Practical Theology Commons^™

An Adventist Functional Substitute For Initiation Rites Of Passage For Kikuyu Boys And Abagusii Girls In Kenya, John Macharia Gichuiri

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many boys who undergo circumcision as a rite of passage in the Kikuyu community in Kenya are secluded for two weeks while they heal. During this period their parents are barred by the culture from seeing their sons and the boys are left entirely to the influence of their peers, who introduce them to all manner of vices like smoking tobacco, bhang, drinking alcohol, taking drugs of addiction, chewing of miraa, pre-marital sexual activities, and recruitment to illegal gangs. These vices negatively affect the boys’ spiritual growth and expose them to physical, mental, social, and emotional health risks. An …

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 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 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 …

A Strategy To Create A More Meaningful Worship Experience In The Sony Seventh-Day Adventist Church In The Ranen Conference, Duncan Odhiambo Mumbo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Some members of the Sony Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Ranen Conference skip worship services claiming that the services are boring and do not meet their spiritual needs. They claim that the services are always the same and too traditional, hence their reason for not attending regularly. At times some members attend Pentecostal services on Sundays to experience more meaningful worship. This study was to develop and implement a program for a more meaningful worship experience during the worship services in the Sony Adventist Church of the Ranen Conference so as to encourage members to attend worship services regularly. …

Empowering Volunteers For Community-Focused Ministry For Families Of Inmates: Selected Churches Of The Potomac Conference, Jorge A. Ramirez

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Nearly 70% of churches in the Potomac Conference do not have ministries that are geared at serving their communities. As a result of this problem, churches are not growing and are not making a significant impact in their communities. They have become internally focused congregations. Churches are missing opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with these communities through creative externally focused ministries. Externally focused churches believe God has called them to change communities for God’s kingdom. There is a need for churches in the Potomac Conference to become externally focused.

Methodology

The recruiting and training of church volunteers to serve …

Whole Patient Care: Awareness And Attitude Of Babcock University Teaching Hospital Health Caregivers, Aja T. Victoria

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Statement of the Problem.

This study seeks to understand Babcock University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) health caregivers’ awareness of and attitude to whole patient care for the purpose of developing whole patient care at BUTH. I have been tasked to help develop and establish whole person care at BUTH. Babcock University Teaching Hospital is still at a developmental stage. It has not established an institutional definition of whole patient care, nor has it established an institutional office for the promotion and administration of whole patient care or hired a full-time chaplain.

Method.

This study adopted a quantitative (survey) and qualitative (Focus …

Seminar For Improving Marital Satisfaction In The New Bethel Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Antigua/Barbuda, Mark Lincoln Braithwaite

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The New Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church in Antigua and Barbuda had four marriage enrichment seminars, covering general topics, between 2006 and 2010. However, based on my observations the marital satisfaction of those who attended did not appear to improve as a result of these seminars. Matters such as commitment, communication issues, and handling conflict seemed to be the major factors which accounted for low marital satisfaction. The development of a seminar to address these specific needs was thought to be advantageous.

Method

A weekend seminar entitled, “Committed to my Spouse” was developed and presented in August 2013. A didactic …

Building Authentic Community Through Small Group Ministry Among Young Adults Of Select Churches Within The Greater New York Conference, Ricardo V. Bain

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Greater New York Conference has several churches that have begun and sustained many programs for building interpersonal relationships between young adults within their membership. These programs have produced lukewarm results. In some cases these efforts failed. Many of the young adults have either left the church because they do not feel connected to others of their peer group, or they are present with little or no intentional ministry that relates to building their relational needs. In an interview with the immediate past and present youth directors of the conference, both admitted that there is tremendous need for a …

A Mentoring Program For Equipping Youths As Leaders In The Rivers Conference, Nigeria, Ugochukwu Elems

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Young people feel neglected in the leadership process of Rivers Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists, Nigeria. On the other hand, the adults think that the young people lack the experience and skills needed to occupy positions of leadership. Unfortunately, while the young people are being marginalized in the leadership process, they constitute an overwhelming majority of the membership in Rivers Conference

Method

The mentoring approach adopted for equipping the young people of Rivers Conference as leaders in this project is a modification of Jesus' model of leadership proposed by Kreider (2008, p. 113). The process will be divided into …

A Discipleship Program For Developing Community In The Amazing Grace Seventh-Day Adventist Church Plant In Johannesburg, Samuel O. Misiani

