Religion Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

Selected Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Implementing A Context-Based Teaching Curriculum For French Learners At The Mtc, Stephanie Wallace Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

Two control groups and two experimental groups of missionaries and teachers participated in a study comparing a grammar-based method of teaching to a context-based method. The study lasted for two weeks during June 1997. Each classroom was recorded using a timing-based observation system that captured 13 missionary and teacher language behaviors. The behaviors were recorded in real time and later evaluated to determine in which classroom setting the most real communication occurred. A second purpose was to determine the effectiveness of teacher training with respect to teachers in the experimental group. Findings revealed that missionaries in the context-based classroom received …

Predicting Missionary Service, Bert Burraston

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to test the antecedents of religiosity on religious commitment. Specifically, what dimensions of religiosity predict if a young-adult Mormon male will serve a mission. Both Logistic Regression and LISREL were used to examine data from the Young Men's Study, in order to predict Mission. The six variables, Religious Intention, Public Religiosity, Religious Negativism, Family Structure, Tithing, and Smoking were found to have direct effects on missionary service. Four more variables were found to have important indirect effects on Mission. The four variables are Parents Church Attendance, Home Religious Observances, Agree With Parents' Values, and …

Validation Of Goals For Pre-Departure Missionary Orientation, Donna M. Worley

Dissertations

Problem

Cross-cultural orientation programs facilitate missionary preparedness. Orientation is more effective if driven by valid and suitable goals determined before methods are selected and programs implemented. This study attempted to identify valid goals for pre-departure programs and develop a framework for selecting them.

Method

The goals of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Institute for World Mission (IWM) were selected for validation. IWM is a 4-6 week pre-departure orientation program that started in 1966 and had effectively prepared 2,500+ cross-cultural missionaries by 1993. Their goals are broad areas suitable for establishing sub-goals and objectives. The validation process comprised four phases: identification and …

The Mormons In Wilhelmie Germany, 1870-1914: Making A Place For An Unwanted American Religion In A Changing German Society, Michael Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Between 1853 and 1914 the kingdom of Prussia and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, disagreed over the issue of Mormon missionaries proselyting in Prussia. In 1853 royal magistrates banished all Mormon missionaries from the kingdom for advocating emigration. A new church policy of preaching without seeking for official permission, in addition to an improved relationship between the Mormons in Utah and the United States government after the Manifesto of 1890, led to an increase in missionaries sent to Germany, including Prussia. By 1900 mormon success alarmed the Prussian Protestant clergy and a few Prussian governors …

A Q-Sort Comparison Between Cultural Expectations Of Chinese And Cultural Perceptions Of Returned Latter-Day Saint Missionaries From The United States Who Had Been Assigned To Chinese Missions, Gary G. Y. Chu

Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to generate information relative to a specific intercultural communication situation, especially directed toward diversity between cultural expectation and performance in the following areas: first, Chinese expectation of American Latter-day Saint missionaries' performance in Chinese contexts; and second, performance of the missionaries, as reflected by their knowledge of proper conduct in Chinese contexts at the end of their missions.

Using Q-card sorting procedures and t-test analysis, an analytically developed instrument consisting of seventy statements grouped in six behavior categories was applied in the specific areas. Twenty-nine of the seventy statements showed significant diversity. Four of the hypothesized …

History Of The South African Mission Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, 1853-1970, Farrell Ray Monson

Theses and Dissertations

The history of the South African Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1853-1970) describes the progress of the Church in South Africa from its inception until the present time. Missionary proselyting activities in the land are traced, and the major historical developments of the mission are discussed.

In 1853 three missionaries began Mormon proselyting activities in the Cape Province and within six months they had baptized forty-five persons, established two branches, and organized the first conference of the Church.

Despite mob violence and opposition from the clergy, civil authorities, and the press, the Church continued to …

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Broadcasting By The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In The Northern States Mission Area, Robert W. Donigan

Theses and Dissertations

There has been no systematic study of the effectiveness of broadcasting by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since the advent of TV and the nation-wide telecasting of the Annual and Semi-Annual General Conferences of the Church each April and October. In addition to determining effectiveness, there is a need to discover to what degree people watch or listen to religious programming in general, and what types of religious programs they wouldm most like to have available.

The Northern States Mission of the Church, including all or part of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana, was seleceted as a …

Latter-Day Saint Servicemen In The Philippine Islands: A Historical Study Of Their Religious Activities And Influences Resulting In The Official Organization Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In The Philippines, Lowell Eliason Call

Theses and Dissertations

Though generally unheard of in the Western world and the United States prior to the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Filipino people have made some remarkable contributions to world leadership and world history. Frequently they have been considered a pagan and an ignorant people, although in objectively observing them one finds such a belief unfounded and even the reverse of that to be true. Progress which the republic has made during the last fifty years, since being liberated to develop liberties in religion, politics, and education, is phenomenal, even when compared with the United States period of evolution to her …