (Bass, 1985). Transformational leaders

typically rely on four characteristics: charisma, inspiration, individual consideration, and

 35
intellectual stimulation (Bass, 1985). Transformational leadership has its weakness. First,

it lacks conceptual clarity, meaning it has too many various actions, and leaders may

concentrate on many different elements and procedures. Second, capacities are problematic

with uncertain variable limits. Finally, transformational leadership considers leadership as a

character trait or individual liability instead of conduct that people can acquire (Northouse,

2013). Thus, its applicability is limited.

Transactional. This style of leadership depends on a mutual and deterministic

connection involving a leader and his or her subordinates (Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978).

Transactional leadership may be characterized in multiple ways (Bass, 1997; Vito et al.,

2014). First, transactional leaders utilize contingent rewards, for example, work for pay

or time off, to underlie the arrangements for explicit or implicit agreement on goals to be

reached to obtain the desired rewards or behavior (Bass, 1985, 1997). Second,

transactional leaders use a management-by-exception format to implement a monitoring

program that allows them to gather behavioral information to predict or prevent the

subordinate from deviating from the agreed upon goals of objectives (Bass, 1985). Third,

transactional leaders are passive and only act when a problem arises. Under this

perspective, leaders and subordinates have considerable power and influence (Bass,

1985). The problem with transactional leaders is expectations, as transactional leaders

fulfill employees’ needs for rewards when they meet targets (Bass, 1997).

Laissez-faire. According to Cherry (2016), laissez-faire leadership also referred

to as delegation leadership, is a kind of leadership style wherein leaders are hands-off and

permit other associates within the group to make the choices. Researchers have found that
 36
this is the leadership style that leads to the lowest productivity among group members.

Allen et al. (2013) stated that because laissez-faire leaders are avoidant in their role as

leaders, organizational members do not perceive them as sincere, credible, or trustworthy.

Thus, laissez-faire leaders create a psychological climate in which members are resistant

to rather than ready for a change. Allen et al. (2013) mentioned that laissez-faire leaders

are passive and offer little direction and guidance, so any change effort they suggest is

likely to be negatively related to readiness for change. Laissez-faire leaders provide no

support and no direction to their employees. These leaders do not create a psychological

climate that encourages new ideas and suggestions (Allen et al., 2013). The problem with

laissez-faire leadership is that it involves the deferral of decision-making and avoidance

of communication; laissez-faire leaders converse only when necessary. Thus, the business

of employee development is not a concern to laissez-faire leaders, as they believe that

employees can take care of themselves (Wong & Giessner, 2016).

Servant. A leader’s going beyond his or her self-interest is the main feature of

servant leadership (Winston & Fields, 2015). Employing servant leadership in an

organization entails that a leader place priority on creating an organizational environment

that facilitates followers’ growth and development. Winston and Fields (2015) also stated

that facilitating the development of followers might occur directly through training and

mentoring or indirectly through consistent behaviors that encourage followers to

undertake self-development activities. Thus, servant leadership’s person-oriented attitude

places the leader in the role of a steward of the interests of both the organization and its

members (Winston & Fields, 2015). Bambale (2014) argued that servant leadership is a
 37
concept rooted in the belief that to motivate followers to perform at the fullest potential,

leaders must rely on one-on-one communication to understand followers’ needs, desires,

abilities, goals, and potentials. Servant leaders use their knowledge about followers to

assist them in achieving their potential. Servant leaders also help followers to achieve

their potential by building their self-confidence, inspiring trust, and providing

information, feedback, and resources (Bambale, 2014). Servant leadership differs from

most other leadership approaches in its focus on personal integrity and the formation of

strong long-term relationships with employees (Bambale, 2014).

The weakness of servant leaders is that they can be subject to manipulation by

their followers, and they might be perceived as feeble and inexperienced. Another

problem of servant leaders is that they might perform actions or service for followers so

that the followers will return the consideration, and leaders may apply pressure against

followers to promote this system of exchange (Staats, 2015). The next section of this

literature review focuses on church leaders, church leadership settings, and leadership

characteristics. Each area of focus contributes to establishing the justification and

rationale for the selection of the leadership concept for this study.

Church Leaders

The continued existence and growth of nonprofit organizations will require sound

leadership. Unlike for-profit organizations, and comparable to other nonprofit

organizations, stakeholders volunteer the resources (e.g., money, time, people) to a

church leader, and the relationship between church leaders and congregational members

is interdependent (Grandy, 2013). Studying leadership in churches provides insight into

 38
the complexity of leadership and reveals that leadership is relational, rather than

responsibility or a gift that rests solely with one individual (Grandy, 2013). Leadership in

nonprofits is particularly complex and requires a diverse range of skills and abilities,

some of which include a high tolerance for ambiguity; advocacy, fundraising, and grant

writing; financial management; and managing and motivating a workforce comprised

primarily of volunteers. Also, nonprofits are value-driven organizations that require

leaders who can sustain tradition (the mission) while balancing the need for innovation

(Grandy, 2013).

Stewart (2008) stated that leadership in churches is a complex relationship among

pastors, leaders, and members, who have the official and standard authority, and various

other institutions, such as the higher church diocese, media, government, and the

community. Churches exist to offer moral, spiritual, and community guidance. Studying

churches can provide insight into the role of values, leaders, and organizational members

in the enactment of leadership, culture, decision making, and strategy in a variety of

nonprofit and socially responsible organizations (Stewart, 2008). Therefore, churches are

an exemplar of the complexity involved in navigating through a diffuse power structure

(Stewart, 2008).

According to Kanyandekwe et al. (2013), church leaders should set good

examples for church members, communities, societies in general, and political leaders.

The power of church leaders should not be transformed into corruption through fake

miracles and prayers for a fee or counseling for a fee. Thus, it is customary that a good

work relationship is a strong contributing factor to the successful performance of the

 39
organizational objectives. Leaders in churches create and maintain a positive work

climate by establishing the appropriate organizational structure and good policies and

implementing them consistently (Kanyandekwe et al., 2013).

Church Leadership Settings

Grandy (2013) mentioned that as in other nonprofits, values, and mission are

central to leadership in churches. Pastoral power differs from that in conventional

organizations usually featured in organizational studies. Leadership is essential to the

growth of a nonprofit organization such as a church, as adequate leadership is necessary

for the survival of nonprofit organizations (Grandy, 2013).

Watt (2014) stated that churches in the 21st century need godly leaders capable of

influencing others to achieve their mission. Leaders should understand church

government and politics, the effects of diversity in theology and worship, spiritual

formation of church followers, program planning and administration, as well as age-level

best practices. Furthermore, leaders in the church should show moral leadership,

individual control, and community service through the initiation, development, and

maintenance of positive functioning relationships (Watt, 2014). The role of a church

leader may take the form of a preacher, pastor, teacher, counselor missionary, small

group leader, or another church-related ministry. But no matter what the call, the church

needs to identify and provide leaders with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary

to reach today’s culture.

According to Watt (2014), church leaders need to prepare others for effective

leadership by educating, equipping, enriching, and empowering them for the work of the
 40
church in general and life in the world at large. The church is one body made up of many

people, most of whom are volunteers. Effective church leaders recognize that relational

power is the outcome of working with others to achieve mutually satisfactory goals;

being a relational church leader is often more about the ability to influence others than

the capacity to wield power (Watt, 2014). A lesson for those fulfilling formal and

informal leadership roles in the church is that individuals must learn to love others in the

agape sense or sacrificial sense. Church leaders should respect and admire all types of

other people. People must learn to love and respect others as they become aware of God’s

love for His people. Church leaders must make it a part of their daily business to

communicate their vision and goals to complete the organization’s mission (Watt, 2014).

Cole (2015) pointed out that churches face great challenges in reaching today’s

secular culture. As churches in America continue to age, they gradually become inward-

focused and can lose the ability to relate to people in their communities. Leaders may

face increasing pressure to spend resources and time in meeting the members’ escalating

demands, thus reducing the church’s ability to carry out the great commission (Cole,

2015).

Moving a church from inward-focused to outward-focused does not guarantee to

remove the problems the church will encounter (Cole, 2015). Pastors and leaders must

prepare for pushback from the congregation when they embark on the journey of

becoming outward-focused. Pastors must receive encouragement that they will not walk

this journey alone. Many pastors of small and medium-sized churches who feel stuck

with membership growth need to develop a systematized plan for their churches. The
 41
churches they pastor are on a course of status quo with no destination in sight (Cole,

2015). Pastors as leaders should provide the vision of the church to the congregation. A

daily reminder of the vision is a critical part of a leader’s responsibility for achieving the

organization’s mission (Watt, 2014). The success of the church depends on the direction

of the pastor and leaders in the church as churches face significant reductions in church

attendance and membership.

Leadership Characteristics

Gini and Green (2014) stated that three principle characteristics constitute the

core of the leadership concept: character, stewardship, and experience.

Character. Character encompasses the totality of a person’s beliefs, values, and

ethics (Gini & Green, 2014). Character, like skill, athletic ability, or musical talent, must

be performed to be perfected and maintained, yet some mistakes, actions, and behavior,

whether intended or not, can change lives and reputations forever. Being a person of

character is an ongoing activity and not a one-time affair or an episodic experience and

assuming the leadership of an organization, whether a club, a sports team or a global

corporation, is a daunting and dangerous thing to do (Gini & Green, 2014). For a leader

to attempt to do so without a solid understanding of who they are (character) and without

a clear sense of what they are willing and unwilling to do (integrity and conscience) is a

formula for public failure and personal tragedy. The character may be the most crucial

and elusive element of leadership. Character is permanent; it establishes both day-to-day

demeanor and destiny. Therefore, it is not only useful but also essential to examine the

character of those who wish to lead (Gini & Green, 2014).

 42
Stewardship. Gini and Green (2014) argued that to act as a steward is to act as

“an agent” for another. Stewardship, like leadership, is always focused on others. Being a

steward requires that leaders recognize that the ultimate purpose of their work is others

and not themselves (Gini & Green, 2014; Senge, 2006). Leaders, like stewards, do what

they do for something larger than themselves, putting their followers’ or constituents’

needs before their own (Gini & Green, 2014).

Experience. Gini and Green (2014) mentioned that the ability to learn is a

defining characteristic of being human, and the ability to continue learning is an essential

skill of leaders. Real learning is the result of time, experience, effort, education,

involvement, achieving success, and most importantly, experiencing setbacks and

failures. The ability to be a leader is the result of training, time on the job, surviving the

test of both minor and major failures, and the talent to extract both wisdom and skills

from these experiences. Gini and Green (2014) also explained that the need for leadership

is part of humans’ social DNA; people need leadership, they seek it out, and they are

desperate for it. During times of despair, they may embrace bad leaders, misleaders, and

toxic leaders, who promise to satisfy their needs for security and provide a sense of order

and certainty in a disordered and uncertain world. In light of the above literature, the

rationale for this study was that the full-range leadership theory was the ideal vehicle for

this study. The full-range leadership theory focuses on both the positive and negative

effects of the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles (Samad,

Reaburn, Davis, & Ahmad, 2015).

 43
The Full-Range Leadership Model

The focus of this study was the leadership styles as represented in the full-range

leadership model. The transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style,

and laissez-faire leadership styles are the constructs of full-range leadership theory. These

styles may be applied to a specific and quantifiable demographic of the contemporary

workforce. The full-range leadership model is a suitable academic basis by which to

study leadership within organizations because the model is relevant across professions.

Since its origins in the 1980s, the full range leadership model has evolved into the most

researched theory of leadership today (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013).

Bass (1985) developed the full-range leadership model, which classified

leadership styles into three types: transformational leadership, transactional leadership,

and laissez-faire leadership. Allen et al. (2013) reiterated Bass’s (1985) suggestion that

these three types form a continuum, with transformational leaders being the most active

and effective, laissez-faire leaders being the least active and effective, and transactional

leaders falling in the middle.

Transformational leadership style. Burns (1978) stressed that transformational

leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that

leaders and followers raise one another to a higher level of motivation and morality.

Burns (1978) also described transformational leadership as a process rather than specific

behavior. Yahaya and Ebrahim (2016) stated that Bass (1985) described a

transformational leader as an individual who raised followers’ awareness, shifted them to

higher-level needs, drove them to move beyond their self-interests and work harder to
 44
surpass expectations. Bass (1985) also stated that the extent to which a leader is

transformational is primarily determined by the extent of his or her influence on

followers. Followers of such a leader feel trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect for the

leader, and because of the qualities of the transformational leader, followers are willing to

work harder than originally expected. Burns (1978) stated that transformational leaders

appeal to higher ideals and moral values and empower followers to produce profound and

fundamental change. Transformational leaders offer followers more than just working for

personal gain; they provide followers with an inspiring mission and vision to give them

an identity (Bass, 1985). The leader transforms and motivates followers through his or

her idealized influence earlier identified as charisma, intellectual stimulation, and

individual consideration. Also, this leader encourages followers to come up with new and

unique ways to challenge the status quo and to alter the environment to support success

(Bass, 1985). Transformational leadership is a practice that changes and transforms

people to go beyond expectations. Burns argued that transformational leadership goes

beyond the straightforward exchange relationship between leaders and followers which is

characteristic of transactional leadership.

Transformational leaders inspire followers with a common vision, which offers a

conceptual map of where the organization is headed (Allen et al. (2013). These leaders

concentrate on the transformation of both the organization and the individuals within it

and influence their followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the group by

increasing their commitment to the organization’s vision. Leaders act as change drivers,
 45
actively involved in creating an environment and culture that foster change and growth

(Allen et al., 2013).

Transformational leadership is an effective and influential leadership style to

influence the behaviors and performance of followers (Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978). It

articulates a compelling vision, offers clear goals, provides support and stimulates

followers to work. Bass (1985) identified an inspirational motivation, individualized

consideration, idealized influences, and intellectual stimulation as the four dimensions of

transformational leadership behaviors. Inspirational motivation refers to a leader who

creates an attractive image of the future and demonstrates optimism, enthusiasm, and

individualized consideration to provide encouragement and support to followers (Bass,

1985). Idealized influences refer to a leader who serves as a personal example who

maintains high ethical standards. Intellectual stimulation encourages followers to

challenge and be aware of the problems (Bass, 1985).

Chan and Mak (2014) stated that transformational leadership stimulates followers

to exchange ideas and generate a mission within organizations. A transformational leader

encourages followers with high motivation and belief at work, which enhances the

personal meaningfulness of followers. This action generates followers’ emotional

attachment and involvement in identifying the leader. The identification of a leader

reflects the extent to which followers’ have confidence and belief in their leader.

Followers are likely to engage with a leader when he or she expresses feelings of pride to

others as members (Chan & Mak, 2014).

 46
Transformational leaders provide individualized care to their followers, providing

benefits and support that exceed their expectations (Chan & Mak, 2014). Followers who

perceive their leader as extraordinary will become strongly dependent on the leader for

guidance and inspiration. Also, when followers experience pride and feelings of

accomplishment towards their leaders, they also feel obligated to stay with the leader.

Pride in being a follower of the leader emphasizes the high level of identification in the

leader-follower relationship and an increase in the normative commitment of the

followers (Chan & Mak, 2014).

Transformational leaders move followers to transcend their self-interest for the

good of the group, organization, or country (Bass, 1997). Transformational leaders

motivate followers and other constituencies to do more than they originally expected to

do as they strive for higher order outcomes (Bass, 1997; Burns, 1978). Transformational

leadership may be autocratic and directive or democratic and participative. Leaders can

be intellectually stimulating to their followers when they authoritatively direct the

follower’s attention to a hidden assumption in their thinking (Bass, 1997).

A central thesis of Bass’s (1985) concept is that transformational leadership goes

beyond exchanging inducements for desired performance. By extension, leaders may

exhibit intellectually stimulating leadership approaches as well as different kinds of

leadership styles, methods, skill sets, and philosophies to influence every area of the

church. Transformational leaders impact their members to surpass their self –interest for

the benefit of the organization (McCleskey, 2014). Leadership plays a crucial role in the

progress and working of an organization. Thus, the process of organizational change

 47
commands very effective and extremely skillful leadership and a leader who is adept at

recognizing the most attractive structure of an organization and addressing the questions

of organizational change in a most proper way (Kalaluhi, 2013).

For a church as an organization to accomplish its goals and grow, the leaders must

be effective (Kalaluhi, 2013). Individuals within the church have the impression that the

leaders of the church have to be strict or reserved and are not obligated to involve the

members in the decision-making process because members are not active in the higher

levels of authority (Malakyan, 2013). With this technique, leaders transform their

followers by activating higher-order needs, emphasizing the value of certain outcomes,

and influencing their followers to put the organization before their self-interest

(Malakyan, 2013).

