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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Liberty University

Series

2021

Church

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

All God's Children: An Exploratory Study Of Factors To Promote Inclusion Of Autistic Children Within Local Church Congregations, David John Scott Quel Dec 2021

All God's Children: An Exploratory Study Of Factors To Promote Inclusion Of Autistic Children Within Local Church Congregations, David John Scott Quel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the gap that exists within the literature concerning the parent’s perspective for incorporating Autistic individuals into the life of the church. The theory guiding this study is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In Maslow’s hierarchy, there are five level of needs. These areas are physical needs, security needs, love and belonging, esteem needs and self-actualization. These are the most basic needs whether someone is disabled, has special needs, or has no problems at all. The problem remains, far too often, those individuals who are on the Autistic spectrum are looked at as …

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Migrating And Amplifying Ministry To Online Platforms To Pursue The Great Commission, Daniel Elnaam Bagaas Jun 2021

Migrating And Amplifying Ministry To Online Platforms To Pursue The Great Commission, Daniel Elnaam Bagaas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 crisis was unexpected by the universal church. The current pandemic revealed that the universal church and many local churches were not prepared for its’ accompanying challenges or to adapt in general. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, churches across America were required to temporarily cease in-person public gatherings and later to reduce the number of participants once in-person meetings were allowed again. This scenario caused many churches to have to adapt to the current circumstances to continue ministering. The purpose of this DMin research project is to amplify Sonrise Church’s online ministry presence and determine if it garners greater engagement …

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Fidelity In Institutional Structure: Divine Family Formation And The Variance Of Church Amid Dysfunctional Behavior, Terrence Lyne Toliver Jun 2021

Fidelity In Institutional Structure: Divine Family Formation And The Variance Of Church Amid Dysfunctional Behavior, Terrence Lyne Toliver

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There has been a rift in the providential establishment of our Lord. Humanity is indulgent unto sin and the family is suffering. Disobedience and selfishness have blinded humankind into a false sense of reality. The fallacy has taken the place of divine order in the chosen avenues into humanism depicted as science, technology, philosophy, cultism, and any other route devoid of Christ. Therefore, this in-depth study seeks to dispel or to bring to light a revelation of where humanity rests in the grand scheme of contemporary life. Two notions of preponderance present themselves, to forgo selfishness and to embrace righteousness. …

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Palestinian Evangelical Christian Music In Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine, Abby Smith May 2021

Palestinian Evangelical Christian Music In Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine, Abby Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Often the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is portrayed as Jewish vs. Muslim, Hebrew vs. Arab. There is little room in the international dialogue for minorities such as Arab Christians. Though Palestinians have a rich culture of Arabic musical and poetic heritage, they are unable to produce their own new songs. In this study I interviewed three members of Immanuel Evangelical Church on their experiences and opinions on local Christian worship. The findings show that Palestinian Christians may feel unable to write worship music because of a prevalent feeling of inadequacy and a lack of musical training. I propose several …

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Quantitative Research On Peer-To-Peer Biblical Soul Care Through The Encourager Program, Michelle D. Dickens Apr 2021

Quantitative Research On Peer-To-Peer Biblical Soul Care Through The Encourager Program, Michelle D. Dickens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to discover what impact a church program could have on personal well-being, spiritual well-being and church engagement, well-studied constructs in a variety of other clinical type settings. Quality, long-term research has been lacking in regard to the efficacy of pure, biblical soul care, a type of pastoral care methodology, that is provided strictly in a church setting. This type of research could allow for critical conversations about the larger ministry of soul care and potentially withstand scientific criticisms as biblical soul care becomes a proven, quantitative resource to help those who are hurting. The significance of this …

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Servant - Leadership In Christ Apostolic Church North America: Leadership And Discipleship To Build Trust And For Church Growth, Emmanuel Oluwafemi Olorunnisola Apr 2021

