Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Church-Supported Esl Ministry In Canada: A Look At The Church’S Mission In Action, Gordon Moulden
Church-Supported Esl Ministry In Canada: A Look At The Church’S Mission In Action, Gordon Moulden
Great Commission Research Journal
English is a dominant business, academic, and communicative language throughout the world. Immigrants and refugees coming to the West have a great need to learn the language but often do not have the funds or time to pursue studies full-time. Churches often offer English classes to minister to not only their language needs but also to their relational and spiritual needs. This mixed-methods survey and interview research investigates the state of church-supported English as a Second Language (ESL) programs across Canada following the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 50 teachers and program coordinators completed the survey, which revealed needs relating to training …
Sampling Methods And Sample Size In Church-Based Research, David R. Dunaetz
Sampling Methods And Sample Size In Church-Based Research, David R. Dunaetz
Great Commission Research Journal
An underlying assumption of most church-based research is that the sample from which the data is collected is representative of a wider collection of church members, church leaders, small groups, churches, denominations, or whatever is the focus of the study. To increase the likelihood that this assumption is met without making the research an impossible undertaking, various sampling strategies are used ranging from random sampling to convenience sampling, each with advantages and disadvantages. After a sampling strategy is chosen, an appropriate sample size should be pursued, depending on the nature of the study. The sample size of quantitative studies seeking …
Forming Saints In A Digital Context, Mark R. Teasdale
Forming Saints In A Digital Context, Mark R. Teasdale
Great Commission Research Journal
Biblical and scholarly sources agree on the importance of forming Christians to seek after holy living to make them more effective evangelists, such that the ministries of evangelism and spiritual formation are intertwined. They also agree that one of the primary roles of the church is to provide for this formation. However, the practices for doing this have been complicated by the heavy move toward digital ministry because of COVID-19. Congregations can continue this formational work even in highly digital contexts by helping Christians tell their story through lifelogging, providing rituals and disciplines to sanctify time and physical spaces, and …
Gerontic Evangelism, Yakubu Jakada
Gerontic Evangelism, Yakubu Jakada
Great Commission Research Journal
Gerontic Evangelism focuses on sharing the gospel with senior adults. Many evangelism ministries are focusing on children, youth, women, and other adult members of society, but few focus on the elderly. Senior adults in most cases are not seen as a peculiar group that needs to be strategically reached with the gospel. Their importance in society and their growing population worldwide should attract the attention of evangelists and missionaries to target them as a special group for gospel witness. This paper argues that winning the senior adults to Christ is a necessity and may open doors for the evangelization and …
Competing Notions Of Humility: Why Korean Americans Do Not Need To Abandon Confucius To Get To Christ, Eunice Hong, Max Botner
Competing Notions Of Humility: Why Korean Americans Do Not Need To Abandon Confucius To Get To Christ, Eunice Hong, Max Botner
Great Commission Research Journal
Korean Americans often go to church not only for religious reasons, but also for social and cultural reasons. Due to the close tie between the Korean immigrant church and cultural traditions, second-generation Korean Americans often struggle with trying to balance Eastern and Western cultural values. In particular, tensions arise for second-generation Korean Americans between competing notions of humility. Such tensions, however, provide opportunities to reflect on the particular nature of Christian humility. This article presents biblical humility as one that is neither the maintenance of cultural traditions nor the personal growth of individual disciples; rather, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled humility is the …
Church-Based Research: Using Theories, Concepts, And Operationalizations, David R. Dunaetz
Church-Based Research: Using Theories, Concepts, And Operationalizations, David R. Dunaetz
Great Commission Research Journal
Church-based research requires working with abstract concepts ranging from sin to sanctification. Theories, concepts, and operationalizations allow us to work with these abstractions. Theories are sets of statements describing how specific concepts relate to each other. Concepts are broad ideas that exist in our thinking that can be used to describe phenomena, both within and exterior to the church. If we measure the concepts in our theories among multiple people, we can determine to what degree the relationships in our theories are true or discover under what conditions they are true. Sometimes concepts can be measured directly; other times they …
Narcissistic Pastors And The Making Of Narcissistic Churches, Darrell Puls
Narcissistic Pastors And The Making Of Narcissistic Churches, Darrell Puls
Great Commission Research Journal
Can churches take on the pathological behaviors associated with narcissism through the influence of a narcissistic pastor? While there is a large body of literature on narcissistic individuals, and a smaller body of research into narcissistic organizations, there is little research on the prevalence of toxic narcissism in clergy and little to none on narcissistic churches. This paper is written from the perspective of currently available research and the author’s experience in working with churches suffering from severe internal conflicts in which both the pastor and church evidenced toxic levels of narcissism. The intent is to increase awareness, open a …
The Power Of Faithfulness In Relational Evangelism, Lance C. Hahn
The Power Of Faithfulness In Relational Evangelism, Lance C. Hahn
Great Commission Research Journal
Many evangelistic efforts bear little fruit. It may be due to our inability to convey the right information, but it may also be due to an inappropriate environment for the information to be interpreted correctly. This article describes a process that God may use to engage a person whose heart has been prepared, so that the seed sown is received, not only as truth, but with joy. Relational evangelism carried out faithfully allows consistent sowing until chaotic moments open the heart.