Transactional leadership. The transactional-transformational paradigm features

leadership as either a matter of contingent reinforcement of followers by a transactional

leader or the moving of followers beyond their self-interests for the good of the group,

organization or society by a transformational leader (Bass, 1997). The paradigm is

sufficiently broad to provide a basis for measurement and understanding that is as

universal as the concept of leadership itself. Leaders and followers enter an exchange

beginning with a process of negotiation to establish what is being exchanged and whether

it is satisfactory (Bass, 1997). Transactional leadership depends on the leader’s power to

reinforce subordinates for their successful completion of the bargain. Reinforcement can

be materialistic or symbolic, immediate or delayed, partial or whole, implicit or explicit,

and usually involves rewards or resources. Bass (1985) pointed out that transactional
 48
leaders do not develop higher-order leadership strategies that have the potential to unlock

employees’ potential and creativity. Oberfield (2014) stated that the three components of

transactional leadership are passive management by exception, active management by

exception, and contingent reward. These components share principal agent logic about

the leader-follower relationship; that is managers (leaders) are responsible for

communicating goals and instructions to workers, observing follower behavior, and

responding in kind to the actions of followers (Oberfield, 2014). Although Bass (1985)

was clear that transactional leadership is an important component of organizational

functioning, he labeled it a lower order (Oberfield, 2014). In this way, Bass indicated that

transactional leadership is a necessary component of management, but it is not enough for

an organization to achieve its full potential. Bass argued that leaders must employ

transformational leadership; they need to inspire followers and unlock their potential for

creativity. In other words, transformational leadership augments transactional leadership

to achieve higher levels of subordinate performance with the primary difference residing

in the process by which the leader motivates subordinates and in the types of goals set

(Bass, 1985).

Transactional leadership centers mainly on leader-follower exchanges (Zareen,

Razzaq, & Mujtaba, 2014). Followers perform according to the will and direction of the

leaders, and leaders positively reward the efforts. The baseline is a reward that can be a

negative experience related to disciplinary actions. However, if followers meet the terms

and conditions to achieve the assigned goals, the exchange can be a positive experience

related to praise and appreciation. Researchers have proposed three characteristics of

 49
transactional leadership, which are contingent rewards, active management by exception,

and passive management by exception (Zareen et al., 2014). Transactional leaders

communicate with their followers what they should do and how they should do it and

then monitor them closely; followers perform tasks and obtain contingent rewards upon

satisfactory performance and get punished for unsatisfactory performance (Gilani,

Cavico, & Mujtaba, 2014).

Laissez-faire leadership. Skogstad, Hetland, Glasø, and Einarsen (2014) echoed

Bass’s (1985) definition of laissez-faire leadership as the avoidance or absence of

leadership, almost all literature on this style of leadership characterizes laissez-faire as

the most inactive as well as the most ineffective. Skogstad et al. defined laissez-faire

leadership as a follower-centered form of avoidance-based leadership in which

subordinates perceive a situational need for leadership, and leaders fail to respond to

those needs; this dynamic is the main source of variance in outcomes. Moreover, laissez-

faire leadership is perceived as leaders’ volitional and active avoidance of subordinates

when they needed assistance, in contrast to transactional and transformational forms of

leadership (Skogstad et al., 2014). Skogstad et al. (2014) indicated leaders, in general,

should avoid laissez-faire leadership, which from a follower-centered perspective, does

not meet the legitimate expectations of the subordinates. Organizations in general, as well

as leadership development programs, should address laissez-faire leadership behavior and

its negative effects just as they examine the features of transactional and transformational

forms of leadership (Skogstad et al., 2014). Leaders must know when to act and when not
 50
to act in their relationships with subordinates and thus not confuse empowering

leadership with laissez-faire leadership behaviors (Skogstad et al., 2014).

Laissez-faire leadership is a style in which a leader delegates all the decision-

making powers to followers (Gilani et al., 2014). Such leaders give complete freedom to

their followers to decide by providing them all the necessary tools and resources (Zareen

et al., 2014). Expectations for followers to solve problems are very high, but when

followers go through the process and ultimately make decisions, the whole process

becomes a good learning opportunity to develop and to know about necessary

organizational tools. Zareen et al. (2015) further stated that laissez-faire leadership style

is useful in situations with large numbers of decisions, when decision making is easy,

when followers should perform routine tasks with fewer complexities and less demanding

criteria, or when rules and regulations are pre-determined. This leadership style is

inappropriate when followers lack knowledge, experience, and expertise or when they are

unwilling or unable to make decisions on their own (Zareen et al., 2015).

Servant leadership. Researching the topic of servant leadership is the first step

for academics and leaders in organizations that embrace the servant leadership model

(Greenleaf, 1977). The procedure of taking up a servant leader position begins with a

natural awareness of wanting to serve, followed by the longing to lead. As leaders first

desire to serve, they can promise to meet the wishes of those they serve first. This

motivation is different from that of leaders who desire to lead, to satisfy a drive for

power, or to obtain material property (Greenleaf, 1977). Thus, leaders should be

responsible for serving others first, and this level of service must supersede their ambition
 51
and the organization’s mission (Greenleaf, 1998). Pastoral leadership is a Bible-centered

ideology, whereas servant leadership centers on an Omni-secular ideology. Greenleaf

(1998) defined Omni-secular as a belief not bound to a certain context or religious

influence; rather, it is a person’s conscious choice to serve. Laub (2014) presented the

following definition of servant leadership: the grasping and practice of leadership that

identifies the good of those led above the selfishness of the leader. Servant leadership

supports the worth and progress of individuals, the structuring of groups, the exercise of

genuineness, the issuing of leadership for the good of those leading, the allocation of

authority and position for the ordinary good of every person, the whole organization, and

individuals served by the corporation. Greenleaf (1977) assumed that the leadership

distinction of servant leaders displays itself in the responsibility that they take as servants

first to ensure that other individuals’ most important needs are met. Thus, the basis of

Greenleaf’s (1977) concept of servant-leadership is that the leader does not love the

company more than he loves the individuals who make up the company.

Leadership is vital to the success of the church, and the need for different

leadership styles is not going to go away anytime soon (C. H. Johnson, 2014). Also,

leadership focuses not on power and self-promotion but the selfless pursuit of progress. It

signals the leader when it is time to lead, when it is time to follow, and when it is time to

compromise (C. H. Johnson, 2014). The contentious idea is that servant leadership is a

lasting, transformational method to a single leader and association. However, the servant

leader’s conflicts with some typical styles of leadership that concentrate on authority,

position, force, title, temporary rewards, and managing followers as a means to an end
 52
(Sipe & Frick, 2015). Gaps in literature persist on the topics of ethical leadership, ethical

decision making, and communication; these deficits indicated the need for further

research.

Overview of the Pentecostal Church

The Pew Research Center (2014) stated that the modern Pentecostal movement

traces its roots back to a revival that took place at the Azusa Street Mission in downtown

Los Angeles between 1906 and 1909. Although the church maintains records of earlier

outpourings of the spirit in places such as Topeka, Kansas, in 1900, the significance of

what transpired at Azusa Street led to its recognition as the birthplace of the movement.

Soon Pentecostalism began to spread beyond Azusa Street, first throughout the United

States, and then throughout the world, as men and women alike began to carry the

message of Pentecost into the mission field. Some of the earliest Pentecostal missionaries

traveled to Latin American countries, some as independent missionaries and others as

representatives of organizations or denominations. From its earliest inception in the

culture of Latin America, Pentecostalism gained mass appeal, especially among those

who found themselves on the fringes of society (Pew Research Center, 2014).

Pentecostalism and related charismatic movements represent one of the fastest-

growing segments of global Christianity. A quarter of the two billion Christians in the

world are believed members of this highly personal faith, highlighting the religious

recommencing of the holy spirit as a gift for talking in tongues, godly cure, and

revelation (T. M. Johnson, Zurlo, Hickman, & Crossing, 2015). Even more than other

Christians, Pentecostals, and other renewalists believe that God, acting through the Holy
 53
Spirit, plays a direct, active role in everyday life. Pentecostalism has evoked the largest

shift in the global religious scene over the last decade and now constitutes the third

largest body of the universal church, counting more than 640 million Pentecostals

worldwide in 2015 (T. M. Johnson et al., 2015). Though counting such a diverse

movement is a complex task, Pentecostals’ numbers are expected to hover around 1.1

billion by 2015 (T. M. Johnson et al., 2015).

Strong leadership has been an important ingredient of the Pentecostal movement

from its beginning (Wacker, 2001). If the essence of leadership is the ability to persuade

people to do what is needed for completion, the essence of effective leadership in the

church was the ability to persuade them to do it of their own accord. And in this respect,

the revival’s torchbearers proved skillful beyond their grandest dreams. A. Anderson

(2013) concurred and suggested that the astonishing growth of global Pentecostalism may

partly be attributed to the movement’s entrepreneurial leaders and preachers.

Given this prominent role of leadership and the numerous examples of famous

and infamous Pentecostal leaders, it is surprising to learn how little has been written on

the topic of Pentecostal leadership (Åkerlund, 2015). The steady stream of research

addressing leadership from confessional or denominational angles reflects this awareness,

one prominent example being Callahan’s (2013) reference handbook on religious

leadership, which treats leadership in various religious and confessional contexts

separately rather than lumping them together as if they represented one uniform

phenomenon. The implicit premise is that leadership takes on distinct meanings and

aspects in various religious contexts. To keep spirituality and administration in balance is

 54
thus a constant challenge for ecclesial leaders, one that may be solved using a religiously

rooted normativity (Ershova & Hermelink, 2013).

Consequently, researchers cannot simply assume that general leadership theories

apply in ecclesial contexts as they do elsewhere. This realization has led to an increased

emphasis on strong, visionary, and entrepreneurial leadership and management, arguably

the result of an emphasis on pragmatic and practical intelligence in church growth

strategy (Åkerlund, 2015). Finally, the inherent fluidity of Pentecostalism has made it the

quintessential globalized religion by transcending the local and propagating a universal

image of the world, while at the same time incorporating itself successfully into the

sociocultural contexts of any new cultures it encounters (Deininger, 2013).

Pentecostal leadership. Christel (2013) warned against painting a picture of

Pentecostal leadership with broad strokes, as great diversity exists across generations and

contexts of Pentecostal leaders. Christel narrowed the study to classic Pentecostals (U.S.

Assemblies of God) and suggested that leadership stems from being led and empowered

by the Spirit as their leadership is grounded in a deep sense of God’s calling them and

giving them a mission. Love and burden for the lost are what motivates these leaders,

who rely on the empowering gifts of the Spirit in executing their leadership (Christel,

2013). Leaders also reject top-down hierarchy and rely on transformational leadership by

encouraging team-based ministry and involving others in setting the direction for the

church. They mobilize members of their congregations for compassionate work in their

local communities (Christel, 2013).Åkerlund (2015) employed Wacker’s (2001)

distinction between the primitive and the pragmatic in explaining the problem of
 55
Pentecostal leadership’s capability to merge religious vigor and orientation, while at the

same time being flexible in global dealings. Even as Pentecostal leaders attributed their

work to the Spirit, even to the degree that some of their periodicals refused to list a

human editor, Wacker (2001) insisted that leaders were always present, assessing

realities, setting direction, and implementing strategies. Local Pentecostal leaders have

been able to cross the spiritual and material-void by proclaiming that God is not only in

the business of saving souls but also of providing healing and deliverance from diseases

and suppressive forces of any kind (A. Anderson, 2013).

Myers (2015) stated that in a similar vein, indigenous leadership makes

Pentecostal churches better suited to inspiring deep-rooted and long-lasting change in

society, more than international nongovernmental organizations, as churches are more

embedded in the local context than their secular counterparts. Though this approach to

mission undoubtedly has proven itself to be effective, it has also been blemished with

signs and blunders (A. Anderson, 2013). Pentecostal leadership training needs contextual

models, according to Easter (2013), who advocated approaches that balance contextual

awareness and adaptation of local practices with principles of Biblical leadership,

including experiential, incarnational, and participatory modes of learning geared towards

missional transformation.

Leadership and church growth. Leadership is essential to the growth of a

nonprofit organization such as a church, and effective leadership is necessary for the

survival of nonprofit organizations (Grandy, 2013). According to the Pew Research

Center (2014), 72% of people believe religion is losing its influences in America. The
 56
United States ranks third behind China in the number of people who do not profess

Christianity. The poll and census data concurred that only 40% to 50% of people attend

church, and 4,000 churches close every year. One remedy may be for pastors to share the

vision of the church with the congregation. A daily reminder of the vision is a critical part

of a leader’s responsibility for achieving the organization’s mission (Watt, 2014). The

success of a church depends on the direction of the pastor and leaders. To motivate

others, leaders must envision the future and embrace the vision so that they can transfer

their enthusiasm to others.

Additionally, the church’s financial stability and increases in membership are

reflections of pastors’ success (Watt, 2014). Membership problems are not specific to a

single denomination; many churches have experienced reductions in membership

(Grandy, 2013). Attendance at Sunday services has decreased due to nonreligious

activities such as sports practice and leisure activities such as shopping and weekend

travel (McMullin, 2013). Leaders should ensure the success of the organization with new

initiatives and demonstrate their creativity to produce a productive, profitable, and

conflict-free environment (Saeed et al., 2014). It is essential for leaders to be effective in

their leadership of the church members, who are vital to the success of the organization.

That success includes an increase in church attendance or membership rather than a

decline (Belias & Koustelios, 2015).

Full-range leadership model in church leadership. While the descriptions of

the leadership styles seem separate and clear, in reality, a leader may move between

transformational and transactional styles (Hannah, Sumanth, Lester, & Cavarretta, 2014).
 57
The full-range leadership model recognizes this movement between transformational and

transactional leadership, with the understandings that one leader may have a preferred

style, and some individuals are unable or unwilling to implement the transformational

profile of leadership (Hannah et al., 2014).

The research question in this study was designed to address church leaders’

perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles

influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. Also, the nine elements that make up the significant concepts of the

full-range leadership model provided some leadership features from which the research

participants could obtain answers. The nine elements of the full-range leadership model

determine or assess qualities, conduct, and qualities of leaders using any of the leadership

styles included in the leadership model (Luo et al., 2016). These nine elements derived

from the three leadership styles creating the full-range leadership model.

Transformational leadership has four key areas, as stated previously, inspirational

motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration

(Antonakis & House, 2014). Idealized influence includes two elements; the leader

provides role modeling in ethics and values and encourages followers toward the

completion of goals (Luo et al., 2016). Transactional leadership adds contingent rewards,

management by exception active, and management by exception passive to the full-range

model, and the final concept laissez-faire leadership (Luo et al., 2016).

Also, servant leadership stresses serving people first; such a leader is, in essence,

a person experienced in listening, requesting responses, collaborating, expression of

 58
beliefs and compassion, methods thinking, and the proper use of power. The purpose is to

improve the progress of individuals in the organization and multiply teamwork and

individual contribution (Sipe & Frick, 2015). To build effective teams within an

organization, leaders must recognize that creating effective teams requires their support,

coaches who can facilitate the development of teams, organizations that value teamwork,

space that encourages teamwork, and leadership that rewards team performance (Taplin,

Foster, & Shortell, 2013).

Summary and Conclusions

This study was a qualitative exploration of transformational, transactional,

laissez-faire, and servant leadership styles among pastors, deacons, and ministers of

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia, designed to determine the

influence of these styles on the growth of church membership. The full-range leadership

model established how the three leadership styles (transactional, transformational, and

laissez-faire) correlated with the three leader outcomes (perception of leader

effectiveness, extra effort, and subordinate satisfaction with the leader; Bass & Avolio,

1997).

Transformational leadership includes charisma, inspiration, intellectual

stimulation, and individualized consideration. Transactional leaders exercise contingent

rewards or management by exception to attain organizational objectives. Laissez-faire

leaders offer partial or no direction or connections (Bass & Avolio, 1997). The nature of

the leadership style of servant leaders is managing by example. Leadership and improved
 59
partnerships that bring people together for the success of collective goals eventually lead

to social change (Greenleaf, 1977).

The full-range leadership theory presumes that followers work effectively in a

transactional relationship with the leader, although rewards such as bonuses alone are not

sufficient. The leader has to exercise transformational leadership as well to motivate great

success, incentive, and dedication among followers (Antonakis & House, 2014).

Therefore, what is unknown is how church leaders should supervise their outreach

strategies to help increase membership in their churches. The findings of this study may

provide information and understanding to church leaders and members of congregations

to fill the gaps in the existing literature regarding church leadership and membership

growth.

Chapter 3 will describe the research design and rationale, the role of the

researcher, methodology, participant selection process, instrumentation, procedures for

recruitment of participants, data collection process, data analysis, issues of

trustworthiness, and ethical procedures. Also, this study may contribute to the body of

scholarly knowledge on the leadership styles of church leaders and the extent to which

these styles influence membership growth.

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Chapter 3: Research Method

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of

church leaders such as pastors, deacons, ministers, and members of congregations

regarding their leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles influences

the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia. The qualitative approach offered an all-inclusive structure for a comprehensive

exploration of complex issues related to human behavior, human perception, and lived

experience (Khan, 2014; Schwandt, 2015). Also, this study may contribute to the body of

scholarly knowledge on the leadership styles of church leaders and the extent to which

they influence membership growth. A single interview protocol consisting of

semistructured, face-to-face interviews was the method of collecting data from church

leaders.

Chapter 3 outlines the method, study design, the study sample, instrumentation,

and data analysis utilized in the study. This chapter features a discussion of ethical issues

including protection of the study participants. Chapter 3 also explains the process

employed in performing this qualitative case study research, which explored church

leaders’ perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles

influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia.

Research Design and Rationale

The overarching research question for this case study was What are church

leaders’ perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles
 61
influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and

Springfield, Virginia? Two subquestions focused on this study:

RQ1. What are the leadership styles commonly employed by church leaders to

increase membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and Springfield,

Virginia?

