The Impacts of Teachings of a Neo-Prophetic Church on Adolescents’ Well-being and Character Development

Abstract

Neo-Prophetic churches in Ghana are the fastest growing churches and have been highly criticised, but little is known about their teachings and potential impacts on adolescent congregants. The present study explored the content and impacts of the teachings of a Neo-Prophetic church on the well-being and character development of adolescent congregants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents aged between thirteen to nineteen years in a Neo-Prophetic church in Accra, Ghana. Following thematic analysis, the findings suggest that although the Neo-Prophetic church’s teachings have positive content that equipped adolescents with virtues, survival and leadership skills, and support for career development, there are negative elements that may cause adolescents to develop depression and low self-esteem, lack of reasoning and discernment skills, and potentially negative attitudes toward women. The implications of the findings are discussed.