Digital Commons Network^™

P.U.S.H. For Life Among The Stars: A Scientific And Philosophical Quest For Conceptualizing Uncertainty, Jacinta Creel Vallejo

Senior Projects Spring 2024

This senior project tackles how to deal with uncertainty in the search for life. Defining this uncertainty is tricky, and scientific efforts to do so are crucial. Such efforts include analyzing the data and biases of past, present, and future missions searching for exoplanets: planets outside our solar system. From there, the next step would be to infer what exoplanets have an atmosphere. This is a crucial, but not sufficient step, as having an atmosphere is a good sign of encountering life. However, finding an atmosphere is not an easy task, and this step will undeniably come with some amount …

Behind The Numbers: A Traditional Church Faces A New America, Larry Vogel

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The dissertation examines membership data for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) from the mid-1970s to the present. It considers the analysis of LCMS decline by two scholars, George Hawley and Ryan MacPherson, who independently proposed that LCMS membership decline was internal in causation due to diminished birthrates and fewer young families. While acknowledging the reality of such internal decline, this dissertation argues that the lack of external growth is a greater cause for LCMS decline. Its lack of external growth is due primarily to the racial and ethnic homogeneity of the LCMS and its failure effectively to evangelize the increasingly …

Short-Term Missions: Helping Or Hurting?, Hannah Rossell

Honors Theses

Every year, thousands of short-term mission teams are sent out all over the world. It is estimated that more than four million Americans take an overseas short-term mission trip every year. Most of these participants are youth and young adults. The American church is estimated to spend as much, or more, on short-term mission trips as they do on sending and sustaining long-term missionaries. The question is, with all these participants and resources being sent out, are short-term mission trips helping or hurting the long-term goal of missions? Short-term missions can be helpful if they are plugging in and supporting …

Understanding Secularized People Of Metro Manila: A Case Study Approach For A Contextualized Urban Ministry Strategy, Ermela T. Dizon

Dissertations DIS

Problem

Secularization shapes people's thinking, feeling, and behaving in the cities. Yearly, there is a rise in the number of de-religionized or secularized people in cities of the world who engage in pursuits of materialism and show declining interest in religion. Sociologists and missiologists postulate about the spectrum of secularity and the variety of secularism in different context. Since Metro Manila is one of the world's top highly urbanized and densely populated cities, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encounters challenges in reaching its secularized people. It is a new turf for the church. Pastors trained for rural settings may not understand …

Understanding Secularized People Of Metro Manila: A Case Study Approach For A Contextualized Urban Ministry Strategy, Ermela T. Dizon

Dissertations

Problem

Secularization shapes people's thinking, feeling, and behaving in the cities. Yearly, there is a rise in the number of de-religionized or secularized people in cities of the world who engage in pursuits of materialism and show declining interest in religion. Sociologists and missiologists postulate about the spectrum of secularity and the variety of secularism in different context. Since Metro Manila is one of the world's top highly urbanized and densely populated cities, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encounters challenges in reaching its secularized people. It is a new turf for the church. Pastors trained for rural settings may not understand …

Missions And Media And The Pentecostal Tradition, Elena Espinoza

Masters of Theological Studies

This thesis sought to discover how the use of media for missions developed within the Pentecostal tradition. In order to accomplish this, the historical development of the print medium and the introduction of radio will be analyzed. Additionally, methods of visual media will be introduced by discussing televangelism, media and theology, and the ethics of missions photojournalism. From there, the thesis transitions to the current use of digital media. Digital media today includes, but is not limited to, electronic newsletters, photos, videos, and social media. For the sake of this paper, only those for digital media mediums/platforms will be discussed. …

Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman

Dissertations

For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.