RQ2. What is the church leaders' (pastors, deacons, and ministers) knowledge and

understanding of the implementation of the leadership styles (transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) to increase membership growth in Pentecostal

churches in Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia?

The goal of this study was to explore the different leadership styles (i.e.,

transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) of pastors, deacons, ministers,

and members of the congregations of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia, and the influence of those styles on church membership growth.

Transformational leaders guide their members to rise above their self-interest for the

good of the organization (McCleskey, 2014). Transactional leadership centers on the task

of management, planning, and group accomplishment (Cherry, 2016). Laissez-faire

leaders keep away from responsibility, delay decision making, and do not advise church

members (Allen et al., 2013). Servant leadership is not just an organizational system; it is

a behavior that starts with the normal idea that one wants to serve and to serve first

(Greenleaf, 1970).

This study involved the application of a qualitative method with a case study

research design. The qualitative method supported examination of how individuals and
 62
groups establish significance. The qualitative investigation involved data collection

through interviews, observations, documents, and qualitative analysis to find

substantively relevant patterns and themes (Patton, 2015). The study included a sequence

of plans, considerations, and an evaluation of the literature on the condition of the

Pentecostal church and the causes of the church’s decline.

A case study generates a free-standing detailed and rich story about a person,

organization, event, campaign, or program, which is the focus of the study (Patton, 2015).

This method certifies that the subject is not observed through a single lens; instead, a

variety of different objects and perspectives permit disclosure and understanding of

various aspects surrounding the problem (Patton, 2015; Yin, 2014). The purpose of this

qualitative case study was to explore church leaders’ perceptions of their leadership styles

understand how the implementation of these styles influences the growth of church

membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary

phenomenon (the case) in depth and within its real-world context, especially when the

boundaries between phenomenon and context may not be evident (Yin, 2014). The

features of a case study include three aspects. First, a case study deals with technically

distinctive situations. Second, the case study incorporates several informational resources

that merge by triangulation, and third, the case study method can direct the collection and

analysis of data by setting up theoretical propositions (Yin, 2014). A two-fold definition

by Yin (2014) encompassed the scope and features of the case study, and the case study

method can be applied in both quantitative and qualitative research. However, a case
 63
study is usually classified as a qualitative method because it highlights the in-depth

understanding acquired predominantly by qualitative methods (Yin, 2014). The case

study method has gained relevance because it provides in-depth explanations and

descriptions, and the methodology has been widely applied in fields such as psychology,

sociology, political science, anthropology, social work, business, education, nursing, and

community (Yin, 2014).

A case study allows a researcher to concentrate on the development of a group,

resulting in a complete examination and a broad picture of subjects derived from varied

data sources (Yin, 2014). An exploratory case study involves a single association and

setting, and comparative case studies include multiple associations and settings (Yin,

2014). The case study design incorporates numerous methods of collecting information

with the capacity to capture ordinary dynamics of the information (Merriam, 2014). Case

study research has been in use for over 50 years in many disciplines; for instance, case

study techniques are a constant feature of anthropological study, and as a result,

anthropologists have contributed to the growth of case study techniques in numerous

cultural settings all over the world (Babbie, 2015; Merriam, 2014; Yin, 2014).

Historical research is descriptive, and it regularly overlaps with case study

research (Yin, 2014). A case study yields findings similar to a story, but it includes

modern aspects of open observation and organized interview processes. Historical study

is restricted to showing examination of substantial and ethnic objects and records (Yin,

2014). The case study method was appropriate for this study because some interviews

within the limits of this study would be inadequate for the completion of other research
 64
study methods. A case study centers on the development within a group, which results in

an inclusive review and offers a complete assessment of subjects from different data

resources (Yin, 2014). Investigative or descriptive case studies entail one organization

and locality, and comparative case studies, involve multiple associations and localities

(Yin, 2014).

The rationale for this research tradition is that researchers using the case study

methodology can assist in creating an awareness of difficult situations and in evaluating

the connection between situations (Yin, 2014). Case study research permits researchers to

collect information from different sources to increase the validity of a multi-case study

(Lewis, 2015). In qualitative study, participants may speak openly and give specific

information within a compact grouping, providing in-depth information; in contrast,

quantitative techniques do not accommodate immediate follow-up inquiries (Pearce,

Thøgersen-Ntoumani, & Duda, 2014).

The quantitative research method was not a good fit for this study because it

underlines objective measurements, gathering numerical data, and generalizing the data

to provide clarifications on a specific issue (Bryman, 2015). Mixed methods research was

not suitable because important or appropriate quantitative data was neither essential nor

required for this study (Zohrabi, 2013). Additionally, other techniques, such as grounded

theory, narrative, content analysis, ethnography, or phenomenology, did not align with

the purpose of this research. Phenomenological or ethnographic research was not helpful

for this research as the design focused on a cultural group from a specific information

source, instead of a procedure that involved a group of persons (Morgan, 2015). The
 65
grounded theory could not accommodate numerous wide-ranging responses from

participants within an organization (Mellon, 2015). The narrative design requires

inclusion of an author’s narrative, and the procedure may have required the omission of

details and issues from the participants, rendering that approach inappropriate as well

(Wolgemuth, 2014). None of these specific study methods would produce the power and

distinctiveness of the case study research (Merriam, 2014).

Role of the Researcher

I chose the churches for this study based on the following criteria: the churches

were in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia, and the churches’ religious beliefs fell

within in the Pentecostal doctrine of salvation, Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking

in tongues, healing, and deliverance. The researcher’s main function during a qualitative

case study is gathering and organizing of information and examination of the results of

the information (J. A. Smith, 2015). I related to and worked with the participants during

the process of the semistructured face-to-face audio-recorded interviews (McIntosh &

Morse, 2015). To maintain the purpose and the validity of the research, I applied highly

ethical standards at all stages (Bryman, 2015).

As researchers gain an understanding of the purpose of their studies, Bernard

(2012) cautioned, personal ideas and perspectives may create bias in the evaluation of

research information. Thus, when researchers recognize and set aside their ideas, they are

better at understanding the details of others’ experiences (Seidman, 2013). To prevent

influence of researcher bias in this study, I included procedures to ensure that the details

of the results derived from the participants’ comments and experiences during the
 66
member-checking process. In member checking, participants review a summary of their

interview responses to certify truthfulness in interpretation and meaning of their answers

(Marshall & Rossman, 2016). The participants confirm that the summaries mirrored their

assessments, opinions, and experiences/understandings or suggest revisions to improve

accuracy. This review is a method of verifying the explanation provided by the

participants while assessing the interview records (Morse, 2015a). Another means of

ensuring accuracy and clarity was the use of interview questions that accommodated

follow-up inquiries and explanation during the case study research process (J. A. Smith,

2015).

During this study, I conducted individual face-to-face interviews with members of

the target population for the research, which consisted of a sample of 10 pastors, 10

deacons, 10 ministers, and 10 members of the congregations of four Pentecostal churches

in the geographical area under study. Also, I conducted one focus group interview with

five of those same participants. I applied employ due diligence and reflectivity or self-

reflection to identify and remove any bias from my interpretation of the data (Ary,

Jacobs, & Sorensen, 2014).

Although I am a member of a local Pentecostal church in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia, the leaders and members of the congregation from my church were

excluded from being selected as part of the sample participants for this research study.

Additionally, I ensured I did not have any private or professional connection with the

sample participants. I protected the confidentiality of the research participants and

ensured their communication remained secure using every ethical method within reason
 67
to eliminate bias. I selected the target participants to perform the research and obtained

informed consent (Appendix B) from each participant. Once data collection and transcript

review were complete, I used NVivo software to help in generating themes and inscribing

the purpose of the research (Brandão, 2015). Next, I developed an interpretation of the

information, reviewed ideas or themes that appeared, evaluated information with each

participant, and requested participants answer additional questions to enhance clarity if

needed. Participants received copies of my summaries of their transcripts and my initial

interpretations of their responses via e-mail or by hand and provided feedback concerning

the truthfulness and fullness of the summaries.

The interview questions were impartial and limited in scope to prevent biases that

may have polluted this study, and numerous ethical requirements governed this research

study. I explained the purpose of the research to the participants and emphasized the

importance of their honesty. Preserving confidentiality and privacy was essential;

therefore, I assigned pseudonyms to the participants, organizations, and field sites to

establish anonymity.

Methodology

Qualitative research methods were appropriate for this study because a qualitative

study generates detailed knowledge of an individual’s thoughts and inspiration (Barnham,

2015). Qualitative researchers seek to investigate, find, and recognize individuals’ skills

and behaviors in connection with life situations. Qualitative researchers may gather data

from individual interviews, focus groups, or document review from participants within

their natural setting (Patton, 2015). In this study, I followed a plan of purposeful
 68
sampling and collection of data through face-to-face semistructured individual

interviews, one focus group interview meeting, and document review. Findings of this

study identified strategies that church leaders use to ensure effective leadership.

A qualitative design was the most suitable research method for this study and the

best method for theory advancement and analysis, support of concepts, capturing facts,

and discovering extra facts (Garcia & Gluesing, 2013). Qualitative researchers work to

advance knowledge by discovering details in events and identifying individual activities

and ideas (Roer-Strier & Sands, 2015). The use of qualitative inquiry can create profound

and in-depth portraits of a precise experience, and in this research, it had the potential to

produce vital forms of understanding and partnership with leaders in the churches.

A qualitative study was preferable to a quantitative or mixed methods study

because its features aligned most closely with the purpose and aim of this research.

Quantitative methods emphasize the quantity of information, aiming for vast sample size

and large quantities of statistical information for inspection (Anyan, 2013). A mixed

methods study is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (Depoy & Gitlin,

2015), and as mentioned, quantitative data was not appropriate for this study. Therefore,

qualitative research was most likely to result in profound awareness of the significant

motivations of church leaders and thus answer the research questions (Seidman, 2013). A

discussion of the specific procedures for this study follows.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The population for this qualitative case study was pastors, deacons, and ministers

of Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. I selected the

 69
participants using the nonprobability sampling technique of purposive or judgmental

sampling (Patton, 2015). This technique does not afford all individuals in the population

an equal chance of being selected (Patton, 2015); instead, the focus is to select

participants who are likely to have pertinent knowledge and experience to contribute to

the study. The sampling permitted the selection of leaders who could describe their

leadership styles and the impact of those styles on church growth.

The target sample size for the research was 40 to 80 participants, consisting

approximately 10 to 20 pastors, 10 to 20 deacons, 10 to 20 ministers, and eight to 15

members of the congregation for individual face-to-face interviews and four to six

participants for one focus group interview with leaders and members of congregation of

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. Only pastors, deacons,

ministers, and members of the congregations of four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria,

and Springfield, Virginia were eligible for the study.

To identify participants who were willing to participate in the research study, I

sent letters via mail or e-mail to pastors of different Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia. The letters described the research study, the research purpose,

its significance, the advantages of the research study, and the need for the church to

participate in the research study. Three days after posting the letter to the pastors, I

telephoned them to remind them of the request for their participation in the study and to

ask if they had any questions or concerns about the research study. The letter of invitation

for individual leaders to take part in the research stated or advised that participation was

voluntary, and participants could withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. I
 70
selected 40 participants from four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia, to participate in semistructured interviews, and five of these participants

contributed to one focus group interview.

On the other hand, participants who responded and agreed to participate received

verification and clarification of the study, and I answered any questions the participants

had about the study. Then, the participants and I arranged face-to-face, one-on-one

interviews, the place and time of which I confirmed via email. The participants did not

receive the questions before the interviews; this procedure encouraged the participants to

communicate spontaneously and share their understanding and their experience with no

planning.

This sample included three demographic groups of church members. First, the

participants were active members of the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. Second, the participants held leadership roles within the

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. Also, English-speaking

Pentecostal churches were invited to participate in this research study. A researcher is

permitted during the exploratory case study to obtain information in view with a careful

assessment of skills (Hancock & Algozzine, 2015); in this case, the participants’ ability

to speak English ensured optimal communication during the interviews.

To achieve data saturation, the sample must consist of participants with the most

knowledge to answer the research questions (Morse, 2015b). Data saturation related to

the difficulty of the sample with the ability to locate duplication in the information during

the interview of the church leaders who manage these Pentecostal Churches in
 71
Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia (Morse, 2015b). Due to my experience and

knowledge of the role of leaders within the church and how churches operate as nonprofit

organizations, the interview process was a short case study interview. I tried to validate

reliable findings and at the same time explore the participants’ experience with open-

ended questions in an informal method (Yin, 2014). The data consisted of responses to

semi-structured, open-ended interviews questions with the participants, and those

responses presented an opportunity to acquire an understanding of the research problem

(McIntosh & Morse, 2015).

Instrumentation

In qualitative interviews, open-ended questions accommodate individual

variations (Patton, 2015). The main technique of data collection for this case study was

semi-structured interviews. The interview protocol was similar for each of the semi-

structured interviews, which were audio recorded to ensure reliability and validity of the

data and findings (S. J. Taylor, Bogdan, & De Vault, 2015). The interview protocol

allowed for flexibility and allowed participants to provide detailed responses (Hancork &

Algozzine, 2015). During transcript review, each participant verified the exact

significance of the interviews (Roig-Tierno, Huarng, & Ribeiro-Soriano, 2015). In trying

to attain an in-depth measure, a researcher can use the two data collection methods of

record assessment and individual interviews to improve reliability and validity of the

study (Yin, 2014).

One-on-one interviews served to gather information on each church leader’s

perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of the styles influenced
 72
the growth of church membership. During a focus group interview meeting, participants

described how they placed significance and identified nonprofit organizations’ leadership

effectiveness, providing detailed insight to enhance the depiction of the phenomenon of

interest (Tecau & Tescasiu, 2015). The inclusion of a focus group interview meeting in

addition to the individual interviews offered two advantages: first, the ability to achieve

detailed examination of a specific topic that would not be feasible in quantitative study,

and second, the benefit of creating provisions for new topics and concepts that one might

present through the dealings with the participants (Miles & Sparks, 2014). Data also

illuminated and explained the leadership styles of leaders in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia, and those styles’ impact on church growth.

The participants in this nonprobability purposive sampling answered open-ended

interview questions about the leadership styles of leaders and their impact on church

growth within Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. At the start

of the interview, the participants had an opportunity to accept or refuse the audio

recording process. The face-to-face interviews lasted 30 to 45 minutes but no more than

an hour, and all participants consented to audio recording and verbatim transcription for

data analysis. Each participant had enough time to answer the interview questions

honestly, as established in the case study protocol (Yin, 2014).

Face-to-face individual interviews lasted between 45 minutes and an hour as

predicted in the consent form. Also, the focus group interview meeting lasted 35 minutes.

The goal was to ensure that the participants were relaxed and comfortable throughout the

study. During the interviews, I informed the participants that they would receive a
 73
transcript of the audiotaped interviews. Upon completion of transcription, I mailed the

transcripts to the participants to review and sign. The participants had a week to review

the transcript and request any changes, but none requested any revisions. Participants

verified the accuracy of their transcripts via e-mail or by hand and provided final

confirmation, signature, and date. All the participants approved the information and did

not request any changes. Also, during the interviews, I assigned the participants a

pseudonym to guard their identity. The coded data and transcripts are kept in a secure

external hard drive, and five years after the completion of the study, all information will

be destroyed.

Procedures for Data Collection

The purpose of data collection is to gather information concerning a specific

attribute of a person or phenomenon. The use of record gathering as a research instrument

produced thoughtful assessment by disclosing energetic and victorious leaders of

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. The triangulation of

information enhanced validity and reliability during the justification of the research

results and signified the existence of full information (Santiago-Delefosse, Gavin,

Bruchez, Roux, & Stephen, 2016). To achieve data saturation, the sample must consist of

participants with sufficient knowledge to answer the research questions (Morse, 2015b).

Data saturation is the point at which subsequent interviews produce only redundant

information, and no new data emerges; saturation signifies that data collection is

complete (Morse, 2015b).

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At the end of the data collection process, each participant received a copy of the

final transcript and a thank you letter for their participation in this research study. Every

participant had the chance to examine the transcript to confirm the accurate

representation of their responses (Harvey, 2015). Finally, I held debriefing sessions via

telephone with participants and asked about their experiences with the research to check

for any unexpected adverse consequences or misunderstandings. Debriefing also served

as a follow-up to restate the research objective and respond to any issues or deal with any

matters of the participants. Debriefing was further an opportunity to thank participants for

their assistance in completing the research and assure them that their anonymity would be

maintained.

Data Analysis Plan

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore church leaders’

perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles

influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. The qualitative research approach offered an all-inclusive structure

for a more comprehensive exploration of complex issues related to human behavior,

human perception, and lived experience (Khan, 2014; Schwandt, 2015). A case study

research design can assist in positioning complexities and determine questions to carry

out further gathering of data and analysis (Morse, 2015a). The purpose of a case study is

to present the findings of the study based on the data (Morse, 2015a). I conducted a

specific assessment of all interviews by maintaining a careful data analysis to ensure that

the information was reliable (Devotta et al., 2016).

