An Evaluation of Character Moulding Through Themes in Church Designed Education in Nigeria: A Case Study of WOFBI (Nigeria) Leadership Courses

This paper is an evaluation of the making of a Nigerian Christian through education and training. The paper, which has two parts, begins by interrogating the teachings and principles of the Christian faith as prescribed by European missionaries in Southern Nigeria and the later breakaway indigenous churches. This initial evolutionary analysis provides not only a platform to compare the transformations associated with Nigerian Christian leadership and followership developed through education at its onset; but also serves as a foundation for understanding discourses that surround the more contemporary Pentecostal form of Christian character moulding through education in Nigeria. Using the Sociology of Education framework, the paper interrogates the concept of social character formation through religious education. Within this framework is the notion that through a curriculum, social perceptions and other values which can shape the realities of learners can be transmitted. The shaping of these realities are essential in sustaining a prescribed religious character and ultimately social/religious control by religious leaders to mould its followership. To examine this, the World of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI) which is a training center under the Living Faith Church Worldwide (founded in Nigeria) is used as a contemporary case study. WOFBI offers three major courses, namely the Basic Certificate Course, the Leadership Certificate Course, and the Leadership Diploma Course. Through a content analysis of the course themes presented on the WOFBI office of the Living Faith Church Durumi Phase II Abuja website ( https://wofbid2.wixsite.com/wofbid2/about_us ), the paper interrogates Christian education and its relationship with religious leadership’s aim to sustain prescribed religious character moulding within their followership.