Practical Theology Commons^™

Unity And Ministry Through The Massification Of Adventism, Van G. Hurst

180 Symposium Publications

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a history of ministering to people groups who have been fractured from their original congregations or social norms (demassification) and then renew their identity in Adventism (remassification). The unique needs of today’s generations are a rapid remassification of youth groups who need to be discipled. The uniqueness of these youth, their need for parental influence, peer affirmation, and a horizontal leadership structure to enable future mentoring and ministry at minimal cost are a vital part of the cycle of ministry which appears to be currently nonexistent in many Adventist congregations.

Stop The Sad Exodus: Three Practical Solutions, Chris Blake

180 Symposium Publications

Students of Adventist campuses of higher education experience the finest in ministry options. When they graduate, they often return to congregations that are much lacking the ministries to which they have been accustomed. Three solutions for the campus are: (1) Risky Sabbath schools that involve students in outreach, (2) Youth summits, and (3) Training for involvement in local congregations.

Praying The Back Door Shut, Michaela V. Lawrence

180 Symposium Publications

Through a study of how we pray we may better understand current pictures of who God is and how God works in the world—there’s a definite connection. One of the ways our picture of God is formed is through our experiences with corporate prayer and the ideas about God expressed as people make requests, offer praise, and thanksgiving. Each public encounter with God is, ideally, an opportunity to reveal a biblical view of God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is still alive and well. As it pertains to young adults, corporate prayer not only impacts their concept …

Handing On Faith: Equipping The Next Generation To ”Leave Church”!, Peter Roennfeldt

180 Symposium Publications

In view of the continuing high attrition of next generations from the Adventist church, perhaps, like with effective parenting, the best the church can do is to equip the next generation to “leave church” — releasing them to give birth to the next generation of Adventism. This involves trust — trusting the next generations, and trusting God with the future of his church.

Church Climate And Youth Ministry, Barry Gane

180 Symposium Publications

This paper compares youth who belong to congregations with a strong program of youth ministry with those who do not. Those who experience youth ministry are more likely to have personal devotions, remain in the church, perceive the pastors’ influence more positively, and avoid at-risk behaviors. It stresses the need for personal involvement, demonstrations of caring, and willingness to make changes in congregational programming. It gives a number of suggestions for discussions with youth groups.

How Faith Works, Skip Maccarty

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Summer Day Camp In The Local Church As An Opportunity To Encourage Youth In Their Spiritual Growth, Church Identity, And Service, Michael J. Stevenson

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Large amounts of time and effort are expended by youth directors in providing camp related opportunities for employment. It is widely hoped by these youth directors that the experience of being a camp staff person will increase spirituality among the staff, that it will strengthen their identification with the Seventh-day Adventist church, and that, in the future, these same staff members will desire more opportunities to serve in the mission of the church. The purpose of this project is to qualitatively study whether staff are affected positively or negatively in the ways mentioned above, by being staff members of …

A Discipleship Model "Go And Make Disciples" For The Hispanic Hoover Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Alabama, Ezequiel Osorio

Professional Dissertations DMin

Statement of the Problem

The concept of discipleship is not well understood in Christendom including in the SDA church. Many churches are adding new converts to their membership, but these new converts are not being trained and equipped to become true disciples. This phenomenon is having effect in the Hoover Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church (HHSDA)1. A better understanding of the discipleship concept is necessary, for that reason, a discipleship seminar named “Go and Make Disciples” was created for the members at HHSDA.

Method

A seminar method was used in this project. The researcher used the sanctuary of the HHSDA church …

How To Have A Christ-Centered Youth Ministry In A Small Church Using Mentoring, Missions And Meetings, Kris R. Eckenroth

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

As of 2005, there was only one Seventh-day Adventist church within the Pennsylvania Conference that was providing consistent youth ministry. Many of the churches have seemed to have had difficulty finding individuals who have both the experience and the necessary training to lead a local church youth program. Due to the absence of local church youth ministry, the needs of the youth are being unmet and many are leaving the church.

Method

The method used to address this problem began in 2005. Training sessions were provided to potential leaders within the churches in the Pennsylvania Conference. There were five …

Ministering With Millennials: A Complete Report On The 180 Symposium, Roger Dudley, Allen Walshe

All Books

Millennials in your community range in age from 15 to 32. The youngest are in the early years of high school and the oldest may or may not be married with families. One important Millennial generation attribute is delayed commitment. Ministering with Millennials starts with a complete overview of this interesting and important generation.

Papers presented at the 180 Symposium covered five major ministry themes:

• The Search for Identity
• Relationships are the Key
• Spirituality is Essential
• There is a Call for Leadership
• A Theme of Service

Among the 25 papers included in Ministering with Millennials, you will find powerful …

Bringing Home Our Adventist Prodigals: A Strategic Plan To Reclaim Youth In The Trans-European Division, Paul David Tompkins

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist church is losing far too many of its young people. This trend is hurting the world-wide church, the local congregation, and individual families. Yet very little is being done about it! The purpose of this study is to address this issue and to specifically formulate a Strategic Plan for reclaiming inactive youth in the Trans-European Division (TED).

Method

The TED territory is extensive, covering over thirty-five countries, therefore, a local pilot project was conducted. This involved identifying young people who the local church listed as inactive, or non-attending, and then contacting them with a questionnaire as …

Three Reasons To Serve, Gary Hopkins, Duane C. Mcbride, Stuart Tyner, Jonathan Duffy

Faculty Publications

Young people in the Seventh-day Adventist Church are in need of leadership creating effective strategies for protecting the youngsters from engaging in high risk behaviors along with finding effective methods of keeping these same youngsters churched. It is clear that God had answers to these problems long ago. A review of Matthew 25 clearly states that our purpose as Christians should be to serve individuals in need. When young people engage in service, they are more likely to be attracted to the church, get involved in the church, and stay in the church. Furthermore, service is associated with better grades …

Church Of Refuge: A Support Ministry For Youth And Young Adults, Ron Whitehead, Jeff Boyd

Faculty Publications

At least 40 to 50 percent of youth and young adults leave the Seventh-day Adventist Church. To reverse this trend by helping local congregations meet the spiritual, social, and community impact needs of youth and young adults, the Center for Youth Evangelism proposes to launch Church of Refuge (COR). This organization will support churches in incorporating nine principles in their master planning. After demonstrating the inclusion of these principles, local congregations will be certified as Churches of Refuge and will be promoted to youth and young adults through web and print materials.