Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Analysis Of Growth In The Euro-Asia Division (1985-1995) Leading To A Strategy For Developing Home Churches, Galina I. Stele

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Euro-Asia Division is experiencing many challenges due to rapid growth in membership during the decade of 1985-1995. This study shows some of the main needs of the Division and suggests a strategy for developing home churches in order to meet the present challenges.

Method

A church-growth analysis of the Euro-Asia Division was conducted for the years 1985-1995 to discover problems and challenges. The advantages that a home-church approach would bring in solving many of the challenges is discussed. Guiding principles for organizing house churches and training home-church leaders are suggested.

Results

The church-growth analysis showed that the main …

Marketing Strategies For Seventh-Day Adventist Literature In Brazil, Mario Paulo Martinelli

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

There is a great need for the publishing work in Brazil to use different methods. Although several changes have occurred with the advance of technology and urbanization, the methods employed to distribute SDA literature have remained practically the same as those used in earlier times. Literature evangelists are facing greater difficulties in personally talking with people. The traditional door-to-door sales method is reaching fewer and fewer people and new approaches are required to support colporteurs in their work. In addition, sales of literature to church members in Brazil are low and give evidence to the fact that strategies are …

New Approaches For Seventh-Day Adventist Evangelism In Swaziland, Stephen Jacobs Masuku

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist church in Swaziland experienced slow growth from the time of its inception. Starting from 1920, when the first Adventist missionary arrived in Swaziland, to 1994 membership was 2075. This means that the Adventist church in Swaziland was the slowest growing church in the former Southern Union and among the Christian churches in Swaziland.

Method

This dissertation analyzes: Swazi traditional history, Swazi traditional religious beliefs, the introduction of Christianity in Swaziland, how the SDA church was planted in Swaziland, and the evangelistic methods utilized by the Adventist church and other Christian churches. This approach helped in the …

Footwashing As A Means Of Reconciliation With God And Man, Ronald G. Schmidt

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Presently there are seven major interpretations of the footwashing recorded in the Gospel of John 13. This study attempts to discover the true meaning and function of footwashing that is in harmony with Johannine theology, Christology, and Sola Scriptura.

Method

This study was conducted in the following fashion. It traced the function and meaning of footwashing in both secular and sacred history throughout the Bible, as well as Jewish and Greco-Roman history. In particular it focuses on the setting of footwashing in the Gospel of John, and the practice and meaning of footwashing in Church history, with emphasis on …

Strategy To Develop Small-Scale Income-Generating Programs Among Seventh-Day Adventist Lay Members In Ghana, David Sarfo Ameyaw

Professional Dissertations DMin

The call for self-reliance and self-support in the operation and mission of the SDA Church worldwide presents a great challenge to the churches in developing countries. Many of the members in developing countries such as Ghana are unemployed and fall within the low-income bracket. In order for such membership to contribute to support the church, there must be a program to improve members' standard of living and their contributions and commitment to the church. Making the church in Ghana self-reliant and self- supporting is not a matter of how to motivate members to sacrifice and give, but how to empower …

A Christian Response To Zambian Death Rituals, Cornelius Mulenga Matandiko

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Adventist Christians in Zambia wrestle with the tension between elements of their traditional religion and Western Christianity. Many of them, fearing spirits of the dead, participate in traditional funeral practices aimed at protecting them from spirit attacks. This presents a problem because many of these practices are contrary to what the Bible proclaims.

Method

In this study, a traditional understanding of death and death rituals is developed. This is followed by a biblical understanding of death and death rituals. An analysis and evaluation of cultural views in the light of the Bible teachings on death, death rituals, and spirits …

Improving The Assimilation Of New Members In Small Adventist Churches In Central Pennsylvania, Robert C. Williams

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The failure of many of our small Seventh-day Adventist congregations to fully welcome new members into their midst has been of pastoral concern for many years. This project is an attempt to build awareness among established church members of the need to assimilate and sacrifice for new members.

Method

The first part of the project involved research into the assimilation of new members in ten small Adventist congregations in central Pennsylvania. New members who had joined the church during a six-year interval were studied to see if they had maintained active membership status during that time. Interviews were also …

A Training Program For Grief Ministry For Singapore Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors, Chor Kiat Sim

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many Seventh-day Adventist church pastors in Singapore are not trained in grief ministry. This results in some pastors who are insensitive to the grieving. Consequently, theirs and many church members' grief has been unresolved. This study was undertaken to develop a holistic pastoral perspective regarding grief and to compose a training program in grief ministry that will help pastors understand their own grief dynamics and that of their parishioners.

Method

This project attempts to present the principles of grief ministry through the following dimensions: (1) Singapore's need of grief ministry in the midst of socioeconomic development; (2) the study …

The Role Of The Pastor In Lay Development In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Papua New Guinea, Aaron M. Lopa

Professional Dissertations DMin

Statement of the Problem

The task of this study was to rethink the role of pastors as shepherd-equippers of lay leaders in view of the explosive growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Papua New Guinea.

Method

The dissertation has two parts. Part One covers: (1) institutional factors which provided the background for this study, (2) biblical and theological dimensions as the basis for the new pastoral paradigm in PNG, and (3) cultural and sociological factors as means to understand the local cultures in order to contextualize ministry to make it more relevant to the people. Part Two synthesizes the …

A Plan For Strengthening Expository Preaching By Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors, Chongo Yang

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Adventist churches in Korea urgently need expository preaching to act as a counterbalance to the strong traditional emphasis on topical preaching. The greatest problem of preaching in Adventist churches of Korea seems to be a lack of biblical content. Complicating this is a widespread failure to correctly apply hermeneutical principles to biblical exposition.

Method

Two taped sermons preached by each of seven selected Seventh-day Adventist preachers in Korea were collected and analyzed in the light of the criteria established for authenthic expository preaching. The criteria were obtained from the review of biblical and current literature.

Results

It was found …

Understanding The Folk Islam Of The Dagbani-Speaking People: A Prerequisite To Evangelism In North Ghana, Sampson Kenneth Twumasi

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem. At the beginning of this century Islam was confined to some geographical areas in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Dr. Samuel Zwemer in his writings claimed that Islam was a dying religion because it had within it “the germs of death." This claim is no longer valid as Islam has experienced a resurgence and grown proportionately well in other parts of the world. Islam, along with animism, has gained roots in Africa, especially in North and West Africa. Both religions have grown tremendously among some of the people groups in North Ghana where Islam is mixed with hundreds of superstitions …