Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Adventist Functional Substitute For Initiation Rites Of Passage For Kikuyu Boys And Abagusii Girls In Kenya, John Macharia Gichuiri

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many boys who undergo circumcision as a rite of passage in the Kikuyu community in Kenya are secluded for two weeks while they heal. During this period their parents are barred by the culture from seeing their sons and the boys are left entirely to the influence of their peers, who introduce them to all manner of vices like smoking tobacco, bhang, drinking alcohol, taking drugs of addiction, chewing of miraa, pre-marital sexual activities, and recruitment to illegal gangs. These vices negatively affect the boys’ spiritual growth and expose them to physical, mental, social, and emotional health risks. An …

A Strategy To Create A More Meaningful Worship Experience In The Sony Seventh-Day Adventist Church In The Ranen Conference, Duncan Odhiambo Mumbo

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Some members of the Sony Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Ranen Conference skip worship services claiming that the services are boring and do not meet their spiritual needs. They claim that the services are always the same and too traditional, hence their reason for not attending regularly. At times some members attend Pentecostal services on Sundays to experience more meaningful worship. This study was to develop and implement a program for a more meaningful worship experience during the worship services in the Sony Adventist Church of the Ranen Conference so as to encourage members to attend worship services regularly. …

A Strategy To Increase The Retention Of Members In The Nyaguta District, Paul G. Kiage

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

According to a report given at the 2010 year-end church board meeting that was conducted in the Nyaguta district of the South Kenya Conference, more than 40 percent of the members baptized each year drop out from the church.

Method

The current nurturing programs in the Nyaguta District churches were reviewed to see whether they were effective. A questionnaire was administered to the focus groups to obtain information. Seminar materials on membership retention from the Bible, the writings of E. G. White, and other Christian writers were developed and a series of seminars were conducted to train a group …

A Strategy To Increase The Number Of Young People In The Jericho District Marrying Members Of The Adventist Faith, Alfred G. Marundu

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The negative impact and loss of members due to many Adventist young people marrying non-Seventh-day Adventists is tremendous. Church services are not attended regularly by those who marry outside the faith community because families are split on the day of worship due to doctrinal differences. There is pressure to do things with the family on Sabbath and even children are confused as to which parent to follow. Two churches were selected to study the extent of this problem. Principles from the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, other Adventist and non-Adventist authors were explored to come up with …

Resisting The Influence Of The Imeyomwana Heresy In The Nyangweta District, Lenard B. Aencha

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Imeyomwana (a heresy involving the concept of what it means to be in Christ), a group of former Adventists, is causing problems in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Nyangweta district of the South Kenya Conference. Many of their teachings contradict those of the Seventh-day Adventists Church and many members are apostatizing to this group.

Method

To deal with the heresy I employed a two-pronged strategy. On one hand I sought to enter a dialogue with those involved in Imeyomwana, while on the other hand I confronted the false teaching with biblical truth. This strategy employed two powerful planning …

A Forgiveness And Reconciliation Strategy To Bring Ethnic Harmony In The Nairobi East Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Timothy O. Guto

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Conflicts have affected the church of God in recent times. The Seventh-day Church in Kenya and especially after the 2007 and 2008 post-election violence was very negatively affected. Some members still cannot co-exist or enjoy Christian fellowship in the same congregation because of lack of forgiveness and reconciliation. Co-existence became difficult because church members fought each other and even destroyed homesteads belonging to rival tribal groups. Tarimo admits that "those churches that happen to be multiethnic with a national outlook are plagued with internal inter-ethnic conflicts" (2008, para. 4). Although conflict management has been done by the government including …