To address this deficiency, this parallel …

Missiological Intelligence: Taking Cultural Intelligence To A New Level In Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Adam Vaughan

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Many people thrive on the mission field while others seem to flounder. This includes some missionaries who must return to their home country prematurely. The correlation between flourishing and floundering for missionaries on the field is not necessarily limited to a lack of passion, biblical knowledge, effort, or even language proficiency. All missionaries need a comprehensive set of tools, and one that has been seriously neglected in missiological training is Cultural Intelligence (CQ). CQ is a modality of intelligence within the umbrella of Social Intelligence, as categorized under the Multiple Intelligence Theory. With the rapid increase of globalization, those who …

The 835 Weekend: A Model For Recruitment Of Generation Z Entrepreneurs Toward Church Planting In Europe, Mark Good

Doctor of Ministry

The continent of Europe, once a center of spiritual renewal and missionary mobilization, has now become a gospel desert. The need for church planting is acute. The means to address this need is partly through the deployment of church planting teams, yet there is a dearth of both European and expatriate missionary young adults ready to take up this charge. Generation Z entrepreneurs must be successfully engaged and recruited to meet the need for pioneering career church planters among the least reached peoples of Europe. The key insights discovered regarding recruitment of Generation Z to missionary careers come from the …

To Make Man Whole: Towards A Strategy For Gospel-Centered, Comprehensive Health Evangelism, Kyle L. Allen

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Historically the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an evangelistically oriented movement. In harmony with this historical precedent, the evangelistic focus of the Church has included an emphasis on God’s plan to restore the whole person—to make people whole physically, mentally, and spiritually. This wholistic focus on evangelism is based on Christ’s method of a threefold ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. When this is the practice, many prejudicial barriers are reduced and the reception of the message the Church is called to share is made easier. Despite this focus, the evangelistic strategies of the Church have often not effectively integrated …

The Invisible Language: Unintentional Patronage And Missions Practice In Contemporary Thailand, Samuel Burton Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patronage-clientelism is a current and important topic of discussion among the anthropological and missiological community. The effects of unintended patronage by Western missionaries in the context of Thai culture, however, are underexplored in academic research. In this study, I analyzed the effects of unintentional patronage among Western missionaries in a Thai cross-cultural ministry context. To do this I utilized a multiple case study method in which I compared four cases and analyzed for examples of how unintentional patronage is generated. I discovered that unintentional patronage was likely a result of insufficient missionary education regarding patronage-clientelism, as well as a lack …

An Analysis And Comparison Of The Missional Doctrine Hermeneutics Of Kevin J. Vanhoozer And Veli-Matti KäRkkäInen, With Emphasis On Their Notions Of God, Eschatology, And Mission, Elmer Arrais Guzman

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen’s and Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s theological method, in order to understand its structural elements, and thereby to facilitate comprehension of their missional doctrinal hermeneutics, and the ramifications of those hermeneutics for the construction and development of Christian theology. Missional doctrinal hermeneutical models conceive the missional dimension of doctrine in various ways. Some privilege the maintenance of theological identity cohering with the foundational sources of theological authority. Others privilege theological constructions that assimilate the context and the missional situational framework of understanding. This dissertation strives to examine the diverging missional hermeneutics of Kärkkäinen and Vanhoozer, the foundational …

The Preparedness Of Suffolk County’S Emergency Managers For Drinking Water Disruptions, Richard Rotanz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractFor many years, a chronic issue within Suffolk County, New York, one of the most populated counties in the country, is the deterioration of its drinking water along with its polluted beaches, lakes, and rivers, which are imperative for tourism and the fishing industry. However, little is known regarding the awareness of, and the preparedness towards, any disruptions of drinking water by the community of emergency managers. Narrowing this gap of knowledge was the purpose of this study. The research question examined the knowledge of, the attitudes, and the preparedness levels of the emergency management community of Suffolk County involving …

A Study Of Nones In Brazil And The Usa In Light Of Secularization Theory With Missiological Implications, Jolive R. Chavez

Dissertations

The growth of those who declare themselves to be Nones, or religiously unaffiliated, in Brazil and the USA has been continuously higher than that of the general population. In Brazil, they are the third-largest group in the religious field, behind only Catholics, and Pentecostal evangelicals. In the USA, they are the second largest group, after Protestants as a whole. The Nones, in their diverse groups, are more represented among the youth in both cultures, and reflect the modern and postmodern influences of contemporary secularism, being a product of the process of changing human thought.

This work studies the Nones, in …

Strategy To Implement And Evaluate A Health And Wellness Program In The Inner-City Of Benton Harbor, Michigan Through The Harbor Of Hope Church, Imasiku Mubita

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The data from the Berrien County Health Department (2011b) shows that the city of Benton Harbor has unusually high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. In addition, the city is a food desert and residents lack good healthcare coverage which helps to exacerbate these lifestyle diseases among its inner-city residents. Also, the dearth of healthy food intake plus the lack of exercise further hampers the community's health.