 75
A broad assessment of records from the four Pentecostal churches provided

relevant information related to the different leadership styles of church leaders, pastors,

deacons, and ministers and those styles’ influences on the growth of church membership

in Pentecostal Churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. The review of

documents such as files, policies and procedures manual, and quarterly reports from the

four Pentecostal churches provided a useful comparison to the information gathered from

the interviews, a way of verifying accuracy for the analysis, and an additional source of

data. The employment of numerous data sources to assure the gathering of

comprehensive information required to respond to research questions is methodical

triangulation (Henwood et al., 2015).

NVivo software was used to assist with the coding and highlighting of ideas and

accounts to aid in understanding the core of the occasion (Brandão, 2015). NVivo

software permits the controlled arranging of imported records to source files of interiors,

exteriors, and notes. The most favorable method of arranging data reports into the

database will be determined by the study and prepared analysis (Brandão, 2015). I

created a database for various events during the research process. The software also

accommodated files and notes and Microsoft Word documents or text files. NVivo allows

the inclusion of exterior items like PowerPoint managements, web pages, and books as

supplemental material (Giselle, 2013).

A different alphanumeric code represented each participant and his or her

interview responses, and the data were safeguarded with a password in a computer

secured in a file cabinet. Each participant’s code identified the information he or she
 76
provided, which I organized chronologically. The records from this study will not contain

the names, addresses, or phone numbers of the churches to protect the confidentiality of

leaders and pastors (Cunliffe & Locke, 2015).

In a case study, the collection of information can be achieved through numerous

resources (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Recorded information might support information

from extra resources that presents in-depth material in a complex situation (Roer-Strier &

Sands, 2015). Thus, to achieve reliability in the information, researchers should verify or

double-check the information by extra sources (Lampard & Pole, 2015). It is significant

to check the information for uniformity during the research to enhance the truthfulness of

the findings (Schwandt, 2015).

Efforts to organize the information included an Excel spreadsheet to track

participants’ information (phone contacts, consent forms, and e-mail addresses), private

statement records, record assessment completion, and the interview schedule. Given the

importance of accurate documentation of records and the succession of events, a

qualitative study database was useful to organize the case study information, procedures,

and questions for the interviews. The database contained a tracking of procedures to

alleviate bias and add validity to the study design (Yin, 2014). A file devoted to each

participant contained recordings from the interviews, agendas from the meetings,

interviews minutes, and location of the interviews.

After the evaluation of the data in the NVivo software, I carried out an extra broad

analysis of the data to discover ideas and connections (Woods, Paulus, Atkins, &

Macklin, 2015). During the process of coding and labeling a qualitative study, themes
 77
emerge since a researcher needs to describe the sentences, expressions, and passages

obtained through the course of the interview and organize them so that commonalities

and themes along with the data can be recognized (Dasgupta, 2015). NVivo was also

appropriate to code and group qualitative information (Zamawe, 2015).

The development of a qualitative database assisted with creating and organizing

files for the interview data. A researcher’s field journal documented reflections related to

the study and assumptions, ideas, and other relevant information. Study findings included

a presentation of the ideas and assumptions from the journal. The ideas helped to

demonstrate efforts to control bias. Furthermore, the journal demonstrated how these

values influenced the conduct and conclusions of the study (Merriam, 2014).

Issues of Trustworthiness

Credibility

To ensure credibility, I provided details of the purpose of the study to the

participants and answered any questions the participants had about the study. All

participants answered the same set of interview questions. Triangulation of different data

sources serves an essential purpose in-case study by enhancing clarity in the answers

advanced by participants. Therefore, the use of triangulation helped to mitigate researcher

bias (Hyett, Kenny, & Dickson-Swift, 2014). Also, transcript review and acknowledging

biases, along with constant reflection, ensure sufficient depth and significance of data

collection and analysis (Wegener, 2014).

In this research, data saturation was related to the difficulty of locating the sample

and the ability to locate repetition with the data during interviews with leaders in different
 78
Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia (Morse, 2015). Qualitative

researchers, while planning a study, examining outcomes, and assessing the standard of

the study, must be concerned with credibility and trustworthiness (Patton, 2015). If the

questions of trustworthiness and credibility are intended to separate good from bad

studies, then assessing and enhancing trustworthiness and credibility was significant to

the accomplishment of this study.

Transferability

Transferability refers to whether the findings of a study apply to other situations

(Merriam, 2014). To ensure transferability, qualitative researchers create rich, detailed,

and thick descriptions in context so that future researchers can make comparisons and

judgments concerning similarity and transferability. The goal of the qualitative researcher

is descriptive adequacy. The researcher must have detail in the descriptions of the setting

and participants to help the reader determine transferability (Ary et al., 2014).

To ensure that this study achieved transferability, I generated thorough

descriptions of the information along with a detailed discussion of the methods of data

analysis. I described the framework of the research, including the location, date, and

times of the interviews, the locations (state and country) of the Pentecostal churches, and

the assumptions and limitations, that impacted this research.

Dependability

Dependability occurs when a different researcher can pursue the perceptions of

the current researcher (Shaw, 2013). Dependability concerns whether the results of a

study are trustworthy. In qualitative research, some variability occurs because of the
 79
contexts of studies differ (Ary et al., 2014). Researchers may use several methods to

ensure dependability. In this study, I utilized data triangulation to help ensure

dependability. For example, the agreement between the interview data and observational

data indicated dependability in the findings of the study (Ary et al., 2014). I employed the

code-recode strategy, wherein I first coded the initial transcript. After a few days have

passed, I will recode the same data. Then I compared the two lists of codes to see if the

results are consistent; consistency indicates dependability.

Another measure to ensure dependability is to explain the critical situations that

occurred throughout the interview procedures and report the impact these situations had

on the study. However, apart from a delay in getting a response back from some of the

participants after e-mailing or hand delivering the original letter of invitation to

participate, no unexpected situations occurred during the collection of data. Finally, the

dissertation committee chair and committee members examined this study to guarantee

the accuracy of the data analysis and ensure no exclusion or modification of any results.

Confirmability

In qualitative research, confirmability indicates the researcher’s objectivity and

the extent to which the research is free from bias in the interpretation of results and

procedures (Ary et al., 2014). I used three approaches to achieve confirmability: the audit

trail, corroboration, and control of bias. I used reflexivity and reflected critically on

myself as a researcher, the human as an instrument (Merriam, 2014). Humans, by nature,

have a bias or a preconceived idea of how something should function. Researchers may

have certain expectations or ideas of a phenomenon, and to combat this problem, the
 80
researchers must address their biases. Researchers must explain their biases, ideas, and

assumptions concerning the research (Merriam, 2014).

Further, I addressed any concerns the participants express about this study, which

strengthened its impartiality. I checked for conflicting data (discrepant cases) that cast the

research results into question. Finally, I generated an audit trail, which tracked and

described the decisions I made starting from the beginning of this research study through

the reporting of the results.

Reliability

During a qualitative case study research, the idea of reliability is to obtain reliable

findings that can be transferable (Roller & Lavrakas, 2015). The researcher should apply

research tools to generate data that stays firm during the research (Allison, Hilton,

O'Sullivan, Owen, & Rothwell, 2016). In other words, transferability depends on the

decision of the person who reads the results (Allison et al., 2016). Efforts to achieve

reliability in this research study included various strategies, including methodical

triangulation, transcript review, and contributions and comments from individuals who

participated in the research.

In this research study, I performed methodical triangulation between the data from

semi-structured interviews and the records related to church organizations. Methodical

triangulation is the use of multiple data sources to ensure the compilation of all-inclusive

data to answer the research questions (Modell, 2015). Triangulation helped me to

discover and discuss patterns in leadership behavior, leaders’ perceptions of their

leadership styles and how the implementation of these styles influences the growth of
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church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

Employing methodical triangulation while performing case study research may

strengthen data analysis due to careful comparison in the collection of information (Noble

& Smith, 2015).

Also, a transcript review was employed following the interviews during this

research. Participants were encouraged to review the transcript of their responses to

ensure the correctness of the information. Communication was made with the participants

during the research process to present a clear picture and aid in the data examination

process. The benefits of transcript review derive from the prospect of participants’

verifying the importance of the interview process and the correctness of the transcript

during the research study (Roig-Tierno et al., 2015).

Audio recording and documented statements were employed based on the

participants’ willingness to reread the interview information to validate accuracy. NVivo

software reinforced the accuracy of the interviewing and audio recording processes

(Brandão, 2015). Therefore, to maintain reliability and validity, I followed specific

policies and procedures when conducting interviews and generating audio recordings.

Validity

The validity of data helps ensure the trustworthiness and credibility of the

information (White, Oelke, & Friesen, 2012). Construct validity is the legitimacy of the

thoughts and the connection between the study theory and the study sizes (Mathieu,

Tannenbaum, Kukenberger, Donsbach, & Allier, 2015). Construct validity involves the

explanation of information (Mathieu et al., 2015). In an exploratory case study design,

 82
the saturation of information derives from data provided by individuals who have

sufficiently encountered an understanding to answer to the subject of the study (Morse,

2015b). The sample for this research permitted a possible option for replication and

significance of the results (Yin, 2014).

Furthermore, the use of methodical triangulation as the verification of numerous

data resources guaranteed the collection of comprehensive information to respond to the

study problems (Modell, 2015). The exercise of methodical triangulation while

performing case study research enhanced data analysis due to careful comparison in the

collection of information (Noble & Smith, 2015). Achievement of trustworthiness and

credibility together contribute to the validity of findings.

Ethical Procedures

In addition to working to achieve trustworthiness, I observed the ethical conduct

of this study. Before beginning the study, I provided a written description of the study’s

purpose, research design, methodology, participants’ involvement, the consent process,

risks, and benefits. After submitting the required information to the Institutional Review

Board and obtaining approval, I proceeded to gather data, attended to ethical matters

during the research, ensured the research displayed truthfulness and maintained a

standard for an excellent study procedure (Kornbluh, 2015). Adherence to ethical ideas

ensured credibility and protected participants during the research procedures (O’Reilly &

Kiyimba, 2015). The research included an arrangement process to cover the possibility

that participants might pull out of the study and yet allowed me to preserve information

and generate a list of conformity records.

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Preliminary communication with leaders in churches included an official letter to

invite them to partake in the research study. The letter described the research purpose and

provided thee information required for setting up the framework of the research.

Interested parties received an e-mail or a letter with the consent form. I reiterated the

importance of returning the consent form promptly. I asked the participants to e-mail

their consent forms if they had access to a computer; if not, I collected the forms in

person. Also, I ensured that leaders had my contact information to address their

involvement and aspects of the research.

As a form of member checking I sent each participant a summary of their

responses at the end of the interview. This summary included a review of the interview

records with the different participants to clarify their meaning and the interview

discussion recorded in NVivo software. NVivo is a computer-aided qualitative

information analysis software that improved the process of coding and kept time during

the arrangement of information (Brandão, 2015). The research embodied the ethical

principles set by Walden University and abided by The Belmont Report’s procedures to

preserve ethical standards all through the research (E. E. Anderson et al., 2012).

The consent form conveyed that leaders’ participation was optional, personal, and

involved no cost. The leaders participating in the research study had the right to withdraw

at any time without notifying me. I was the only person to have absolute control over the

information, which remains secured in a locked file cabinet. The software and hardware

information will be stored on a computer with password security. The leaders who

participated in the research received code numbers, which will serve as their pseudonyms
 84
to protect their identities during the research process. The information will be safely

stored on an Excel spreadsheet so that I may trace the leaders who participated via the

numbers allocated to them, and through approved consent forms, e-mails, contact details,

and the scheduled times set for the interviews. All records will be destroyed and erased

five years after completion of the research.

Summary

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore church leaders’

perceptions of their leadership styles and how the implementation of those styles

influences the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. The qualitative research approach offered an all-inclusive structure

for a more comprehensive exploration of complex issues related to human behavior,

human perception, and lived experience (Khan, 2014; Schwandt, 2015). Also, this study

contributed to the body of scholarly knowledge on the leadership styles of church leaders

and the extent to which they influence membership growth. A single interview protocol

consisting of semistructured, face-to-face questions was used to collect data from church

leaders.

The results of this research may influence social change by adding to the

knowledge of church leaders who function as leadership mentors and believers within

their church environment. Findings may enhance leaders’ understanding of how their

leadership styles influence church growth, and they may be able to incorporate specific

leadership techniques to increase membership and participation in their church

communities. Chapter 4 includes the findings of this research study, a description of the
 85
research setting, and the demographics of the leaders who participated in the research. I

will explain the procedures to determine dependability, transferability, and

confirmability. The findings of this study will be based on the responses to the research

questions.
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Chapter 4: Results

Introduction

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore four leadership styles,

transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, used by church leaders (pastors,

deacons, and ministers) and the influence of these styles on the growth of church

membership. The following overarching research question guided this study: What are

church leaders’ perceptions of their leadership styles, and how does the implementation

of these styles influence the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in

Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia? The impact of positive social change on the

church leaders within the communities can help to motivate and raise awareness of the

leadership styles of leaders and the care and services they provide to individuals within

the church environment.

A purposive sample of 40 leaders from four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia, participated in semistructured interviews, which lasted between

30 and 45 minutes, and five of these participants contributed to one focus group

interview. All 40 participants provided detailed answers to open-ended interview

questions. Data analysis included inspecting the findings of the interviews together with

the data derived from church files, policies, and procedures manual, and quarterly reports

from the four Pentecostal churches. The interview responses from all the participants, the

responses from the focus group interview meeting, and the document review formed the

basis for the data analysis process and the conclusions of this research study.
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Chapter 4 focuses on the research setting, participant demographics, and data

collection process. Also, this chapter features explanations of the data analysis process

and evidence of the trustworthiness of the findings of this qualitative research. Finally,

the chapter presents the findings of this research, a summary, and a transition to Chapter

5 of this study.

Research Setting

Following approval from Walden University’s Institutional Review Board (#07-

23-18-0367819), recruitment of participants for this research began. I sent invitation

letters (Appendix A) to prospective participants, and 40 participants volunteered to

particpate. The church leaders and members of the congregation who participated in this

research study served in various Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and Springfield,

Virginia. The sample consisted of 40 participants, including 10 pastors, 10 deacons, 10

ministers, and 10 members of the congregations who had indicated their willingness and

the church’s cooperation to take part in the research by signing a letter of consent.

The focus group interview group consisted of five of the church leaders and

members who participated in the study. To collect data via document review, I reviewed

church files, church policies and procedures manual, guidelines for church membership,

files for the social mission of the church, and quarterly reports on the management of the

church. To prepare for the individual face-to-face interviews for this study, each of the

participants picked a location that was suitable for them. Eventually, all the interviews

took place at the participants’ church offices. The focus group interview also took place

in one of the participating church’s offices, a location all the participants approved.
 88
All participants were familiar with the interview spaces/rooms that they chose,

and as a result, they could communicate easily with minimum encouragement. I

established rapport and an atmosphere of trust with participants by thanking them for

deciding to take part in the study and making clear to every participant that participation

in the study was noncompulsory and could be terminated at any time. All participants

answered the qualifying questions and confirmed they understood the purpose of the

study. This transparency led to their readiness to respond to the research questions. No

individual/private or organizational limitations impacted their participation.

Demographics

The participants in this research were all church leaders and members of the

various Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. These participants

met the inclusion criteria described in Chapter 3 and with permission from Walden’s IRB

and all four churches, recruitment efforts began with phone calls and e-mails to

administrators and senior pastors at the prospective churches within the research area.

The prospective participants received by phone or e-mail an invitation to participate in a

doctoral study. Those who met the inclusion criteria and expressed willingness to

participate signed the statement of informed consent and arranged a time and place for

their interview. Face-to-face data collection procedures included semistructured face-to-

face individual interviews with 40 participants and one focus group interview meeting

with five participants.

Alphanumeric participant codes (P1, P2, P3, . . . P40) issued to all the individuals

in place of their real names ensured confidentiality and protected the privacy of
 89
participants. Each participant signed an informed consent form and provided detailed

answers to the interview questions. The sample included 20 men and 20 women, and all

the participants were active leaders and members of five years or longer in their

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. Table 1 presents

demographic information about the participants, including gender, years of experience in

their position in the church, what position they held, and which church (coded C1, C2,

C3, C4) they attended. The participants’ years of experience ranged from 4 to 10 years.

Data Collection

Data for this study derived from one-on-one semistructured interviews, one focus

group, and review of documents from the churches. Pastors, deacons, ministers, and

members of the congregations contributed to this exploratory case study. A total of 40

people took part in the individual face-to-face interviews, including 10 pastors, 10

deacons, 10 ministers, and 10 members of the congregation. Five of those participants

who were leaders and members of the congregation from the four Pentecostal churches

also agreed to participate in the focus group. The individual interviews and the focus

group interview took place at the participants’ church offices.