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many believers hunger for a deeper experience with Christ in their spiritual life, but do not know how to go about it. This discipleship and spirituality project was an attempt to discover a model that one could use to develop an authentic community in the ministry context of the researcher. Discipleship is a loving relationship with Christ in which the one whom He calls submits to His Lordship, and makes God’s purpose and glory the sole reason for being. In essence it is about total commitment to the Lordship of Christ, and cooperation with the Holy Spirit in His …

Equipping Teenagers Of The Glendale Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church To Manage Their Finances Effectively, Jaime A. Heras

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

America's teenagers do not understand the basic financial principles of earning, spending, saving, and investing. Adolescents who never learn to manage their budgets and adopt healthy financial habits grow up to be adults whose spending habits surpass their income. By carrying those habits into adulthood, they will make poor financial decisions that will impact every area of their lives. As a church, providing a financial training will not only increase the financial literacy of adolescents, but it can give them direction for godly priorities and practices as a lifestyle.

Method

A six-hour seminar on financial education and money management …

Two By Two Leadership: A Model Of Christian Leadership, Joseph Swanner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A growing number of scholars are accepting the suggestion that shared leadership is preferred over individual leadership. The shared leadership model is proliferating into new fields where it is being modified and improved. Biblically, there is a pattern of sending individuals two by two into leadership, as well. Christian leadership models of the future must also return to the two by two, co-leader ideal. There is room for strategizing the details of what this model will look like on a practical level. Utilizing a case study and surveys, this project examines the effects of this leadership model in a church …

Revitalizing The Women's Ministry: Women Mentoring To The Women – A Titus 2 Project, Iva Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women are ministering in significant roles within the church today. A large number of churches are using women in various leadership roles and implementing mentoring programs through spiritually mature females. One of the problems facing churches today is the structuring of a strategic training program for mentors. This project will devise a strategic nine-week biblical mentoring training project for the more mature Christian women within the inner city churches of Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. The goal is to promote spiritual health and growth that will encourage positive lifestyle choices in younger females. The methodology utilized data obtained from several …

Leadership Development In The Local Church: An Intentional Strategy For Developing Leaders At Every Level, Brian Moss

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Every evangelical pastor knows that they have a responsibility to make disciples, and most of their churches have a system for doing so. They also know that every healthy church needs healthy leaders. As more and more of the next generation drop out of church and consequently leadership roles in the church, the evangelical church is facing a serious crisis. Most church leaders would agree that developing new leaders is a critical responsibility of the local church, yet very few churches actually have an intentional leadership development process. Even worse, many pastors are confused as to how leadership development differs …

Seeking To Glorify God: An Armed Forces Member's Handbook For Discipleship, Charles Blankenship

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to equip military Christians in glorifying God through obedience to the Great Commission. Jesus' command to make disciples applies universally to all Christians, yet those in the armed forces often retreat or experience little success in discipleship within their native environment where they feel restricted by institutional policy, ungodly leadership, and isolation from the body of Christ. This project proposes a practical method of discipleship that seeks to equip Christians in uniform to make passionate followers of Christ who willingly embrace the same mission. The research for this thesis will be primarily conducted by …

A Strategy To Plant A Missional, Multiplying Church In Pulaski County, Kentucky, Daniel Basile

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a desperate need for church planters to focus efforts on rural, established communities to reverse trends of declining church attendance and influence. Pulaski County, Kentucky is one such community that sees the unchurched population continue to climb despite hundreds of church buildings. The goal of this thesis project is to reach the numerous unchurched inhabitants of Pulaski County by creating a comprehensive, holistic strategy to design and launch a missional church near Somerset, Kentucky, that will intentionally reproduce itself. Through interviews and surveys of at least 100 local residents, a careful analysis of area demographics and psychographics will …

Keep The Fire Burning: Biblical Principles For A Church To Spark Revival In The Northeast, Bruce Aubrey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The northeastern United States, land of Dwight L. Moody and Charles Grandison Finney, was once a place of great revival. Local churches and their pastors passionately served the Lord and His purposes. Schools were built for the training of godly ministers and leaders. While some revival fires still burn, others are smoldering; some fires have died. Hosting "Keep the Fire Burning" conferences gives Northside Baptist Church, Liverpool, New York, an opportunity to be a catalyst for revival and renewal in the Northeast from the country to the cities. An annual pastors' and leaders' conference will be a tool and launching …