ABSTRACT
The origins of Christian engagement with social development causes in Nigeria can be traced back to the age of British imperial occupation and colonial rule. This chapter employs the RCCG as a religious organizational case study to offer practical insights into the resources Nigerian Pentecostal churches draw on when engaging with social development. It provides a concise introduction to the theological, financial, and political mechanics driving RCCG investment in Nigerian social development. Adedibu's “world-accommodating” concept has been used to describe the RCCG's embrace of prosperity theology, but it can also be applied to explain why its CSR vision calls for engagement with social development in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Akindayomi, the RCCG promoted a holiness-centric, “world-rejecting” religious worldview. CSR's courtship of corporate sponsors raises questions about how the religion–secularism dichotomy will continue to play out as the church moves away from depending on internal sources to finance its social development activities in favor of securing funding from external actors.
