Missions and World Christianity Commons^™

Book Reviews, Nathan Crawford, Frederick Long, David J. Zucker, Jeremy B. Griffin, Luke Allen, Robert A. Danielson, Ryan K. Giffin, Benjamin D. Espinoza, J J. Henderson, Jeremiah K. Garrett, Steven Lane, Charles Meeks, David Bundy, Robert Baker, Jeff Hiatt

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Jordan J. Henderson, Jeremy B. Griffin, Paul L. Whalen, Jeremiah K. Garrett, Benjamin D. Espinoza, Michael Shire, Brian C. Small, Andrew D. Kinsey, Moe Moe Nyunt, Paul A. Tippey, David Bundy, Benjamin J. Snyder

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Pastoral Attitudes That Predict Numerical Church Growth, David R. Dunaetz, Kenneth E. Priddy

Selected Faculty Publications

The attitudes of 92 head pastors were measured concerning 20 ministry-relevant ideas and practices, as well as information about their church’s present numerical growth. A statistical analysis found four pastoral attitudes that predict positive or negative numerical church growth. Positive predictors of numerical church growth were strong beliefs that 1) personal and corporate prayer are important and 2) transfer growth is an indicator of congregational health. Negative predictors of numerical church growth were strong beliefs in 1) the importance of preaching and 2) the importance of outreach to the community. The practical implications of these findings are discussed in light …

"Not A Hand Bound; Not A Voice Hushed": Ordination And Foundational Adventist Understandings Of Women In Ministry, Ginger Hanks Harwood, Beverly Beem

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

.

The Importance Of Integrity In Christian Leadership : Giftedness + Integrity(3) = Productivity, Jasmin O. Brown

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"One of the christian world’s greatest leadership challenges today is integrity. the church is facing an integrity crisis that will compromise its influence within society. this integrity crisis within the church serves as the impetus for exploring the importance of integrity among christian leaders. this study examines three dimensions of integrity: personal integrity, vocational integrity,"

Enduring Endeavor : How Francis E. Clark Utilized Written Communication, Global Travel And Organization To Re-Shape The Global Protestant Church's Ministry To Young People Through The Christian Endeavor Society, Brian C. Hull

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"this dissertation is a study and examination of how Francis E. Clark utilized written communication, global travel and organization to re-shape the global Protestant church’s ministry to young people through the Christian Endeavor Society. First, given that a biography has not been written about Clark in almost a century, this dissertation first tells the story of his unique and long-lasting contributions to youth ministry as the church knows it today. Second, it tells the story of the growth of Christian Endeavor under the leadership of Clark. While some books and papers have some sections about Christian Endeavor, none really address …

A Lay Member Church Planting Strategy For Unreached Areas In The West Tanzania Field, Jacob Ngussa Bohole

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. There seems to be a persistent tendency among church members to perceive ministry as the sole responsibility of the paid professional pastor: This is in contradiction with the New Testament concept of the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet 2:5, 9-10), which emphasizes that ministry is the function of the total church membership. The purpose of this research is to develop and implement a strategy to empower and involve lay people in ministry and mission in the West Tanzania Field.

Method. The methodology employed in the process of this research is threefold: (a) to examine Old and New Testaments …

A Strategy To Increase Giving In The South Kenya Conference, Julius M. Bichang'a

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The South Kenya Conference (SKC) was the first to gain conference status in Kenya in 1981. Unfortunately it continues to struggle financially to the point of receiving subsidies from other conferences for its day-to-day operations. The annual stewardship statistical reports for the last 10 years show that the tithe is slightly higher than the offerings. While 14 % of the members return their tithes; only 8 % of them give offerings. This was one of the challenges I was faced with when I was elected as the conference Stewardship Director. This indicates that there is a weak commitment to …

A Strategy To Train Local Church Elders For Effective Assimilation And Nurture Of New Converts, Enock Chifamba

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In most multi-church districts the pastoral burden rests with the local church elders. However, these elders receive little or no training concerning the important pastoral duty of assimilation and nurture of new converts into a local church fellowship. Thus, new converts often feel isolated and neglected and some either backslide or remain inactive in their new-found faith. In the East Zimbabwe Conference 18,349 new members were added in 2010 bringing its membership to 247,935 with only 56 district pastors. The conference needs a cost effective strategy to nurture new members.

Method

The role of elders as pastoral care givers …

Resisting The Influence Of The Imeyomwana Heresy In The Nyangweta District, Lenard B. Aencha

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Imeyomwana (a heresy involving the concept of what it means to be in Christ), a group of former Adventists, is causing problems in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Nyangweta district of the South Kenya Conference. Many of their teachings contradict those of the Seventh-day Adventists Church and many members are apostatizing to this group.

Method

To deal with the heresy I employed a two-pronged strategy. On one hand I sought to enter a dialogue with those involved in Imeyomwana, while on the other hand I confronted the false teaching with biblical truth. This strategy employed two powerful planning …

A Strategy To Present The Concept Of Headship: Healing Families In The North Burundi Mission, Ndikubwayo Joseph

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. The headship of a husband over a wife is one of the concepts that creates a lot of misunderstanding in some Seventh-day Adventist homes in the North Burundi Mission. This situation has impacted both families and the church. On one hand, a husband believes he is to be strong, that he is the only one who can think logically, and that he should make all the decisions for the household. On other hand, a woman is considered to be weak, and therefore must respect her husband, have babies, and keep quiet. Unfortunately many women show respect out of fear …

Health And Social Ministries: A Holistic Approach To Ministering In Contemporary Society, Ezekiel Adeyemi Oyinloye

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

It has been observed for thirty years that Adventists conventional way of doing outreach ministries especially in the cities, fail to have expected response that fulfills goals. Attitudes of people are apathetic and reserved they stand aloof and are removed from sharing in what has been offered. They cannot be bothered. The inner city of Ibadan especially displays this type of attitude. Thus, inner city Ibadan has remained unentered by the Adventists since the inception of the Church in Ibadan a century ago. There is no single church of the Seventh-day Adventists in inner city Ibadan.

