Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Process For Implementing Devotional Patterns For Members Of The San Diego Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Limuel M. Liwanag

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

A church with declining membership for over 20 years and almost devoid of additional new member through baptism is a pastoral concern. Such is the situation with San Diego Central Seventh-day Adventist church. This scenario appears contrary to the biblical formula for individual as well as congregational health that Jesus emphatically stated in John 15. Connectedness to Jesus, the Vine, naturally results in fruitfulness. When a person does not bear fruit, it may indicate a lack of or no connection to the Vine at all. Connection to Jesus is nurtured and sustained by a devotional pattern. A process that …

A Leadership Development Project Design For Financial Stability And Missional Momentum At The Houston Northwest Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Richard M. White

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Houston Northwest Seventh-day Adventist church, located in Spring, Texas, has experienced very little membership growth and a decline in attendance and contribution in the ten years from 2003 to 2012. Due to financial challenges during this period, the church did not develop any defined and significant outreach or evangelistic strategies. The need to create financial stability and missional momentum consisting of leadership development is needed. A lack of such intervention the church would continue to remain stagnant in its membership growth with a decline in its contribution and attendance.

Method

This project document explored the Houston Northwest Seventh-day …

Developing A Vision And Strategy For Multicultural Ministry: Woodburn Community Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Eduard Daniel Ciobanu

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The City of Woodburn, OR is home to a population of 24,223. Over half of the residents are Hispanic, while 1/4 to 1/3 are Russian Orthodox Old Believers. Adding to its diversity, 35.4% of the total population of Woodburn is foreign born. Started as a church plant 30 years ago, the mostly White, non-Hispanic Woodburn Community Seventh-day Adventist Church has traditionally kept a membership of around a 100, with a current membership of 101 and an average attendance of 38 in 2011. Despite an ideal, central location in town, an ability to embrace and support new members and attendees, …

Training Volunteer And Non-Professional Health Educators In The Context Of The Milwaukee Seventh-Day Adventist Community, Glenn Cassimy

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Sharon SDA Church is a prominent faith based organization (FBO) in the Milwaukee district. Like many other churches in the community, the Sharon SDA Church continually seeks to adopt innovative strategies to assist in improving the health status of their congregants. Although the Sharon SDA Church and various faith-based organizations implement health program initiatives as a part of their mission, at the end of any program effort, there is still the need for ongoing member support to assist congregants in fully achieving the goals they set during their health initiative. This study, therefore, is an attempt to provide …

A Strategy To Increase Devotional Reading Of Ellen G. White's Books On The Bible Story At The Augusta First Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Bobby J. Boles

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Some members of the Augusta First Seventh-day Adventist Church felt the writings of Ellen G. White were irrelevant and thus had no influence in their spiritual life. The church members had dismissed her writings in their spiritual journeys and instead read the works of more contemporary authors. This group seemed to be apathetic to the matter of Ellen White as a prophet, and some avoided her written work all together. A contributing factor to this indifference might have been a lack of devotional reading of her books on the Bible story. By addressing this lack of devotional reading, I …

Teaching Reflective Scripture Reading In The Context Of Small Groups In The Walla Walla University Church, Emily M. Whitney

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem.

While the Seventh-day Adventist Church has emphasized the importance of God's Word and is effective in teaching people how to search Scripture for doctrinal truth, many disciples are not spending significant time in Scripture or growing in relationship with God. This lack of formational Scripture reading is due to numerous challenges that can discourage people from spending time in God’s Word. A primary challenge is that many people confess that they do not know how to read Scripture for relationship with God; they long to know how to read Scripture to hear from God and relevantly and meaningfully apply …

Ethical Analysis Of Abuses Of Power In Christian Leadership - A Case Study Of "Kingly Power" In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Zorislav Plantak

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose

Power is an integral aspect of all types of leadership. The term “abuse of power” describes an inappropriate and corrupt application of power. The exercise of power becomes an abuse of power when a person in a position of power acts in a manner that cannot be justified in terms of truth or morality (goodness, kindness, justice, or obedience). While abuses of power have always been a part of Christian leadership, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church leadership, no scholarly study on the moral dimensions of abuses of power in the Adventist Church has been done. Although such …

A Study Of The Pokot Cultural Worldview: Missiological Implications For Seventh-Day Adventist Witness Among The Pastoral Nomads Of Kenya, Haron Matwetwe

Dissertations

Seventh-day Adventist witness among the nomadic peoples of the East Africa region is faced with a number of challenges. Although the Church enjoys relative success in reaching most communities, its growth and development appears restricted to locations occupied by the settled communities. Unfamiliarity with nomads’ cultural structures and values is partial explanation for why missionaries have failed to effectively connect with the nomads thereby hampering the establishment of a more vibrant mission work in pastoral nomadic regions.

This qualitative research sought to describe the Pokot cultural worldview as a step toward understanding their socio-cultural context and identify barriers to effective …

Training The Members Of The Hacienda Heights Seventh-Day Adventist Church To Create Missional Communities, Brett Poynter

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

A 2011 analysis of the Hacienda Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church revealed it had poor missional health in it, was not outreach focused, small group oriented, or a discipling community. This attributed to plateaued church growth with a congregation consisting largely of boomers and a significantly low percentage of GenX’ers and millennials.

Method

An intervention to train the members of the Hacienda Heights church to create missional communities was developed and applied as a means to improve the church’s missional health and growth. The intervention was developed by studying missional church literature and assessing the church and community. The resulting …

Developing A Structure To Strengthen Youth Ministry In Florida Conference, Pedro E. Perez

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem.