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Table 1

Participant Demographics

Participant Years of
No. Gender* Experience Position Church
1 F 5 Member of Congregation C1
2 M 10 Pastor C2
3 F 4 Minister C3
4 F 5 Minister C1
5 M 5 Minister C4
6 F 10 Minister C2
7 M 5 Deacon C1
8 M 8 Pastor C2
9 F 6 Member of Congregation C3
10 M 6 Deacon C4
11 F 8 Member of Congregation C3
12 F 5 Member of Congregation C4
13 M 6 Deacon C1
14 F 6 Minister C2
15 M 9 Pastor C3
16 M 4 Minister C4
17 M 5 Minister C1
18 M 8 Pastor C1
19 F 5 Member of Congregation C2
20 M 8 Pastor C1
21 M 4 Member of Congregation C3
22 M 10 Pastor C4
23 F 5 Deacon C2
24 M 6 Minister C3
25 F 5 Member of Congregation C4
26 M 10 Pastor C3
27 M 5 Member of Congregation C2
28 M 9 Pastor C4
29 M 8 Pastor C2
30 M 9 Member of Congregation C3
31 F 7 Member of Congregation C4
32 M 6 Deacon C1
33 F 7 Deacon C3
34 M 8 Deacon C1
35 F 6 Deacon C1
36 F 6 Pastor C2
37 F 6 Deacon C2
38 F 7 Deacon C4
39 F 8 Minister C2
40 F 9 Minister C4
Note. Gender: M = male, F = female.
 91
With the letter of permission from the head pastors of the churches and the IRB

approval, I contacted the members of the different Pentecostal churches within the

geographical research area. Prospective participants received letters of invitation during

the week of July 24, 2018; the letters described the research and invited them to

participate in the study. Each person who expressed interest in the study read and signed

the consent form before scheduling the interview. Alphanumeric codes prevented

identification of the participants after they confirmed their willingness to participate in

the interview process. The codes served to distinguish each participant and to safeguard

their privacy. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was useful to track of the information

related to participants including their names, e-mail addresses, assigned codes, and phone

numbers for easy retrieval. That spreadsheet was secured on a password-protected

personal laptop computer, to which only I have access.

Apart from a delay of three to four days in getting a response back from some of

the participants after e-mailing or hand delivering the original letter of invitation to the

participants, no unexpected situations occurred during the collection of data. The

interviews took place during August, September, October, November, and December in

quiet and private offices at the churches where the participants were members. The

participants did not receive the questions before the interviews; this procedure

encouraged the participants to communicate spontaneously and share their understanding

and their experience with no planning. During the process of collecting data, I stayed

flexible to adjust to the schedules of participants who needed to change the time of their

planned interviews for work-related or private reasons. The face-to-face interviews lasted
 92
30 to 45 minutes but no more than an hour, and all interviews were audio recorded using

a mini tape recorder and Samsung 9 voice recorder with the consent of the participants.

Next, the focus group interview was conducted after sending invitation letters to

church leaders, pastors, deacons, ministers, and members of the congregations, and those

who agreed to participate in the focus group signed consent forms. The focus group

interview took place during the same period as the face-to-face interviews on a date and

time the participants approved. Five leaders and members of the congregation who had

participated in the individual face-to-face interviews also participated in the focus group

discussion, which lasted 35 minutes. The focus group discussion took place in the

conference room of one of the participating churches, and participants granted permission

for audio recording of the meeting. The focus group participants answered a set of open-

ended questions, the interactive discussion was lively, and the group produced a

considerable amount of information.

The process of document review took place in private offices at the four

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia, and the material reviewed

included vision statements, pertinent features of the handbook, and revisions of

significant parts of the handbooks and logbook. The process of document review lasted

for a week and yielded relevant information about church membership and policies.

The focal point of the interviews was the expressions of each participant. It was

crucial that I honestly pay attention to the participants and not let my personal feelings

show. The use of prewritten questions (Appendix C) assisted in keeping the focus on the

substance of the participants’ answers, and not on my personal feelings on the research
 93
topic. The data collection followed the process as outlined in Chapter 3 without any

changes. No unexpected situations occurred during data collection of data, and no

distractions interrupted the interviews.

The individual interviews and focus group interviews were recorded using a mini

tape recorder and Samsung 9 voice recorder, and each interview and focus group

discussion were transcribed into a Word document to produce a full transcript for

analysis. I sent the transcripts to each participant via e-mail or by hand for transcript

review. All the participants approved the information and did not request any changes.

All data obtained during this study will be kept in a fireproof and waterproof

cabinet in my home office safe for five years after the completion of the study. The data

includes electronic files, interview transcripts, recorded interviews, and information from

the document review. The data is saved on a password-protected flash drive in a fireproof

and waterproof cabinet. The next stage of the study was the analysis of the information

gathered during the data collection process.

Data Analysis

The data for this study included semistructured interviews, a focus group

interview discussion, document review, and field notes. Throughout the interview

process, field notes constituted a record of my observations. After verbatim transcription

of all interviews, participants received a copy labeled with their identification code. Table

2 displays details about the transcripts, indicating the number of participants, types of

participants, length of the interviews, number of pages in the transcripts, and location and

type of interview.
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Table 2

Detailed Descriptions of Participant Transcriptions

Length of
List of Interview in No. of Location of Type of
Participants Type of Leader Minutes Pages* Interview Interview
1 Pastor 40 15 Church Face-to-face-
2 Pastor 35 12 Church Face-to-face
3 Pastor 40 14 Church Face-to-face
4 Pastor 45 15 Church Face-to-face
5 Pastor 40 13 Church Face-to-face
6 Pastor 35 12 Church Face-to-face
7 Pastor 35 12 Church Face-to-face
8 Pastor 40 13 Church Face-to-face
9 Pastor 35 12 Church Face-to-face
10 Pastor 30 11 Church Face-to-face
11 Deacon 40 13 Church Face-to-face
12 Deacon 45 13 Church Face-to-face
13 Deacon 40 12 Church Face-to-face
14 Deacon 35 11 Church Face-to-face
15 Deacon 30 10 Church Face-to-face
16 Deacon 35 11 Church Face-to-face
17 Deacon 35 10 Church Face-to-face
18 Deacon 30 10 Church Face-to-face
19 Deacon 30 11 Church Face-to-face
20 Deacon 35 12 Church Face-to-face
21 Minister 35 11 Church Face-to-face
22 Minister 30 10 Church Face-to-face
23 Minister 35 11 Church Face-to-face
24 Minister 35 11 Church Face-to-face
25 Minister 30 10 Church Face-to-face
26 Minister 30 9 Church Face-to-face
27 Minister 35 11 Church Face-to-face
28 Minister 35 11 Church Face-to-face
29 Minister 30 10 Church Face-to-face
30 Minister 30 10 Church Face-to-face
31 Member of Congregation 35 12 Church Face-to-face
32 Member of Congregation 35 11 Church Face-to-face
33 Member of Congregation 35 10 Church Face-to-face
34 Member of Congregation 35 10 Church Face-to-face
35 Member of Congregation 35 11 Church Face-to-face
36 Member of Congregation 30 9 Church Face-to-face
37 Member of Congregation 35 10 Church Face-to-face
38 Member of Congregation 30 10 Church Face-to-face
39 Member of Congregation 30 11 Church Face-to-face
40 Member of Congregation 30 10 Church Face-to-face
Note. *All transcript pages were double-spaced 12-point Times New Roman font.
 95
Data Analysis Procedure

The data analysis process for this study consisted of the five phases recommended

by Yin (2014): information collecting, information dismantling, information gathering,

information clarification, and formulating conclusions and results. During information

collecting, researchers become familiar with the transcripts and designated codes. The

second stage was information dismantling to get the initial codes from the answers. The

third step was information gathering for themes. The fourth step of information

clarification involved recognizing clusters to establish common themes. The final stage

was selection of the most frequently mentioned themes.

Importing the transcribed interview data into the NVivo 12 Pro software from the

Word documents provided an orderly collection of data organized into groups and

themes. Data processing included the following subsequent analyses: (a) generated

related codes and nodes for every interview question, (b) extracted important terms or

expressions from every participants’ interview responses and allocated them to suitable

nodes, (c) examined every node for the important terms and expressions to form

emergent themes, (d) generated a word cloud, (e) estimated the number of participants

who had mentioned the themes, (f) generated tables to display the number of participants

who mentioned the exact themes, and (g) generated tables to display the themes and

subthemes.

Thematic data analysis is a technique for condensing the information from

numerous bases and then categorizing the information into themes and ideas, connecting

information from different bases, and finishing by identifying significant information and
 96
information that might remain valuable for forthcoming study (Saldaña, 2013). The

thematic coding process consisted of an evaluation of data, including interviews, focus

group discussion, and document review. Thematic coding involves examining the

transcripts for themes and modes, recording every theme that appears, entering data in the

qualitative data analysis software, and examining themes in different ways, such as idea

planning for themes and explaining the findings (Boston College, 2016). Coding yielded

recognizable patterns that could be assembled into categories or classifications to

establish emerging themes.

As recommended by Leech and Onwuegbuzie (2007), continuous similarity

analysis was the next step. This examination of the whole collection of information and

breaking the information into manageable-sized components supported the development

of subsets of information. The third step was color coding every piece of data, and

finally, sorting the similar pieces of information by grouping them under previously

established codes. Codes emerged from the conceptual framework and the interview

transcripts, and these codes emerged into themes that reflected the data.

The next step was to note various characteristics and mark them using

highlighters for further analysis. The occurrence of themes and categories assisted in the

clarification of the information (Maxwell, 2013). The answers from each of the

participants were linked to the research questions to establish uniformity in viewpoint,

which reinforced the significance of the answers. While concentrating on the information

that was relevant to the research questions, it was simple to efficiently reach conclusions
 97
and capture the participants’ perceptions concerning leadership styles and church growth

within the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

Throughout the process of collecting information, the participants were

cooperative and willing to discuss the successes and the problems they experienced

within the Pentecostal churches. Interviews continued as planned even when the answers

were repetitions or combinations of the previous descriptions of problems or challenges

and the successes of the leaders in the Pentecostal churches. During the process of

collecting and analyzing the information, the individual participants’ responses appeared

to be largely similar. Nonetheless, data collection proceeded until 37 sets of information

had been assessed, despite the temptation to end the analysis process because of data

saturation. However, analysis included each of the answers from the 40 participants and

one focus group to ensure the inclusion of rich detail and achievement of data saturation.

Ultimately, analysis revealed 12 emerging themes and two subthemes; the 12

themes were ideal leadership styles, church leadership management, church leadership

motivation, leadership styles that ensure church growth, effective leadership

communication, leadership practices, developing leaders, perception of leadership,

church attendance growth and decline rate, leader’s leadership role, church

administrator’s handbook, vision and mission statement. The two subthemes were moral

standards and planning and organization. Table 3 displays a summary of the 12 emergent

themes and two subthemes that derived from individual interviews, a focus group

meeting, and document review from four churches (C1, C2, C3, C4).
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Table 3

Summary of Data from Semistructured Interviews, Focus Group, and Document Review

No. of % of
Codes Themes and Subthemes Occurrences Data Source Occurrences
Leaders with good character are examples for members Ideal church leadership styles 25 Semistructured 100%
and other leaders to follow. Subtheme: Moral standards interviews

Strategic planning is lacking in the management of the Church leadership management 16 Semistructured 85%
church. Subtheme: Planning and interviews
organization

Prayer, devotion, and sermon for church service. Church leadership motivation 25 Semistructured 100%
interviews

Important for leaders to have friendly and truthful Leadership that ensures church 23 Semistructured 92%
communication with the congregation. growth interviews

The style of leadership employed by a church leader is Effective leadership 17 Semistructured 68%
the main reason behind the growth of churches. communication interviews

Pastors and church leaders should motivate individuals in Leadership practices 16 Semistructured 64%
the church. interviews

Pastors and leaders must be committed to leadership Developing leaders 25 Semistructured 100%
development and to develop others. interviews

Pastors and leaders are not perfect; they have flaws, and Perceptions of leadership 25 Semistructured 100%
still, they have to grow and develop to be good leaders. interviews
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Table 3

Summary of Data from Semistructured Interviews, Focus Group, and Document Review (continued)

No. of % of
Codes Themes Occurrences Data Source Occurrences
The church is about people; the church is not just a Church attendance growth and 5 Focus group 100%
building, and pastors’ and leaders’ techniques will result decline rates.
in an increase or decline of church attendance.

The most important roles of pastors and leaders are to Leaders’ roles 5 Focus group 100%
teach the Bible, encourage members to pay offerings.

The leaders and members receive training to improve Church administrator’s 5 Document review 100%
their leadership skills and growth to be effective church handbook.
leaders.

The information shows details of policies and strategies Vision and mission statement 5 Document review 100%
of the church’s vision and implementation and the
church’s mission as a nonprofit establishment.
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Discrepant Cases

Data analysis also included remaining alert for the presence of discrepant cases.

Glaser and Laudel (2013) observed that a discrepant case is an information that differs

significantly from the other viewpoints on the event under analysis. After verifying the

frequency of the words and expressions with the hand-coding evaluation and transferring

all the information transferred to NVivo 12 Pro software for another stage of reducing the

frequency of the word used by all the participants, no discrepant cases were evident.

Because discrepant cases did not exist, it was necessary to code only the themes that

contributed to answering the research questions.

Evidence of Trustworthiness

Credibility

Sources of data in this study were interviews, a focus group, and document

review, and these three separate and connected components determined the basis for the

qualitative study (Patton, 2014). I employed careful procedures for coordinating the

research by performing 40 individual interviews, one focus group discussion, document

review, and follow-up requests for explanations of certain issues with interviewees to

make sure that I understood their answers. The individual participants received the

interview transcripts to review and verify that the information was an accurate

representation of the interview meeting. I worked to remain impartial and neutral

throughout information gathering, analysis, and clarification as recommended by Kardish

et al. (2015). This procedure reinforced the accuracy of the study’s themes and findings.
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Transferability

Transferability is the degree to which the results of a research study can be

employed in a related setting (Cope, 2014). Therefore, to achieve transferability in this

research, I solicited a fruitful, broad account of information by asking open-ended

questions during semistructured interviews (Patton, 2015). This approach ensured that the

information I gathered held considerable meaning for readers, and individuals might

recognize a link among the study setting and subject matter. The analysis may lead to

further knowledge or new perceptions of the phenomenon (Sousa & van Dierendonck,

2014). I included criteria for participants who provided context to this research to add

strength to transferability.

Dependability

For a research study to be dependable, the results must be reliable, and future

researchers must be able to replicate the study in comparable situations (Cope, 2014).

Triangulation of data from numerous sources (interviews, focus group, and document

review) confirmed the outcomes and supported dependability of this research. The

information analysis software NVivo preserved a review track within the query devices

function, and I applied the device twice to analyze the nodes during coding, confirming

the legitimacy of those codes and nodes (Houghton, Casey, Shaw, & Murphy, 2013).

Confirmability

Confirmability is the truthfulness of the information, the degree to which a

researcher reveals that the study results derived from answers of individuals who

participated in the study and did not result from the biases or concerns of the researcher
 102
(Houghton et al., 2013). Each participant reviewed a copy of the interview transcripts to

confirm the information before the process of analyzing the information began. I

employed an audit trail and reflexivity to maximize confirmability. I triangulated the

findings by matching the hand-coded findings with the NVivo Pro software information

analysis to boost the qualitative information trustworthiness.

Study Results

The foundation of this analysis was the two research questions:

RQ1. What are the leadership styles commonly employed by church leaders to

increase membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia? and

RQ2. What is the church leaders’ (pastors, deacons, and ministers) knowledge and

understanding of the implementation of the leadership styles (transformational,

transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) to increase membership growth in Pentecostal

churches in Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia?

The following sections present a discussion of the results from each of the data

sources, along with the explanations of how they connected to the two main research

questions. Examples and quotations from participants’ responses enhance and provide

depth to the portrayal of how leadership styles impact church growth in the Pentecostal

churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. Table 4 summarizes the alignment of

the data sources with the emergent themes and subthemes and the research questions.
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Table 4

Alignment of Data Sources, Themes, and Research Questions

Data Sources
Interviews Focus Group Document Research Question
Themes and Subthemes
Review
1. Ideal church
leadership styles
X 1
Subtheme: Moral
standards

2. Church leadership
management
X 1
Subtheme: Planning
and organization

X 3. Leadership motivation 1

4. Leadership styles to
X 1
ensure church growth

5. Effective
X 2
communication

X 6. Leadership practices 2

X 7. Developing leaders 2

8. Perceptions of
X 2
leadership

9. Church attendance
X 1
growth and decline

10. Leaders’ leadership

X 2
roles

11. Church
X administrator’s 1
handbook

X 12. Vision and mission 2

statements
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Results from Interviews

Research Question 1 was What are the leadership styles commonly employed by

church leaders to increase membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and

Springfield, Virginia?

Theme 1: Ideal church leadership styles. The first theme appeared from the

interview data and contributed to answering RQ1 because the responses identified the

leadership styles the participants perceived to be influential in the churches. The

participants remained extremely keen on their understanding of an ideal leadership style

within the Pentecostal church. For instance, all the participants agreed that if a leader

decides to function by immoral standards, their behavior will damage the church and the

body of Christ. Individuals do sometimes criticize the activities of leaders who decide to

employ untruthfulness, try to put down others, or seek enrichment at the cost of the

underprivileged (C. E. Johnson, 2017). Also, all the participants perceived servant

leadership and transformational leadership as the ideal types of leadership for the

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

The concept of servant leadership requires servant leaders to develop other

servant leaders. P6, P14, and P39, ministers from C2, preferred servant leadership as the

ideal leadership style for the Pentecostal churches and mentioned that the pastor from C2,

who is a servant leader, inspires the growth of servant leadership, as proposed by

Greenleaf (1977).