Method

A strategy …

A Biblical And Theological Strategy For Dealing With Spiritualism In The Zambian Context, Peter Chulu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Rusangu Secondary School has experienced many incidents in recent years where dorm students were harassed by evil spiritual forces, causing fear and uncertainty among the students.

Method

A systematic study of the Bible, commentaries, books, journals, and articles concerning spiritualism was undertaken. Once theological and historical data on spiritualism was identified, it was utilized for training, equipping, and empowering prayer band members on how to deal with demonic harassment at the school.

Results

The school and church experienced revitalization. Members learned how to utilize a prayer band ministry to pray for the students who were being harassed by evil …

A Forgiveness And Reconciliation Strategy To Bring Ethnic Harmony In The Nairobi East Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Timothy O. Guto

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Conflicts have affected the church of God in recent times. The Seventh-day Church in Kenya and especially after the 2007 and 2008 post-election violence was very negatively affected. Some members still cannot co-exist or enjoy Christian fellowship in the same congregation because of lack of forgiveness and reconciliation. Co-existence became difficult because church members fought each other and even destroyed homesteads belonging to rival tribal groups. Tarimo admits that "those churches that happen to be multiethnic with a national outlook are plagued with internal inter-ethnic conflicts" (2008, para. 4). Although conflict management has been done by the government including …

A Discipleship Model For The Hill Portuguese Seventh-Day Adventist Church Of Johannesburg, Dioi Cruz

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Hill Portuguese Seventh-day Adventist Church is a community composed of immigrants from Portugal, who were well established in Angola and Mozambique and who moved to South Africa after escaping the independence wars in the 1970s. Despite their professional success, they have not been successful in personal ministry outreach during the past years, resulting in a clear decrease of membership.

Method

This project sought to create, implement, and evaluate a strategy to help bring about inner healing and discipleship in order to increase the number of members witnessing creatively and reaching out to the Portuguese neighborhood of immigrants in …

A Strategy To Integrate New Members Into The Life Of The Local Church In Nyamira Conference, Samuel Makori

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Although there are good efforts in the local churches in the Nyamira Conference to baptize new believers, about 50% of them stop attending church soon after baptism.

Method

A seven-step mission strategy called the Spiritual Guardianship Plan (SGP) was launched in two local churches in the Nyamira Conference. This is a plan to involve local church members to care for fellow members, to help integrate new members into the life of the local church, and to nurture new members into spiritual maturity. Mature members of the church are assigned to new members to help them to be integrated into …

A Strategy To Increase The Number Of Young People In The Jericho District Marrying Members Of The Adventist Faith, Alfred G. Marundu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The negative impact and loss of members due to many Adventist young people marrying non-Seventh-day Adventists is tremendous. Church services are not attended regularly by those who marry outside the faith community because families are split on the day of worship due to doctrinal differences. There is pressure to do things with the family on Sabbath and even children are confused as to which parent to follow. Two churches were selected to study the extent of this problem. Principles from the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, other Adventist and non-Adventist authors were explored to come up with …

A Biblical Strategy To Promote Christian Morality Among Youth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In The Zambia Union Conference, Tommy Susiku Namitondo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

A good number of the youth in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Zambia are openly involved in immoral behavior. The youth blame peer pressure and modernity for their lack of Christian morality. The issue is whether youth in today's atmosphere can maintain a biblical norm of moral purity.

Method

A systematic study of the Bible was made. Then the writings of Ellen G. White, other Adventist writers, and other Christian authors were reviewed. This data was used to develop seminar materials for teaching Christian morality to young people. Four congregations were selected to pilot a program to demonstrate that …

A Strategy To Increase Membership Among The Xhosa-Speaking People In Zimbabwe, Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist membership among the Xhosa-speaking people in Zimbabwe (a minority ethno-linguistic group) is very low. The Seventh-day Adventist presence among the Xhosa-speaking people in this particular area has been minimal. This trend has led to a lot of frustration in the planning and implementation of outreach programs among this people group. The problem is that in spite of the outreach programs conducted for the Xhosa, the response of the community remains relatively low as compared to other ethnic groups in the same area.

Method

A theological study on reaching the unreached was developed and formulated from a review …

A Biblical Strategy To Equip Students To Deal With Spiritual Powers In Nyanchwa Adventist College, Ernest Nyakina Motaroki

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Fear of evil spiritual powers has been a major problem among students and staff members at Nyanchwa College. In Kisii, fear of witchcraft has also had major consequences among the community, and hence is a serious problem. People have reacted in various ways in dealing with those suspected of being in possession of these powers. There has been a common belief that some students and members have inherited witchcraft practices and powers which they continue to practice at college. Fear of evil powers among students and members of the college has immensely affected spiritual fellowship and worship services, and …