THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN A NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF TEN SELECTED CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN MAIDUGURI

The study set out to examine the role of public Relations in a non-governmental organization, using ten selected Christian Churches as a case study. The objectives of the study are to examine the nature and practice of Public Relations in NGOs with particular reference to Christian Churches, how Public Relations can be used in propagating the image of Christian Churches in Maiduguri, to identify likely problems Churches encountered in the use of Public Relations and recommend ways of improving Public Relations practice within and outside the selected Christian Churches in Maiduguri. The study found out that 50% of the respondents said they do not have functional Public Relations unit in their Churches. 40% of those who responded said they used video coverage of programmes to publicize the Church activities, while another 88.89% of the respondents said they used public Relations to propagate the gospel. The study found out that finance, lack of PR expertise, the size of the Church and ignorance were the major problems associated with Public Relations practice in churches. Solution proffered for these problems include: allocation of enough fund, training leaders, creating awareness and reorganization of administrative structure. Among other things the study recommended that each department in a Christian Church should have Public Relations unit apart from the Public Relations unit of the Church. By so doing each arm of the church will attract members of the external public to become members of the church. The study concluded that to avoid Christian Church activities from being shrouded in secrecy, Christian Churches no matter their size should have Public Relations units to publicize the Church activities using the most widely acceptable medium.