P33, P34, P35, and P38, deacons from C3, C1, C1, and C4 respectively, shared

that they perceived transformational leaders as the ones who can resolve the root of the
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problem in the Pentecostal churches and transform the beliefs that are causing the

problem. Leaders who have the Christ personality or focus on the teachings of Christ can

control and prevent self-centered behaviors and bad practices and show genuine authority

(Mabey, Conroy, Blakeley, & Marco, 2016).

All the participants described ideal leadership as a leader who positions him or

herself at the forefront of change and develops assistants, teammates, and colleagues to

adopt and carry out the collective vision of the church. These followers take on the

mutual obligation to maintain and develop solutions that support the collective vision.

P22 from C4 added, “Leaders in the Pentecostal churches should encourage and influence

their members to perform at their best potential and describe the focus and vision for the

church.” A good leader at no point in time should lack truthfulness in the private and

proficient areas of leadership (Mabey et al., 2016).

All the members of the congregation from the churches commented that for the

church to experience growth, the ideal leaders must be followers of Jesus Christ, and

effective prayer must be a way of communicating with God. Members noted further that

their understanding of an ideal leader is a person who attends cautiously to the opinions

of the followers, an easy-going, kind person who is always ready to communicate openly

with others.

Subtheme: Moral standards. Moral leadership is a shared practice that includes

individual moral conduct and moral inspiration within the church and the surrounding

neighborhood (Johnson, 2017). P2, P8, P29, and P26, pastors from C2, expressed that

leaders within the church must have dignity and respect, provide a good example for the
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members, and recognize the scriptures as authority for management. All the participants

expressed the significance of pastors and leaders behaving morally at all times whether in

their professional or private capacity. Individuals with good morals are perceived as an

influential force in making change and development to the church establishment

(Ramalepe, 2016).

P17 and P4, ministers from C1, mentioned that leaders with good moral quality

are seen as upholding the high moral guidelines required by the Pentecostal church. P4,

from C1, explained, “Leaders who decide to manage others without following the set

principles of the church may result in membership decline and affect the growth of the

church.” P10 and P38, deacons from C4, noted that any leader who does not have

individuals following them is not going to be referred to as a leader with good moral

leadership skills. They also stressed that people who are called leaders, in their view,

would be leaders with the right attitude who establish a vision for the members and

encourage them to follow.

Theme 2: Church leadership management. Theme 2, the need for effective

planning by the church leadership management, also helped answer RQ1. Leaders in

Pentecostal churches besides performing praise and worship put forward efforts of

shaping and managing the church surroundings of their congregation to ally with the

main standards and policies of the Pentecostal church. Some participants agreed that the

church surrounding and its management is an effective enhancement of successful church

growth.
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P1, P9, P11, and P12, members of congregations from C1, C3, C3, and C4, shared

the view that managing the church involves a special combination of spiritual capability

and business experience to be successful and competent in supporting the demands of

members, disciples, community sponsors, and the church; therefore, management training

is an essential segment of the formation of the church. Generally, in religious

denominations like the Pentecostal churches, pastors are successful business authorities

dealing with monetary records, managing the church activities, running neighborhood

programs, recruiting workers, and supervising individuals volunteers, and members in

ongoing training (Masenya & Booyse, 2016). All the members of congregations

emphasized that the Pentecostal church is structured in such a way that the senior pastor

or leaders make all the decision with the belief that they have the spiritual experience and

direction from the holy spirit. Therefore, all the members have to follow the decisions

made by the senior pastors and the other leaders.

All the participants mentioned that the church should have a system of

management that the church leaders follow to help with the execution of changes,

reorganization, and helpful activities for the growth of the church and its neighborhood.

P14, a minister from C2, stated, “Every leader must be organized, or they will not

succeed.” P2, P8, and P28, pastors from C2, C3, and C4, explained that their calling as a

pastor is to build a relationship with members, give them the Christ love, the agape love,

the unconditional love. The pastors expressed their belief that this loving relationship is

all the members are seeking. Orwig and Orwig (1998) claimed that management should
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change and describe particular objectives regarding standard management for the church

organization.

All the participants established the need for effective and quality training in

management before been selected or ordained as leaders. They also asserted that leaders

are developed spiritually to help with the management of the church. Finally, most of the

participants supported leadership management training in the church to improve the

church’s ability to meet its needs.

Subtheme: Planning and organization. Leaders have been characterized as the

main connection to active signs of change within an establishment and the main

relationship to that change (Guamba, 2017). Planning is the orderly creation of ideas and

ambitions required to produce accomplishments within an establishment (Guamba,

2017). All the participants expressed that planning strategically helps the leader carry out

changes effectively, execute changes, and rearrange and implement creative procedures

to help the growth of the church and its community. P40, a minister from C4 said,

Every leader must have a strategic plan; otherwise they are going to fall short of

their members’ expectations. . . . When a leader possesses a strategic plan, it gives

them the confidence to work with other leaders and members to effect a

successful change within the church.

P23 and P37, deacons from C2, mentioned that all planning by leaders must be

communicated to other leaders and members because failure to do so may lead to

confusion inside and outside the church. The first duty for a church leader should be to

uphold a religious affiliation with God and a professional association with members
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(Edmondson, 2015). P36, a pastor from C2, and P37, a deacon from C2, mentioned that

for a church to grow effectively as nonprofit establishment, the leadership has to offer the

message, preach and teach the gospel, organize members to serve, and embrace everyone

inside and outside the church.

Theme 3: Church leadership motivation. The third theme, which emerged from

the interview data, also supported RQ1. P9, P11, P21, and P30, all members of the

congregation from C3, expressed that the pastor and church leaders are very good at

motivating and encouraging individuals in the church to have great plans to achieve their

goals. Motivational leadership is the conduct that inspires individuals to work toward a

common objective and the act or conduct that lead to transformation within a group

(Fehr, Yam, & Dang, 2015)

P7, P13, P32, P34, and P35, all deacons from C1, shared their perceptions of their

pastor as a transformational leader and described they had felt motivated by his creative

incentives to increase membership. According to Bass (1985), transformational leaders

can motivate members to function at their finest. Bass suggested that transformational

leaders must express a transparent idea, connect beliefs to the members, and demonstrate

promise for achieving the goals. P4, a minister from C1, stated, “I am very motivated by

the church senior pastor as a transformational leader as he is very connected to every

member of the church to work towards evangelism and the growth of the church.” P4

went on to say that the leaders in the church are motivated towards creating new

initiatives in church development.

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P15 and P18, pastors from church C3 and C1, commented that expansion and

connection with the leaders and the individuals who attend church hold potential for

enhancing church growth, but these goals receive little attention in the church. P15

further stated that some pastors do not connect in any significant way with their

congregations. This lack of motivational techniques in developing relationships with

individuals in the church may affect the growth of the church. Successful policies and

motivational help from leaders and members within the church are vital in creating

positive results in the growth and achievement of the church as a nonprofit organization

(Dinh et al., 2014; Zogjani & Raci, 2015).

Theme 4: Leadership styles that ensure church growth. The fourth theme that

emerged from the interview information further contributed to answering RQ1 because

members perceived an effective leadership style as necessary for church growth. All the

pastors mentioned that their leadership styles fluctuated, as they sometimes needed to

display characteristics of a servant, transformational, or transactional leader, depending

on the needs of the members and the church congregation. The servant leadership style

parallels Jesus’s form of leadership style, wherein several individuals are keen on being

part of the body that decides how the church should progress (Greenleaf, 1977).

All the pastors also emphasized that as servant leaders, they serve according to the

principles of the Bible. They further explained that Jesus came as a servant, and if they

were not servant leaders, they would not be able to serve the congregation. Servant

leaders can assist their members to follow the leadership styles of their leaders,

particularly where the needs of others are primary (Liden, Wayne, Liao, & Meuser,
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2014). Therefore, each Pentecostal church, irrespective of its size, needs to establish the

leadership style that is best suited for managing the church. The success of the

Pentecostal churches has to be credited to some extent to the leaders’ leadership styles

inside and outside the church.

According to P1, P19, and P21, members of the congregation from C1, C2, and

C3, transformational leaders enable members to engage with their congregations, know

their followers, and understand their followers’ experiences. P14, a deacon from C2,

noted that when a leader employs a transformational leadership style, people can look at

him or her and say, “This is an example of the type of leader to follow.” With the

transformational leadership style, leaders can use lenient control of inspiring the vision

and message to accomplish goals for change, to improve and convert members’ opinions,

and to cause the beliefs of the organization to adhere to the aims and purposes of the

leader (Nye, 2014). All the ministers expressed their views that the transformational

leadership style is extremely new and may induce individuals to attempt a new venture to

accomplish new objectives. Even though transformational and servant leadership styles

are disimilar in some ways, both models include the idea of inspiration, belief,

admiration, and reliability, developing, honesty, hazard-distribution, and assigning (Nye,

2014).

P37 and P38, deacons from C2 and C4, observed that without love, whether a

leader can prophesy, speak in tongues, teach, or preach is immaterial. Without love, the

church will not grow. Transactional leaders are commanding individuals who employ

structural rules and regulations, procedures, control, and influence to retain command
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though they may cultivate dependents by responding to their particular requests and

financial requirements (Men & Stacks, 2013).

Theme 5: Effective leadership communication. The fifth theme that appeared

from the interview information supported RQ2. What are the church leaders’ (pastors,

deacons, and ministers) knowledge and understanding of the implementation of the

leadership styles (transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant) to increase

membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia?

All the participants commented that it is important for leaders to have friendly and

truthful communication with their congregation. P18, a pastor from C1, stressed that all

pastors and other leaders must regularly inform their members of improvements,

challenges, and recent events. P2, a pastor from C2 shared, “Leaders have to

communicate daily to their church congregation, as hearsay is not good for the growth of

the church.” Hall and Davis (2016) argued that communication must be sufficient to

establish and support private, specialized, and leadership connection. The perceptions of

the power of communicating differed among the leaders’ spiritual contact with personal

followers. This method of communication is extremely helpful to share knowledge,

creating fellowship, common security, and group development (Hall & Davis, 2016). P3,

P4, P5, ministers from C3, C1, C4, all revealed their views on the significance of

communicating inside and outside the church as having the potential to improve the

relationship among leaders, members, and other sponsors within the church community.

The focus group members mentioned that the senior pastors and leaders

communicate through e-mail to staff members daily to inform them of meetings, ongoing
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ventures, and members who need care within the church. The focus group participants

also pointed out that the pastors go a long way to communicate with their congregations,

using various forms of technology, small groups, meetings, and conferences to remain

linked with the church members and congregation.

Theme 6: Leadership practices. The sixth theme that appeared from the

interview information also supported RQ2. All the participants agreed that prayer,

devotion, and arrangement of the sermons for church services were the practice duties of

the pastor. Martin and Allen (2016) maintained that leaders must have good knowledge

on topics of inspiration, authority, decision making, resolving issues productively,

managing disputes, spiritual understanding, managing pressure, developing groups,

managing transformation, and understanding of the institution in which they work.

According to P7, a deacon from C1, the senior pastor is the only one whose leadership

practices determine the objectives to accomplish, and this leader commands and monitors

every event and determines all programs and policies without the views or ideas of the

other leaders.

All members of the congregations from all four churches emphasized that the

pastors should have no business in the finances of the churches; they should appoint

people to handle the financial matters. P13 from C1 also noted, “All the pastors should be

doing is to preach and tell us the word, teach us about what we need to know about the

word.” Also, P9 a member of C3 stated, “The church leaders should practice how to work

with church members, build them up, work with just like a teacher to pupil; be patient,

love, sacrifice, and the church will experience growth.”

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King (2014) stated that pastors as leaders should manage the issues centered on

the religious denomination and practices of the church and, the size and density of the

gathering. Individuals who are members or regular worshippers must execute preparatory

and secretarial tasks. The pastors must not be in a position where they control or attempt

to supervise a lot of issues. Otherwise, they will breakdown (King, 2014).

Theme 7: Developing leaders. The seventh theme that emerged from interview

responses helped answer RQ2. P19 and P 27, members of the congregation from C2,

emphasized the lack of commitment of the pastor and other leaders towards leadership

development and the need to develop other individuals. P19 further commented,

The pastor is always occupied with other functions and doesn’t have the desire to

develop himself or other leaders or members. A lot of pastors and untrained

leaders have ignored getting the training required for the church to develop and

grow.

All the ministers noted that the pastors need to improve in the area of developing

members and leaders, encouraging and showing them what is expected of them and

helping them to develop as effective leaders. The behavior, beliefs, ways, opinions, and

decent personality of any individual determine good and moral leadership (Gea, 2016).

Good leadership is a central feature of an effective Pentecostal church.

P23, P33, P34, P35 and P37, deacons from C2, C3, C1, C1, and C2, mentioned

that even though individuals may be born with abilities that distinguish them as unique

and more talented as leaders than others, they need to develop certain skils through the

process of learning. On the hand, P7, a deacon from C1, also stated,
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I will under no circumstances depend on the pastor to develop my leadership

skills. I will develop my leadership skills through continuous biblical training,

seminars, and conferences to become an effective leader in the position I serve in

the church.

Theme 8: Perception of leadership. Theme 8 emerged from interview

information and helped answer RQ2. P2, a pastor from C2, said,

I am not a perfect leader. I have flaws. I have a lot of growth still in life but those

simple things, leading, doing things when others are not around, humble myself,

listening, those things help to make me a good leader. Those are specific skills

that I love, and I would add one last thing to that list: accepting criticism.

P8, a pastor from C3 commented,

We as leaders have to admit we are wrong, ask for forgiveness, and don’t make

the same mistakes over again. So, we as leaders have to be better with those we

have alienated and cause a decline, apologize and try not to manipulate them, not

sell them something to get back, but win them back by selling them the truth.

All the members of the congregation noted that the pastors and other leaders

should lead the members regarding the church vision with desire and eagerness. P14, a

minister from C2, shared the opinion that it would be better for leaders to practice a

leadership style that motivates the members and others within the church regarding the

values of the Bible and the focus of the church. The act of serving others might expand

beyond perseverance, exercise, honest character, and religious obedience (Claar, Jackson,

& TenHaken, 2014).

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All the deacons noted that servant leadership style is simple and creates

opportunities that enable other leaders to develop within the church. P38, a deacon from

C4, said,

I have been functioning as a servant leader for quite some time now, and I have

been successful in helping others grow and increase the growth in the church. The

degree to which leaders might change their main aim from the association to

members is unique features in categorizing leaders as transformational or servant

leaders.

Results from the Focus Group

The focus group included five participants who participated in the discussion that

lasted 42 minutes. The focus group discussion took place in the conference room of the

church, and I audio recorded it with the agreement of the participants. The questions were

open-ended, the interactive discussion was lively, and the conversation produced a

considerable deal of information. Two themes emerged from the focus group

information: church attendance growth and decline rates, and leaders’ leadership roles.

Theme 9: Church attendance growth and decline rate. This theme emerged

from the focus group interview with five participants and pertained to RQ1. All five

participants expressed that with church attendance growth and decline rate, it is the

responsibilities of the leaders to plan, direct, and organize programs regularly to

encourage individuals inside and outside the church to attend and become permanent

members. One focus group participant, a minister from C3, stated,

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The main thing I see is that the church is about people; the church is not a

building. It is people. The pastor leads the church, and leaders and their direction,

and their leadership technique will either led to the growth of the church

membership or decline in attendance.

Also, all the focus group participants from C1 through C4 emphasized that

evangelism is the key to increasing membership growth and that leaders must reach out to

new individuals or first-timers who come to the church. Leaders should further follow-up

with newcomers regularly after their first visit, pray for them, and counsel them on

whatever they are going through, and they will come back to the church and become

members, according to the forum. Lack of effective evangelism and follow-up may lead

to a decline in church attendance. Many leaders in the church have been chosen to pursue

the mission of membership growth within the community and disciples of the church

establishment (Lee, Chen, & Lee, 2015). The focus group participants further asserted

that the lack of active involvement in community work or outreach programs is a sign of

a lack of growth for a church.

Theme 10: Leaders’ leadership role. This theme derived from the focus group

information and supported RQ2. All the focus group participants agreed that whether the

leadership style of the pastor and other leaders is transformational, transactional, or

servant does not matter. P8, a pastor from C2 said,

The most significant role of the Pentecostal pastor or leader in the church is to

teach the Bible scriptures to the congregation and explain to the members about

the importance of paying their tithes and offerings.

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Also, all the focus group participants mentioned that leaders should teach the members of

the congregation about the need to give freely for the growth and development of the

church and explain that the more they give, the more they are blessed. According to King

(2014), the modern congregation looks up to the senior pastor as the main leader, tutor,

and holy preacher. With the usual congregation, the presence of the members is required

for all occasion, engagement, or meetings.

One focus group participant stated, “The leaders of the church have to be genuine,

be sincere, take the lead, and have to be an example to all because people are observing

them all the time.” Phillips (2014) hinted that several leaders within the church aspire to

preach or teach and not lead, whereas other leaders within the church honestly intend to

manage the church establishment. The five focus group participants agreed that leaders in

the church are to be the ones in front, be open, welcome new members and speak to

people and if they haven’t seen them attending for a while and suddenly, they are back,

let them feel loved and show your care and concern. Another focus group participant,

mentioned that it is vital for pastors as leaders to make use of their leadership qualities to

train, mentor, motivate, and empower other leaders and members with the biblical

scriptures to help the church congregation to grow rapidly.