Florida Conference did not have a way to connect the Youth Ministries Department to local churches to support the churches’ teen ministry. There was a need for a structure to create a connection between the conference and local churches to strengthen youth ministry in the local church. With over 300 churches in the conference, the youth director could not achieve this alone. Furthermore, there was not even a contact list to know which churches had a youth leader or young people. Developing a structure would be a means of gaining access to local church youth leaders so that the …

A Biblical Training Model To Improve The Financial Literacy Of The Members Of The Roundup-Lewistown District Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Andrew Raduly

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Pastoral observation suggested that one third of the Roundup-Lewistown Seventh-day Adventist district membership struggled with personal financial management issues. It was suggested that the root causes for the inability to manage financial resources was a lack of financial literacy and education and a lack of understanding of basic financial concepts, including misunderstandings about biblical concepts about wealth, borrowing, and stewardship of resources.

Method

In order to assess, improve, and observe the basic knowledge of the financial literacy and education of the Roundup-Lewistown Seventh-day Adventist church membership, a pre-financial literacy seminar assessment survey (PREFLAS) was administered. The PREFLAS was followed …

An Action Plan For Youth Involvement Leadership At Francois In Martinique, Louise R. Nocandy

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Youth involvement leadership in Seventh-day Adventist local churches remains an issue of concern. Part of the vision of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church and the local church is to encourage the youth to be faithful disciples of Christ and to teach, train, equip, and involve them in the Seventh-day Adventist local churches. However, the Annual Local Churches Strategic Plan is not intentionally oriented towards youth involvement leadership and the Annual Youth Strategic Plans are generally not based on the vision for the entire church. This gap reveals a lack of partnership between the youth department and most other departments …

Developing, Implementing And Evaluating A Leader Development Process For Stone Mountain Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Joel L. Honore

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Stone Mountain Seventh-day Adventist Church’s vision calls for a reiterative process of growing the worship attendance to 2,000 worshipers, then initiating a new church plant every four years. At the initiation of this project, Stone Mountain Church did not have the capacity to achieve its vision. Its facility could not accommodate 2,000 worshipers. There were insufficient leaders to minister to 2,000 people, neither was there adequate leadership to take the congregation through a facilities expansion process. The shortage of leaders precluded the vision of Stone Mountain Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Method

Bolman and Deal (2008) provide four approaches for engaging …

Relational Health Through The Communion Service At The Lighthouse Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Fort Lauderdale, Fl, M. Curtis Powell

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The history of conflict at the Lighthouse Seventh-day Adventist Church can be traced to the different attitudes and approaches toward the corporate worship experience held by the membership. One view of worship is more akin to traditional liturgy and style. One segment of the congregation, composed mainly of older members, prefers the use of hymns, emphasizes reverence in the sanctuary, and is skeptical of drums. Their posture could be considered reflective rather than overtly expressive. The other view of worship is more akin to contemporary elements and style. They prefer more contemporary genres of music, a more contemporary liturgy, …

A Comprehensive Strategy For The Calgary Metropolitan Area Churches, Christopher L. Holland

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In my 16 years of ministry, in every location I have pastored, the church has struggled to connect with the surrounding community. In Calgary, there are 14 Seventh-day Adventist churches and companies. These churches have, on occasion, worked in unity for evangelism. However, according to several of the local pastors, that has not happened for over 10 years. If the churches in Calgary are to fulfill the Great Commission, an effective way of engaging the community is needed. Because the communities that surround churches are growing increasingly secular, comprehensive evangelistic strategies may be an effective way of reaching them. …

Programa Para Confrontar La Disidencia Antitrinitaria En La Asociacion Central Amazonas De La Iglesia Adventista Del Septimo Dia, Abraao Vergasta Reis

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The task of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a seminar to confront anti-Trinitarian dissidence in the Central Amazon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Brazil. In a historical study, Burt (2006) pointed out that the progression of Adventists from anti-Trinitarianism to a biblical Trinitarian view has been a difficult process (p. 126), and he also explained on the same year that “the last decade has seen an increased anti-Trinitarian agitation within the Seventh-day Adventist Church” (p. 125). Whidden, Moon, and Reeve (2002) point out that there are “increasing reports” of anti-Trinitarianism in North America and around the world, …

Cross-Cultural Conflict Transformation In Southeastern California Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Jonathan J. Park

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Today’s world has become more globalized than ever before. The North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists is perhaps a division with the most ethnically diverse members in the world. This diversity is especially found in the Southeastern California Conference, which has more than 70,000 members with 175 churches and companies and many different ethnic groups. The Asian ministries alone have eleven different ethnic groups. These Asian churches not only face cultural differences between the first and later generations of the church members but must also deal with generational differences. These differences create conflict that need to be addressed.

Method …

Technology Training For Administrators And Pastors In The Greater New York Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Rohann D. Wellington

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Greater New York Conference (GNYC) is located in what is considered the media capital of the world. Media and technology have changed our lives in meaningful ways, both globally and locally. The church in its local context, in this technological age, is struggling to adapt technology in meaningful and effective ways to impact discipleship and evangelism practices. I observed that the administrators and most of the pastors in the GNYC do not understand how to adapt today’s media technology effectively, and therefore, lack a vision regarding how this tool can be effectively adapted for ministry delivery.

Method

A …

A Discipleship Model For Youth At The Paradise Adventist Church, Milton Daniel Marquez

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

For more than a decade the Paradise Adventist Church had been experiencing a common problem facing most churches in North America: approximately 60% of the youth were leaving the church. Rainer and Rainer (2008) argue that one of the factors in two-thirds of young adults between the ages of 18 and 22 leaving our churches after high school is the lack of a simple and effective discipleship process. Pastoral observation concurs that a primary contributing factor to the loss of Adventist youth is that the youth are not being discipled effectively and thus not rooted in Scripture, connected to …