Impact of Church Leadership Style on Congregation Spiritual Growth in Kwara State

Leadership style significantly shapes the spiritual climate, member engagement, and developmental outcomes of Christian congregations, yet the specific relationship between leadership approach and spiritual growth in the North Central Nigerian church context has not been adequately studied. This study investigates the impact of church leadership styles, specifically transformational, servant, and authoritarian models, on congregation spiritual growth in Kwara State churches. A descriptive correlational design was adopted, with questionnaires administered to 200 church members from eight churches in Ilorin, Offa, and Omu-Aran. Leadership style was assessed using an adapted transformational leadership instrument, and spiritual growth was measured through biblical literacy, prayer engagement, community service involvement, and new convert retention. Results indicate a significant positive relationship between servant leadership style and congregation spiritual growth (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). Transformational leadership shows moderate positive associations. Authoritarian leadership is significantly negatively associated with member spiritual vitality and long-term retention. The qualitative data reveal that members under servant leaders report greater openness to accountability and spiritual challenge. The study concludes that servant and transformational leadership models are most conducive to genuine congregation spiritual growth in Kwara State, and recommends that theological training institutions in the North Central zone emphasise servant leadership theology as a formation priority for ministerial candidates. Keywords: church leadership style, congregation spiritual growth, servant leadership, Kwara State, North Central Nigeria