Servant - Leadership In Christ Apostolic Church North America: Leadership And Discipleship To Build Trust And For Church Growth, Emmanuel Oluwafemi Olorunnisola

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Due to the infiltration of Nigerian authoritarian culture into the church, many Nigerian churches today are struggling with leadership issues. This has resulted in many of the younger generation losing faith in the church despite the outburst of “revival” and churches in virtually every community. Some had struggled in vain to attain leadership positions in the church. Nevertheless, the church teaches on leadership, but from the authoritarian point of view. A major case in point is the Christ Apostolic Church, the first indigenous Pentecostal church in Nigeria, which has assemblies in the United States. This research will look into the …

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Developing A Discipleship Program For Artists In Naples, Florida, William Sanford Barnett Apr 2021

Developing A Discipleship Program For Artists In Naples, Florida, William Sanford Barnett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Naples, Florida, is home to many talented artists. Many hold to various worldviews that are different from a biblical one. Both secular and Christian artists are on a mission to transform the culture. This divide creates challenges for Storytellers Creative Arts’ mission to do evangelism through the arts. Artists, over centuries, have functioned in various roles within the church, marketplace, government, communications, entertainment, and education. The arts have always been one of the most powerful forces in transforming the world. God has instituted the church as His most redeeming force to transform culture. Rather than allowing the arts to be …

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A Biblical Assessment Of Ministry Practices As They Relate To The Child And The Family, Benjamin Baldridge Apr 2021

A Biblical Assessment Of Ministry Practices As They Relate To The Child And The Family, Benjamin Baldridge

Senior Honors Theses

The methodology behind children’s ministry is never expressly stated throughout Scripture; thus when examining the biblical nature of said ministry in the modern church, one must examine the biblical principles on which it is founded. This thesis seeks to examine the threefold nature in which children are described—as individual souls, members of the family unit, and members of the local church—and compare how the current models for ministry to children seek to address them in this way, if at all. From there, a methodology will be discussed for adjusting the current models to address children biblically, thus increasing the effectiveness …

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Church Revitalization: Fashioning Church For Growth, Willie Lee Wormack Mar 2021

Church Revitalization: Fashioning Church For Growth, Willie Lee Wormack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis research project is an approach to resolve the issues of the critically declined and dying Friendship Baptist Church whose membership cannot support a viable ministry. Friendship Baptist Church exists with minimal infrastructure at 38503 Mosstown Road, Dade City, Florida, in the rural Lacoochee, Florida area. Friendship Baptist Church needs a visionary plan with leadership and team support directed to assist with church development and growth. The case study approach will implement exploration on the meanings and beliefs of Christianity for the church in the church’s social setting. Investigations about cultural associations of faith with the church is engaged …

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Shared Oversight: Equipping Elders To Shepherd The Flock, Eric Michael Hartman Mar 2021

Shared Oversight: Equipping Elders To Shepherd The Flock, Eric Michael Hartman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Leadership structures vary greatly across various faith traditions, but how much flexibility is biblically warranted? Far from being silent, the Bible is descriptive and prescriptive with regard to a plurality of leadership within a congregation. These elders, also called overseers, are to shepherd the flock (Acts 20:17, 28). The problem is that there is often lack training to that end. This study constructed a process for training elders and/or potential elders within a congregation to better understand the nature of plurality and parity of those tasked with caring for God’s people. The four training sessions covered the following: (1) The …

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The Rural Church As Community Support For Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren, William Shane Cassida Jan 2021

The Rural Church As Community Support For Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren, William Shane Cassida

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A growing trend in rural communities located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, as well as across much of the United States, is the significant increase in the number of grandparents that are being forced to accept the responsibility of raising their grandchildren due to a crisis within the family structure. The US Census Bureau cited in 2016 that over 2.5 million grandparents are helping with the responsibility of raising their grandchildren, and that 7.8 million children live in homes owned by their grandparents. This accounts for almost 10% of all children nationally. There is a current ministry need for churches …

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