The Effect of Digital Marketing Strategies on Church Growth in Nigeria: A Focus on the Presbyterian Church

The evolution of digital technologies and the global shift toward digital communication have significantly impacted how organizations, including religious institutions, engage with their audiences. For churches, digital marketing presents a powerful tool to expand outreach, enhance engagement, and foster spiritual and numerical growth. However, the extent to which these digital strategies are effectively implemented and their actual impact on church growth remain areas of concern, especially for historic denominations such as the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN). The PCN has traditionally relied on conventional methods of outreach such as house-to-house evangelism, physical worship services, and community-based programs. While these approaches have contributed to its growth over the decades, the current generation—largely digital natives—are increasingly unreachable through traditional means alone. This study therefore aims to evaluate the extent to which the church’s adoption of digital marketing strategies influences church growth in Nigeria. The study adopted the cross-sectional research design and collected data with the use of the questionnaire distributed to 400 church members and staff of the Presbyterian Church in Lagos State, Nigeria. Data was presented and analyzed using frequencies and percentages, while hypotheses were tested using the one-sample T-test. The study’s findings show that digital marketing strategies are vital to promoting church growth in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that the church should improve on the use of digital technologies and intentionally teach their members on how to utilize them in order to achieve optimum growth.