Results from Document Review

With the permission of the senior pastors and administrators from the four

Pentecostal churches, I had access to documents for review, and I was able to take notes

regarding the vision statements, related features of the handbook and revised significant

parts of the handbook and logbook. The process of document review lasted for a week,
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and I also took notes on relevant information about my study. Two themes emerged from

the data gathered during the document review.

Theme 11: Church administrator’s handbook. The information from the church

administrator’s handbook supported RQ1. This document was a summary of policies,

legislative actions, and established procedures intended to guide the administration of the

Pentecostal church’s various ministries, mainly outreach, membership, music, security,

and financial. This document from the four Pentecostal churches indicated that the senior

pastors support leaders and members of the congregation through various training

programs to improve their leadership skills and promote their growth into effective

leaders. All focus group participants mentioned that the church administrative handbook

shows the defined responsibilities of board members, the pastor, and other leaders and

defines how they should carry out the duties of planning, organizing, and directing

leaders and members on the day-to-day running of the church. P29, a pastor from C2,

said, “Leaders and members within the Pentecostal church will find that many commonly

asked questions are answered in these pages.”

The documents also showed that Pentecostal churches planned and sponsored

meetings, courses, prayer groups, and conferences to guide leaders and members to

become more effective leaders. In these ways, Pentecostal church pastors and leaders

display compassion, one of the features of servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1970). Also,

documents revealed the churches’ yearly financial statements, which detailed to members

how the church collected finances and all its expenditures. Melao, Maria Guia, and

Amorim (2017) explained that monetary management includes preparation of the

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association’s budget, such as the distribution of finances to value and expenditure, and

monitoring the association’s accounts and balances.

Theme 12: Vision and mission statements. The document review also included

perusal of the various vision and mission statements from the four Pentecostal churches;

these documents supported RQ2. The information from the four Pentecostal churches

revealed details of policies and strategies of the churches’ vision and how it related to the

churches’ mission as nonprofit establishments. P15, the pastor from C3, stated,

“Communicating the vision and mission of the church helps distribute information,

bringing people together, spreading the word of God within the church community and

far beyond.”

Leaders who fail to comply with the rules and regulations implicit in the vision

and mission of the establishment or church might cause harm or failure to the

establishment (Stelmokien & Endriulaitiene, 2015). All the focus group participants

remarked that for a church to succeed as a nonprofit establishment, it needs leaders of

extraordinary character and skills. They further expressed the value of promoting the

vision and mission of the church and the need for leaders and members to aware of the

significance of building their leadership relations with individuals within the community.

The document review also included details of the minutes of church meetings,

which illustrated that decision making is a collective responsibility of the pastors and

other leaders. The members are also involved in some decision making, as revealed in the

minutes. The plan of leadership must entail encouraging and assisting members in

supporting an establishment’s vision and mission of productivity and sustainability

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(Asumeng, 2014). Also, the vision and mission statement review showed that the pastors

and leaders performed supervision and responsibility in the execution of their precise

style of management. However, the documents also indicated the presence of an

allowance for freedom of communication and contribution among all the members.

Summary

Chapter 4 described the procedure used for addressing this study’s research

questions, including a review and analysis of the information gathered during the

research process. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore four

leadership styles, transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, of church

leaders (pastors, deacons, and ministers) and the influence of these styles on the growth

of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. A

sample of 40 participants from four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia contributed to this study. The sources of data included semistructured individual

face-to-face interviews, a focus group discussion interview, and document review.

Twelve themes emerged during data analysis. The first theme reflected the need

for ideal church leadership styles within the Pentecostal churches. Good leaders are

necessary, according to participants, because a leader with good character can uphold the

high level anticipated by God. Also, church leaders should concentrate on developing an

effective connection with untrained leaders, members, helpers, and the community. The

other emergent themes included participants’ insights on church leadership management,

leadership motivation, leadership styles to ensure church growth, effective

communication, leadership practices, developing leaders, perceptions of leadership,

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church attendance growth and decline, leaders’ leadership role, church administrator’s

handbook, and vision and mission statements.

This chapter addressed the findings of the research study together with the

research settings, demographics, data collection, data analysis, evidence of

trustworthiness, and explanation of the themes and categories. The results of this research

study revealed similarities and differences in the participants’ perceptions of the

particular leadership styles practiced in the Pentecostal churches and the churches’

approaches to leadership development. The findings indicated that most of the

participants preferred the servant and transformational leadership styles as the ideal

leadership style for the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield Virginia.

The findings additionally indicated that the leaders in the Pentecostal churches in

Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia, adopted a certain belief about leadership styles that

are geared towards membership growth. In the last chapter, I will restate the purpose and

nature of this study, summarize the main findings, present an explanation of the findings,

explain the limitations of the study, analyze the recommendations for future studies,

describe the social implications, and conclude with the relevance of this study.
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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore four leadership styles,

transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, of church leaders (pastors,

deacons, and ministers) and the influence of these styles on the growth of church

membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. I performed

this study using a qualitative case study design due to the nature of the RQs. Since I

needed to have a detailed knowledge of the issues, I employed a case study design that

permitted the application of numerous sources of information to help in solving the

issues.

In this study, information was collected from leaders and members of the

congregations from four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

The data derived from various sources, including semistructured individual face-to-face

interviews, one focus group interview, and document review. The main findings from this

research are represented by 12 emergent themes: (a) ideal church leadership styles, (b)

church leadership management, (c) leadership motivation, (d) leadership styles to ensure

church growth, (e) effective communication, (f) leadership practices, (g) developing

leaders, (h) perceptions of leadership, (i) church attendance growth and decline, (j)

leaders’ leadership roles, (k) church administrator’s handbook, and (l) vision and mission

statements.

Interpretation of Findings

Because of the nature of the research problem, the qualitative research method

was the most suitable methodology to answer the research questions. The research
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findings support other researchers’ results and created a fresh and more in-depth

knowledge of the leadership styles within the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia, and the impact those styles had on church growth. The literature

review established that leaders place top priority on the conduct, quality, and style of

leadership behaviors they exhibit to function effectively (Bell, 2013; Bunch, 2013; Lee et

al., 2015; McCleskey, 2014; Northouse, 2015; Nelson & Cohen, 2015).

Other scholars observed that the church leadership is very firm on the duties,

offering positive management and carefully supervising the capacity of the church (Khan,

Asghar, & Zaheer, 2014; Nanjundeswaraswamy & Swamy, 2014). The participants in

this study noted the need for an ideal leader in the Pentecostal church, a leader who

stands in front and help other leaders and members to carry out the same tasks and fulfill

a mutual obligation towards the church’s vision. At the same time, leaders develop

solutions that connect to the collective vision of the church. The participants noted that

their image of an ideal leader within the church is a leader who is ready to listen to the

views of the members, a leader who is calm and caring, and one who communicates

openly with others. The participants further expressed that an ideal leader is one who

demonstrates good leadership performances, procedures, and schemes that influence

church membership growth, contribute to retaining members, enhance neighborhood

dealings, and promote the image of the church.

Many church leaders do not possess the necessary expertise in accounting,

administration, and leadership, and leaders may not have the leadership skills to allocate

and apportion tasks and assignments to other individuals and to prepare the aims and
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purposes upon which the church is managed (Rosenberg Hansen & Ferlie, 2016). The

participants identified the need for leaders to promote efforts to shape and manage the

members of each congregation within the church environment to align with the main

standards and policies of the Pentecostal church. Some participants agreed that the

church’s image and management are contributing factors to successful church growth. A

strategically developed plan could be an instrument to relieve the trials or problems

generated by to the absence of management expertise and experience and may initiate

growth in output and viability (Placido & Cecil, 2014).

The results support the findings that some participants perceived the

transformational or servant leadership styles to be the main approaches that can resolve

the root cause of the problem of leadership within the Pentecostal church. All the

participants shared the view that managing a church requires a unique blend of spiritual

experience and business experience from a leader, who needs both types of experience to

generate prosperity and keep up with the needs of members, disciples, community

sponsors, and the church. Therefore, management training is an essential segment of the

formation of the church. The participants recognized certain management skills within

the church that were essential for growth but asserted that the shortage of adequate

training in these areas provided to leaders and members by the church administration has

led to a greater number of inexperienced leaders within the church. The participants saw

managing workers, individuals, finance, mission, conferences, and meetings as

significant facets of leadership in the church.

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Bass (1985) suggested that transformational leaders might perform as individuals

of good character, and therefore, members might follow and accept the ideas of the

transformational leaders. Bass advanced further that transformational leadership offers

inspirational motivation to encourage and motivate members to accomplish greater

objectives for the association. The results also support a tremendous agreement among

the participants that they were extremely motivated as a result of transformational

leaders’ inspiration. The participants described that transformational leaders’

inspirational motivation improved their perception of motivation during the performance

of their duties in the church. Thus, inspirational motivation entailed the leader’s

capability to stimulate assurance, inspiration, and determination in the members (Bass,

1985).

All the participants also mentioned that the leaders’ leadership style and character

might have an impact on the growth of the church. As the success or failure of the church

is highly dependent on the leadership style practiced by the leaders in the church,

identifying the leadership style of any leader within the church is significant to realizing

its achievement (Bottomley et al., 2014; Dinh et al., 2014). Participants perceived the

passion of the church leaders as a vital feature that inspires members to embrace the

church’s vision and strive toward attaining the objectives of the church. Participants who

were members of the congregation also perceived that their leaders should be someone of

truthfulness, who showed a decent and righteous way of life and exhibited a servant or

transformational leadership style, which motivated change and increased membership

growth. Lopez and Ensari (2014) maintained that effective leaders could adjust to a
 127
leadership style that is good for the different responsibilities within the establishment that

they lead. Servant and transformational leaders exhibit influential representative

conducts, and their followers tend to develop solid regard and admiration for leaders

within the church (Vllachos, Panagopoulos, & Rapp, 2013; Washington, Sutton, &

Sauser, 2014).

The participants emphasized that effective communication among leaders and

members is the most significant practice to determine success for the church. Numerous

remarks from the participants signified the importance that leaders engage in direct and

truthful communication with members and other individuals they serve. Participants

asserted that the leaders must keep members well-informed of advancement, issues, and

recent progress.

All the participants expressed that the most vital practices and duties for the

pastors should be prayer, devotion, and arrangement of sermons. The pastors, however,

realized that they work in a situation where their power is vital for propelling decisions

and accomplishments in church. The implication, therefore, was that pastors and leaders

in the Pentecostal church are actually in the church not only to preach and teach but also

to manage and to prepare other leaders and members to serve the individuals within the

church and the community outside the church as well. Fausing, Joensson, Lewandowski,

and Bligh (2015) described a church establishment or leadership practice as favorable to

inspiring individuals, by participating in making decisions and sharing of leadership.

All the ministers emphasized that their knowledge of the leadership function

aligned precisely with what is written in the Bible, to teach and develop other individuals
 128
to participate in ministry duties so that the pastors need not perform all the ministry

duties by themselves. Biezen and Poguntke (2014) stated that post-modernism is

transforming the way worshippers identify leadership and in turn determining how

leaders perceive the issue. According to Biezen and Poguntke, the old-fashioned power-

and-management styles of leadership are being replaced by leadership styles that

encourage, inspire, and include.

All the participants who were members of congregations expressed the need for

leadership development within the church. Participants maintained that pastors and

leaders in the church should regularly assess and review the leadership training programs

to develop members. An establishment’s leadership training and growth strategy must be

allied with the main values of the establishment; the practice must inspire members,

involve the interests of interior and exterior sponsors, and offer members new and added

services (Peterlin, 2016). The results support these findings that leadership training

boosts the viable strategies for a church establishment; as church leaders grasp how to

teach, mentor, and encourage members and others to exhibit leadership capacity, an

effective system of leadership capability develops inside the church establishment.

The participants expressed standard tasks that church leaders must perform:

servanthood, inspiring, motivating, staying humble, listening, accepting criticism, and

teaching. Participants characterized these tasks as central to leaders’ success in

motivating church members to achieve their objectives and assist in the growth of church

membership. Throughout the interview process, leaders and members presented

numerous accounts of the tasks that they perceived as important, while they monitored
 129
their leaders through conferences, church services, and in the course of other functions.

The participants also recognized these tasks as compatible with the perception of the task

expressed by P2, a pastor from C2, who described himself as follows:

I am not a perfect leader; I have flaws. I have a lot of growth still in life, but those

simple things, leading, doing things when others are not around, humble me.

Listening, those things help to make me a good leader.

All participants who were deacons emphasized that the servant leadership style is the

simplest style that provides opportunities for leaders to develop or grow within the

church.

The focus group revealed their perception that evangelism and following up with

individuals who attend the church is key to increasing membership. The focus group

participants felt that membership growth is essential for the church, and the leaders must

develop a relationship with the individuals who attend church. The focus group

participants further added that too often pastors and leaders in churches do not connect in

meaningful ways with these individuals. The strength of these remarks and the actuality

of lacking church relationship was the reason behind this perspective, which wholly came

from the focus group participants. They saw the growth of the Pentecostal church as a

means of developing relationships and empowering individuals. Strong leadership is

important to the stabilization and growth of the church (Barna Group, 2014).

Additionally, the focus group participants agreed that one of the key reasons individuals

attend the Pentecostal church is because of the preaching of the word of God, and they

hoped that the pastors and leaders would maintain that practice. These focus group
 130
participants credited the growth of the Pentecostal church membership to the effective

preaching of the word of God by the pastors and their honest style of communicating the

importance of the scriptures to the church congregation.

This study aimed to answer the two research questions. The interview questions

helped identify the leadership behaviors, leadership styles, and leadership practices that

could influence the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia. The responses from the participants depicted the significance

of spreading the word of God, continuing the development of leaders, and creating

strategic planning tools to support continued growth and effective leadership in the

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield Virginia. The findings of this study

aligned with the conceptual framework of the full-range leadership theory by Bass (1996)

and Greenleaf’s (1970) servant leadership theory. Greenleaf’s (1977) concept of servant

leadership supports the training and development of upcoming servant leaders so that the

church will achieve long-term success.

Limitations of the Study

In this research, I employed the qualitative research method to achieve a thorough

knowledge of matters and generate an up-to-date view (Agyemang & Castellini, 2015).

Case studies usually include a small sample size of about 15 to 50 people (Frankfort-

Nachmias, Nachimias & Dewaar, 2015). One limitation of this research was that the

sample size was small; however, I was able to conduct a thorough investigation and

arrive at the responses to the research questions. Because of the sample size, the findings

of this research cannot be generalized to other populations, as the case in quantitative

 131
research (Frankfort-Nachmias et al., 2015). In quantitative studies, researchers utilize

statistical procedures, for instance, the mean, mode, median, and standard deviation, to

evaluate the information. In this study, the sample size was 40; therefore, I cannot

generalize findings or apply statistical investigation to the findings of this research

(Houghton et al., 2013).

The second limitation of this research was that the sample was limited to

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. The scope of the study did

not include other denominations in other localities or states. The participants were leaders

and members of the congregations from those same four Pentecostal churches. Members

and leaders of other denominations might have contributed diverse opinions of leadership

styles and church growth; nevertheless, these findings and conclusions apply only to the

Pentecostal denomination within Alexandria and Springfield Virginia.

The third limitation of this research was potential bias, and although research

interviews are prone to bias (Lomangino, 2015), the participants shared their perceptions

of their leaders’ leadership styles within their churches honestly. Every effort was made

to mitigate potential bias and remain impartial and professional throughout the research

procedure. Because some of the responses from the participants diverged from the

literature on the topic, numerous reviews of the interview responses were necessary.

Noting participants’ facial expressions or physical responses added meaning or

counterpoint to communications or revealed implied meanings of the spoken answers

participants provided.
 132
Finally, limitations may have impacted the accuracy of the individual

participants’ answers to the interview questions. Since all the individuals who

participated in the research were from Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia, they might have intended to portray a positive image of their

perceptions of their leaders’ leadership style and church growth. A determined

examination of all facial expression and body language determined if any of the

individuals who participated in the research performed abnormally during the research

interview process.

Despite the limitations, the data from the 40 individuals who participated in the

semistructured interviews, the one focus group of five participants, and the document

review inside the church office answered the research questions. I observed that the

participants were all eager to explain the various methods used by Pentecostal churches

to develop individuals to become effective leaders and boost church membership. The

face-to-face interviews and the focus group discussion interview took place within the

church offices of the participants, and their familiarity with these locations contributed to

their comfort and increased the likelihood that they provided honest responses. Transcript

review and triangulation reinforced the validity and reliability of the date and findings.

Recommendations for Further Research

Based on my analysis of the information, I have discussed below the

recommendations of this study for future research. Because of the limited collection of 40

participants in the research, further research is necessary to endorse the validity of the

main themes that emerged from this research. Future researchers might adopt other
 133
methodologies such as quantitative or mixed method and other study designs with a

larger sample size of participants, which would enhanced the generalizability of the

results. While the previous literature hinted at the great influence that leadership has on

the church, a shortage persists in research that identifies the real leadership qualities,

conduct, and styles that contribute to church membership growth, neighborhood

inspiration, and member assistance. The conceptual framework of this study incorporated

the perception of numerous researchers with the aim of dealing with the gap in the

literature and capturing the main components required by church leaders to perform an

effective part in the growth and influence of the Pentecostal church including members,

the community, and the broader world.