Method

A nine-week health-wellness program was opened to the community through the Harbor of Hope church in Benton Harbor. During this program community members had their biometrics screened at the beginning and …

Interpreting The Other: Natives, Missionaries, And Colonial Authority In New England, 1643-1675, Violet Galante

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis studies the rise, maintenance, and decline of New England praying towns from 1643-1675. Nestled between the Pequot War and Metacom’s War, the mid-seventeenth century was a period of relative peace between Indians and English settlers. Despite this supposed peace, violence continued between the two sides. The decades of peace were uneasy, and marked by increased tension over land and resources. Missionaries went to natives in Massachusetts and established towns aimed at converting large numbers of Indians. These towns would become a volleying point for local authorities, missionaries, and royal governors as natives, missionaries, settlers, and elites vied for …

Developing A Tool For Bridging Generation Gaps Via The Study And Execution Of Local Mission Projects At Canton First Baptist Church, Canton, Nc, John Greene

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Developing a Tool for Bridging Generation Gaps Via the Study and Execution of Local Mission Projects at Canton First Baptist Church, examined the idea that a church’s local mission efforts can unite people across generations, because focus on a greater goal bridges preconceptions. The researcher assembled groups of varying generational makeup, surveyed them to find preconceptions about missions and generations, and directed them to serve a local ministry. Tracking the groups’ opinions along generational lines throughout showed the effect missions made. The project showed local missions can bridge the generation gap, so long as the participants are open to change

Constructing A Theology Of Relational Life Through The Themes Of Creation, Incarnation, And Re-Creation As An Alternative To Current Categories Of Religions, Andrew Tompkins

Dissertations

This dissertation argues that current categories of religions are overly reliant on Western Enlightenment-based presuppositions and academic thinking that creates barriers in understanding God’s desire for all people to have abundant life. Many theologians and missiologists utilize these inherited categories without first subjecting them to the biblical canon. As a result, the theological and missiological discourse on religions is often grounded in extra-biblical presuppositions rooted primarily in an overly high view of human reason that do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. These presuppositions do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. I, therefore, compared …

Development And Implementation Of A Community-Based Health Evangelism Strategy At Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Tallahassee, Florida, Daphnis Ricardo

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist church desired to reach its community but did not have a strategic plan on how to do so. The lack of a strategic plan hindered the effectiveness of the church in making an impact in its neighborhood and left the members with a sense that they were not making a difference in their community. Initial observations done through formal talks with church leaders suggested that health ministry was a focus where their church had a strength and was a means by which to reach the neighborhood.

Method

The methods used were to develop a team …

The Rhetoric Of Missions Reporting, Bailey Cate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Missions, especially short-term trips, are becoming more and more controversial. As short-term missionaries interact in the field, they take pictures depicting the poverty, lack of resources, and overall sense of destitution around them. These photos have helped generate income, as many Christians who see the photos as part of updates on mission work they supported come to see themselves in a position of “savior” because they have resources to give to “those in need.” Evangelism is a critical component of Christianity; however, how people evangelize and how they communicate about that evangelism is equally critical. By analyzing both the church …

A Comparative Analysis Of Pauline Missiology, Assemblies Of God Missiology, And Conclusions For Today, Colbry H. Martin

Selected Honors Theses

The following work researches the Missiology of the Apostle Paul, displayed in his mission’s practices in the book of Acts. This work also researches the mission practices of the Assemblies of God in order to discover their unique missiology. The key principles from these two parties are then compared in order to discover the similarities and differences. Since the argument is made that the recordings in the book of Acts of the working of the Apostle Paul are inspired by the Holy Spirit, the similarities between Paul’s practices and Assemblies of God practices are seen as strengths which need to …

Nursing Practice During A Mission In Nepal: Ethics And Leadership, Lorena M. Bonilla

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The ability of nurses to reflect or critically examine the impact of professional standards of practice, legal guidelines, and ethical frameworks that influence and guide their practice is essential to help patients achieve quality of life and wellness. Regardless of the location and setting where nursing takes place, contextual factors such as the benefits and potential harm resulting from the care provided, availability of resources, the nurse’s scope of practice, and evidence-based practice guidelines, all affect a nurse’s ability to practice in a safe, ethical, competent, caring, and compassionate manner.

