Church Culture, Organizational Climate And Career Commitment As Predictors Of Church Ministers’ Mental Health In Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Mental health problems are becoming more widely acknowledged due to their significant influence on general health and well-being of people. Therefore, this study investigated the exact contribution of church culture, organizational climate, and commitment on church ministers’ mental health in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methods: The study adopted a survey design and used a multi-stage sampling technique to select the one hundred and eighty-two (182) church ministers for this study. Four validated questionnaires were used for data collection. Three research hypotheses were formulated, tested, and analysed using multiple regression and chi-square analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Results: The results of this study revealed that church culture, organizational climate and work commitment combined to influence church ministers’ mental health (R = .687; R2 adj. = .466; F (3,179) = 28.236; P ≤ .05). The most potent predictor of Church ministers’ mental health among the predictor variables of the study is the church culture (β = .691; t = 6.183; p ≤.05). This is followed by organizational climate (β= .448; t = 5.194; p ≤.05) and work commitment (β = .103, t = -2.435; p ≤.05). Additionally, age, gender, work experiences were found to be good correlates of church ministers’ mental health. Conclusion: The study concluded that church culture, organizational climate and work commitment predicted church ministers’ mental health, as age, gender, and years of experience were good correlates of mental health outcomes among church ministers. It is recommended that training should be structured to meet the personality and coping needs of each individual, making sure that the contemporary challenges of the church is confronted.