This study may also be replicated by future researchers who explicitly concentrate

on numerous church denominations that include effective church leaders who are geared

towards creating a change within the church and its community. The Pentecostal church

has guidelines and procedures as discussed in this research study for leaders and

members within the church. Therefore, future researchers should determine whether

various leadership styles perform well in some church establishments or if the style of

leadership centers on the congregation attending church, the surrounding community, or

the leader’s capability to create a positive change.

Greenleaf’s (1977) servant leadership model is the basis for church leadership

capabilities. Accepting a servant leadership style in Pentecostal churches is not the same

as following the old-fashioned totalitarian, autocratic, and dictatorial styles of leadership.

The findings of this study established that the performance of servant leadership may
 134
demand different opinions and visions for the senior pastors and leaders. The pastors and

leaders’ knowledge of the significance of combined leadership and the development of

effective leaders support the servant leadership style as aligned with the leadership

practice of Jesus Christ.

The findings from this research might offer a reliable basis for recognizing the

practices of Pentecostal church leaders in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. In order,

to expand this research, researchers from other church denominations, states, and cities

can offer cooperation, agreeing for the research to be performed through subsections at

stages of leadership in the Pentecostal church. For instance, a researcher may cooperate

with researchers from other church denominations and smaller churches within the

locality to create an influence on their community. Information gathered during large-

scale collaborations may generate a large data set for evaluation. The similar arrangement

can be employed for a comparison of Pentecostal churches in states such as North

Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, California, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois,

Florida, and Texas. In such situations, the information would signify the leadership style

or practices of Pentecostal church leaders from numerous experiences and potentials to

increase church growth. Data from such different viewpoints might better inform future

church leaders about which leadership styles to practice to be a successful and effective

leader within the Pentecostal church and the church community.

Researchers may contemplate an emphasis on the obligations, duties, and

approaches of effective Pentecostal church leadership. This recommendation derived

from the confirmation by several of the individuals who participated in this research
 135
regarding the responsibilities of a leader within the church, the massive tasks that the job

requires, and the obligations of leading individuals who do not want to transform with the

church or ministry. A future study might also help future and current leaders from

numerous denominational and non-denominational churches. A detailed research study

would be possible, given the larger size of the sample in a study that included a large

number of churches located in various geographical regions.

Finally, recommendations to ensure that leadership training becomes well-

organized for leaders and members of the Pentecostal churches include (a) create scripted

rules, (b) obtain suitable training, records, and tools, (c) distribute the general vision of

the church as a non-profit establishment, and (d) offer training or qualifications for the

leaders from a professional or skilled leadership trainer to leaders and members within

the church. The leaders who apply motivational policies in religious establishments can

offer the basis for attaining change, efficiency, and total achievement (Bassous, 2015;

Zamecnik, 2014).

Implications

Implications for Social Change

Implications for positive social change that derived from this study included the

ways leaders within the church could assist members, families, and individuals in the

community. The participants in this study indicated that church leaders, including the

pastors, should motivate the members of the congregation to be more active in serving

the Pentecostal church and the community. Participants also indicated the necessity for

the pastors to provide regular training for untrained leaders and members.
 136
The participants commented on the development of leaders and members that

would promote church membership growth. The Pentecostal church leaders and members

have a special responsibility to individuals attending the church and to the community

they assist. The responsibilities of these leaders have been a significant factor in creating

influence on the leaders’ leadership style and church membership growth. Therefore, the

impression that these leaders are developing in the community might help to encourage

individuals and increase understanding of the leadership styles of leaders and the

maintenance and facilities they provide to persons in and around the church community.

The participation of young individuals in the church could encourage volunteers

to take on tasks that contribute a positive influence on the involvement of older

individuals in the community even with no controlled adult spiritual contribution (Stukas,

Snyder, & Clary, 2016). The participants were conscious of the necessity for leaders and

members to receive sufficient training programs in the Pentecostal church. Special

training in procedures, modern computer skills, and motivational techniques are essential

to prepare potential leaders within the church. Training provided to leaders and members

in the church might be beneficial to the leaders of other nonprofit or for-profit

organizations. The implications for positive social change included the possibility of

helping leaders within the Pentecostal church to establish the main supply center for safe

haven and support for individuals within the community.

Churches need effective leadership, organizational growth, and financial stability.

Church leaders and their followers have become business owners, providing employment

opportunities for people in the church and the community. Churches are a place of
 137
worship, spiritual growth, and illumination that have expanded into the world of

Business. P. Allen (2015) revealed the need for churches to have effective leadership,

quality fellowship, and high quality of service. To be successful, leaders must have sound

leadership techniques, worthy members, plan strategically, and professional ideas. P.

Allen mentioned that prosperous churches are similar to business organizations, and

leaders must focus on the finest leadership practices, managing policies, and computer

development to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ and create an influence around the

world despite increasing differences in ideas and opinions. The diversity of the

Pentecostal church has stretched the church leadership’s influence into the world and has

created awareness for leaders in the church to function in their communities and the

whole world efficiently.

Implications for Theory

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore four leadership styles,

transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, of church leaders (pastors,

deacons, and ministers) and the influence of these styles on the growth of church

membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. The

conceptual framework of this study included the full-range leadership theory by Bass

(1996) and Greenleaf’s (1970) servant leadership theory. The full-range leadership

theory, as applied to this study, included the transactional and transformational leadership

models (Bass, 1996). Findings from this study aligned with previous literature and

enlarged the application of the servant, transformational, and transactional leadership

styles to leaders within the Pentecostal church. The definition and concepts of servant
 138
leadership style, as described by Greenleaf (1977), offered a complete account of the kind

of leadership style appropriate for Pentecostal churches within Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. The objective was to present a different leadership style for the

current Pentecostal churches to develop effective leaders and church membership growth.

According to Bass (1996), the full-range leadership model characterizes leaders

who display both the transactional and transformational leadership styles depending upon

the location and setting of the organization. The transformational and transactional

frameworks were appropriate for this study because those leadership theories presented

an extensive notion of leadership styles that were useful in this exploration of leadership

conduct in both religious and nonreligious establishments (Rowold, 2008).

Significant and complete reports centered on the research questions investigated

the problem of diminishing growth of church membership and its connection to church

leadership styles in the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

Maintaining a general focus on leadership conducts was essential to this research while

the broad scope of styles and conducts was important to explain the leaders and members

leadership practices aimed at increasing church membership growth.

Implications for Practice

Leaders and their leadership styles were significant and influential within these

participating Pentecostal churches. Therefore, this vital function is considered to be

crucial to the functioning of Pentecostal churches. According to the findings of this

research, the Pentecostal church leaders and members implied that the churches are not

competently equipped to train leaders and members because of the lack of adequate
 139
training programs, reliance on old fashioned strategies, and absence of current

technology. Findings revealed the participating Pentecostal churches were not applying

consistent organizational procedures to train the leaders and members to develop

motivational and leadership practices to become effective leaders.

Such training could assist leaders in identifying the leadership styles in use within

the church. The enhancement of these leadership abilities might influence the leader’s

capability to involve, encourage, and inspire church members to achieve successful

church growth. Offering essential training programs to church leaders and members can

improve their computer skills and provide them with an effective means of connecting

with other individuals. Masenya and Booyse (2016) mentioned that supervising training

from other sections of study might be modified to supplement the original training of

pastors in their everyday managerial responsibilities.

Also, the increasing change in religious activity in the world renders it vital for

leaders and members to receive training at an initial stage and then yearly review training

to ensure that leaders within the Pentecostal church are conscious of the most up-to-date

communications on the church’s rules and program policies. Leaders in religious

establishments who want their establishments to stay significant in the surrounding

community and within the business atmosphere should communicate the vision with

members and other individuals, establish a pleasant atmosphere, and make regular rules

in their establishments (Kurtessis et al., 2017).

Transformational leaders should communicate knowledge with members

regarding structural activity and upcoming transformations (Balaji & Krishnan, 2014;
 140
Zogjani & Raci, 2015). Transformational leaders appear effective through group actions

that advance the confidence, inspiration, and standards of their members (Jyoti & Bhau,

2015). Standards related to servant leader characteristics included (a) building hope, (b)

showing interest to others, (c) representing discipline, (d) pursuing the basic principles

for the establishment, (e) exhibiting kindness in activities and faith in every person, (f)

addressing the demands of members and the establishment, (g) developing a situation for

peace and coordination within the establishment, and (h) supporting members’ happiness

(McCann et al., 2014).

Conclusions

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore four leadership styles,

transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant, of church leaders (pastors,

deacons, and ministers) and the influence of these styles on the growth of church

membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. I performed

semistructured interviews, a focus group interview, and document review at the church

offices of the participating Pentecostal churches. The individual participants provided

answers to the interview questions easily and without any form of pressure. Forty leaders

and members of the congregation of the four Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia, took part in the face-to-face semistructured interviews and

represented four segments of the Pentecostal church congregation: pastors, ministers,

deacons, and members of the congregation. The themes that emerged from this study

were ideal church leadership styles, church leadership management, leadership

motivation, leadership styles to ensure church growth, effective communication,

 141
leadership practices, developing leaders, perceptions of leadership, church attendance

growth and decline rate, leaders’ leadership roles, church administrator’s handbook, and

vision and mission statement.

This qualitative exploratory case study comprises an account of activities,

qualities, and policies from Pentecostal church leaders and members in Alexandria and

Springfield, Virginia. The interviews gathered specific information, explored the

inspiration beyond the leaders’ quest to be effective, and inquired about a careful design

idea for church membership growth. The information offered in this dissertation signifies

information regarding the practices of leaders in four Pentecostal churches who are

actively serving their respective churches.

The church leaders and members interviewed for this research study had the

knowledge to present their perceptions of their participation in leadership positions and

their leaders’ leadership styles, their church’s contributions to the community, and how

those leadership styles impacted membership growth. The findings of this study

confirmed the link between church leaders’ decision-making abilities, their capability to

be ethical, use of the Bible for spiritual guidance, their readiness to help others, and their

transformation in the church. The findings were consistent with three leadership theories:

servant leadership, transformational leadership, and transactional leadership, and

answered the main research questions. The Pentecostal church leaders’ leadership styles

have played a significant part in the effectiveness of leaders and church membership

growth. The participants characterized the Pentecostal church leaders’ desire to

communicate the vision of the church to members and other individuals in the
 142
community as vital to bringing new people to the church. The participants confirmed that

in the Pentecostal church, proper strategic programs for development and good

responsibilities are influential in training leaders.

 143
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Appendix A: Invitation to Participate in a Doctoral Study

Dear Sir/Madam,

This letter is in connection with my conversation with your organization’s

leadership regarding a proposed research project involving participants at -------------------

---------------------. My name is Yera Keita, and I am a doctoral candidate in the

Management, Leadership, and Organizational Change program at Walden University. As

part of my doctoral study at Walden University, I would like to invite you to participate

in a research study I am conducting to show how church leaders and members of

congregation influence the growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in

Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. The focus and topic of the study are A Case Study

of Leadership Styles and Their Impact on Church Growth in Alexandria and Springfield,

Virginia.

I contacted you to participate because you are a church leader and member of the

congregation from a Pentecostal church in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia.

Participation in this research study is voluntary and will be confidential. If you agree to

be in this study, you will be asked to:

• Participate in a semi-structured individual face-to-face, audiotaped interview

with the researcher. The interview will be scheduled in a private location of

your choice. The duration of the interview will be 45 minutes to one hour.

• Participants in the semi-structured individual face-to-face interview may be

asked to participate in the focus group interview meeting. Also, the selection

for participants in the focus group interview will be determined from their
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position as Pastors, deacons, ministers and members of congregation within

the Pentecostal churches in Alexandria, and Springfield, Virginia that they

serve.

• Participate in a focus group, audiotaped interview with the researcher,

regarding how church leaders and members of congregation influence growth

of church membership. Also, video recording will not be permitted. The focus

group interviews will be scheduled in a private room location and the duration

of the focus group interview will be approximately between thirty minutes to

one hour.

Please read the enclosed consent form carefully. If you have any questions before

acting on the invitation to participate, please do not hesitate to contact me. Participants

must be church leaders (Pastors, ministers, deacons), and members of the congregation of

Pentecostal churches in Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia. If you satisfy these criteria

and have agreed to participate in the study, please notify me via the contact information. I

will contact you again to deliver the consent form, and to set up the individual face-to-

face interview of no more than 1 hour.

The interview will be audio recorded, and participants will have the opportunity

to review the transcribed interview interpretations for accuracy before inclusion in the

study. I sincerely appreciate your valuable time and thank you in advance for your

cooperation.

Sincerely,

Yera Keita
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Appendix B: Interview Protocol

Time of Interview: ____________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________________________
Place: ______________________________________________________
Interviewee: _________________________________________________
Position of Interviewee: ________________________________________

1. The interview session will commence with relationship building,

salutations, introducing myself to the research participant, after which

I will introduce the research topic.

2. I will thank the participant for taking the time to respond to the

invitation to participate.

3. Request permission to digitally audio record the face-to-face interview

and the focus group interview meeting as a backup written notes, and

I will note the date, time and county the interview is taking place in.

4. The coded sequential interpretation of the participants’ name and/or

church name, e.g., ‘respondent Q1…’ will be indicated on the audio

recorder, documented on my copy of the consent form and the

interview will begin.

5. The face-to-face interview will span approximately 45 – 60 minutes

for responses to the Research questions, including any additional

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follow-up questions. The duration of the focus group interview

meeting will take 30 minutes to an hour.

6. I will remind participants of the purpose of the study. The purpose of

the case study is to explore/show how church leaders (pastors,

deacons, ministers), and members of congregation influence the

growth of church membership in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria

and Springfield, Virginia.

7. Then, I will inform the participant regarding the review of the

interview report that I will make available after my transcription.

The research questions that guide this qualitative case study, semi-

structured open-ended interview protocol and the focus group interview, and

provides a guide to the researcher on the focal areas for the case study are

RQ1. What are the leadership styles commonly employed by church leaders

to increase membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria,

Virginia? and RQ2. What is the church leaders’ (pastors, deacons, and

ministers) knowledge and understanding of the implementation of the

leadership styles (transformational, transactional, laissez-faire, and servant)

to increase membership growth in Pentecostal churches in Alexandria,

Virginia?
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Interview Questions for Pastors

The following interview questions will answer research Q1.

a. Are you satisfied with your effectiveness as a leader in your church

congregation?

b. Is your leadership style different from what you believe is the ideal

style for your church congregation?

c. What leadership style do you think is most effective in which to ensure

continued membership growth in your church?

d. How will you describe the impact of the leader’s leadership style on

church growth?

The following interview questions will answer research Q2.

e. Are there leadership style/responsibilities that you are more or less

comfortable with as senior Pastor? Please elaborate on your answer.

f. What leadership practices, characteristics, and activities have been

most effective in your personal Pastoral context?

g. What are the major concerns that you have addressed in your Pastoral

ministry? How do you measure success in your ministry?

Interview Questions for Ministers and Deacons

The following interview questions will answer research Q1.

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a. Please describe your current or previous leadership role in the

Pentecostal Church?

b. Based on your experiences, will you describe as detailed a situation

that encouraged you to be a lead Minister or Deacon of the church you

lead?

c. Based on your experiences, what leadership practices do you employ?

The following interview questions will answer research Q2.

d. Based on your experiences, what is your perceptions of the role you

have, as minister/deacon, in regards to the different factors that have

led to the growth or decline of the church?

e. What leadership characteristics do you view as contributing to the

success/failure of the church membership growth?

f. How would you describe your leadership technique towards increase

membership growth?

Interview Questions for Members of Congregation

The following interview questions will answer research Q1.

a. How would you describe your church leader’s behavior towards

retaining church members?

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b. What activities would you like to see the church leadership put into

practice to improve interactions and motivate members to bring new

people?

c. What motivation would you like to see implemented by church

leadership to help people be more involved?

d. As a member of your church, how closely do you follow the

governance and prescribed structure of the church administration and

leadership style?

The following interview questions will answer research Q2.

e. What factors, inside or outside the church, do you believe have had an

influence on the growth or lack of growth of your church?

f. How would you describe your church leader’s leadership styles?

Focus Group Interview Questions

The following interview questions will answer research Q1.

a. What are the perceptions of Leaders of the Pentecostal Churches in

Alexandria, or Springfield, Virginia concerning church attendance

growth and decline rates?

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b. What are the perceptions of Leaders and members of congregation

concerning factors that affect church attendance growth and decline

rates?

The following interview questions will answer research Q2.

c. What’s your approach to working with others to achieve

membership growth in church?

d. How do you see your leadership role impacting membership

growth within the church?

e. How do you engage others to participate as a function of your

leadership role in church?

End interview sequence; discuss member checking with participant(s).

8. Thank the Participant(s) for their part in the study. Reiterate contact

numbers for follow-up questions to clarify responses and my

interpretation of their answers, and address concerns from

participants.

9. End protocol.