Using an exploratory case study to investigate nurses’ (n=9) view …

From The Father’S Heart To Our Hands: Christian Responsibility In The U.S. Foster System, Amelia Tam

Selected Honors Theses

Nearly half a million children are currently served by the child welfare system in the United States. This overwhelming strain on state departments and non-profit placement agencies is compounded by the fact that there are not enough available homes. There appears to be a shortage of capable and resilient foster and adoptive parents. Thousands of children who are ready to be adopted do not have anyone to take them in, and thousands more float in the system until new families agree to foster. This seeming shortage of homes is absurd considering the wealth of compassion and capability within the American …

The Impact Of The Imminence Of The Parousia On The Mission Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Bogdan Platon

Master's Theses

The imminence of the Parousia influenced the mission of Seventh-day Adventist church in all its history. The problem of this thesis is the extent to which the expectancy of the soon Parousia influences the concept about and the attitude towards mission in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Is Parousia the main motivation for the mission of the church or not? If Parousia determines the mission, what are the aspects associated with it that should drive the church mostly?

This thesis has a multidisciplinary approach: exegetical, historical and systematical. The study examines how the Bible history presents the impact of expectation upon …

Implementing Vocational Training At Escuela Quiteña De Estudios Bíblicos, Joshua K. Marcum

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This DMin project addressed the problem of the absence of a viable training model to equip graduates of EQEB (Escuela Quiteña de Estudios Biblicos) for self-sustaining ministry. Based upon a theology of vocation, the project implemented and evaluated the inclusion of a technical-skills component to EQEB’s current seminary training. The project followed the integration of sixteen EQEB students in the vocational program implemented during the 2015-2016 school year. Qualitative research data gathered from five group interviews with these students, my own field notes, and a faculty interview provided the substance upon which I based the project´s findings. Over a seven-month …

Gospel Encounter With Subaltern India , Stanish Stanley

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

This work examines the role of religio-cultural resources in enabling the transformation of a broken community and people.

In the context of nineteenth and twentieth century British India, an oppressed community in India set out to explore the possibility of challenging and re-defining their own destiny. This oppressed section of Indians who lived in the margins of Indian caste defined society were considered socially and ritually polluting people and were subservient to various socio-economic and religio-cultural biases. The daily life routine of this oppressed community, called the Sambavars (Pariahs) of the Malayalam speaking princely State of Travancore in South India, …

Discussion Of How To Effectively Communicate The Gospel Considering Generations, Cultures, And Paul’S Biblical Example., Rebeca Garnica

Selected Honors Theses

Every communicator of the gospel message should trust that God has called and prepared them to communicate His truth to His people. As a result, communicators should be stewards of God’s gifts and calling by diligently growing and preparing to reach His people. This paper is a discussion created to facilitate communicators of the gospel message with practical tools to be effective communicators. This effective communication is based on three main concepts: generations, cultures, and the Biblical example of the Apostle Paul. The purpose of this thesis is to help all communicators, but primarily those in North America, by examining …

Sports Ministry As An Entryway Into North Korea As A Means Of Spreading The Gospel, Jessica L. Mcmahon

Selected Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Sending Students: Addressing Barriers University Students Face In Going To The World As Missionaries, Shane Sebastian

Doctor of Ministry

"The Bible recounts how God has used people of all ages and backgrounds to advance His purposes. Many of the most remarkable events of the biblical story involved young people. It should not be surprising to find that in recent centuries, many of the greatest things God has done to fulfill the Great Commission have been done with university students." —David Howard

University students on campuses today will be leaders tomorrow. According to recent statistics, there are approximately 150 million college students in the world today, roughly 2% of the world’s population. Though this may be a small fraction of …

Adventist Medical Mission In Botswana: Toward An Effective And Appropriate Model, Olaotse Obed Gabasiane

Dissertations

Since holistic health is central to Africans, they will seek it from all possible health-care systems that include (1) African traditional medicine, (2) Western-oriented medicine, (3) Christian medical mission, as well as (4) African Independent Churches (AICs) with emphasis on spiritual healing. However, at times this comes with negative consequences.

This research sought to understand why medicalpluralism exists in Botswana and the rest of southern Africa, and why it finds concurrent use by Africans; solutions can help Christian medical missions develop more effective and holistic ways to serve Africans. The research can also help Christian medical missionsunderstand how they can …