Practical Theology Commons^™

A Leadership Strategy To Train And Equip African Pastors And Lay Leaders For Effective Ministry To Central African Refugees And Immigrants In Phoenix, Arizona, Joel Mpabwanimana

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Since 2010, there has been a growing number of Central African refugees and immigrants resettling in Arizona. This transition adds many other challenges to the trauma some of them have already endured. Unfortunately, there is a lack of trained pastors and lay leaders to effectively minister to them. I designed this project to develop and implement an effective strategy to train and equip pastors and lay leaders to minister to Central African refugee and immigrant communities in the Ubumwe Seventh-day Adventist Church and Glendale Seventh-day Adventist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Method

This project had several primary objectives: (1) to …

Intergenerational Mentorship Model For Membership Revitalization And Involvement At The Guelph Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Aundrea A. Thompson

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Guelph Seventh-day Adventist Church faced challenges characterized by low spiritual vitality and a generational divide. These factors jeopardized the spiritual well-being of some members, leading to a decline in church engagement.

Method

Recognizing the urgency of revitalization, the study explored the impact of a seven-week intergenerational mentorship model on participants’ spiritual health and church involvement. Employing a Participatory Action Research approach led by the pastor-researcher in collaboration with the church board, the study utilized Lifeway’s Spiritual Growth Assessment and Growing Together: Taking Mentoring Beyond Small Talk and Prayer Requests by Melissa Kruger (2020) to guide the development and …

Estrategia Para Fortalecer La Retencion De Jovenes En La Iglesia Adventista Central De Las Tunas, Cuba, Magdiel Larramendy Laurencio

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist church in the city of Las Tunas, Cuba, from 2000 to 2015 has suffered for the loss of the youth ages 18 to 35 years old. A pastoral study of the congregation revealed that 70% of the youth that were born between the years 1990 and 2000 abandoned the church, indicating that it´s services were irrelevant and the absence of younger people and lacked youth in the leadership of the church. The congregation of Las Tunas has been a church centered in the accomplishment of the mission, and focused on the expansion of the gospel in …

Encouraging Intergenerational Faith Transmission And Spiritual Growth In Home And Church: Reconnecting Youth And Older Generations Through Family Systems Concepts At The Adelaide Seventh-Day Adventist Church, The Bahamas, Larry L. Green

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

This Doctor of Ministry (DMin) project addresses a pressing issue within the church context of the Adelaide Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Bahamas. We first observed sporadic attendance of our youth (Gen Z and Millennials) and their lack of identity with the church. Wider observation revealed weak relationships among the various generations within our church as well as in our homes. This absence of relatedness across generations potentially hinders some from embracing the community’s faith and growing spiritually.

Method

This study aimed to understand and address the nuanced factors contributing to this generational disconnection through the intervention of an …

Seminario Sobre La Educacion De Los Hijos Para La Iglesia Adventista Del Septimo Dia Hispana Indy Segunda De Indianapolis, Indiana, Fernando Pizarro

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Instructing parents about the education of children is a task that requires time, willingness, and commitment. Nonetheless, the literature suggests that educating parents on this subject tends to produce favorable outcomes in children (Finders et al. 2016; Nelson 2015; Barth and Liggeth 2014). The Bible also highlights the vital role parents play in educating their children (Deut 6:7; Eph 6:4). However, according to the records of the Indy Second Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church Board in Indianapolis, Indiana, no seminar regarding the education of children has been held in this congregation for the past seven years. In addition to the …

Facilitating Appropriate Clergy Response To Abuse Among Parishioners In The Wisconsin Conference Of Seventh-Day Advetnists, Nicholas S. Moore

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Clergy are frequently the initial point of contact for parishioners seeking guidance and counseling on various life issues and challenges. In certain instances, these matters may be linked to physical and/or sexual abuse, either directly or indirectly. Many clergy have not had the opportunity to receive training on recognizing the signs, symptoms, prevalence, causes, and effects of abuse, or on how and when to refer individuals to specialists or law enforcement when abuse is suspected. This can lead to inadequate emotional and spiritual healing at best, and further psychological damage at worst, for parishioners, with effects that may last …

Programa De Discipulado Sobre La Familia Nuclear Para La Iglesia Bilingue Adventista Del Septimo Dia De Hanford, California, Usa, Bismarck Castillo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20) charges each believer with the duty of forming disciples among people inside and outside the church and could be applied to members within the nuclear family. The Hanford Bilingual Adventist Church (IABH) does not have a program that trains parents in making disciples within their homes. Such a program has the potential to strengthen the nuclear families of the IABH and to form disciples within other families in the community.

Methodology

This research was carried out in the field of practical theology and its main objective was to develop a discipleship program oriented towards …

Desenvolvimento De Um Programa Para Capacitar Pastores Em Preparação Pre-Matrimonial Com Antecedência Na Associacao Paulistana De Iasd No Brasil, Jairo De Oliveira

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

At the São Paulo Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil, a preliminary survey found that 98% of engaged couples who sought out the pre-marital preparation program offered by the church would get married shortly after the preparation course. Given this trend, there was a need for a strategy to encourage engaged couples to participate in a pre-marital preparation program well in advance. A program was then developed to train pastors in pre-marital preparation in advance in the Sao Paulo Conference whose aim was to form healthy and stable marriages.

Methodology

This study adopted a qualitative approach to …

History, Theology, And Implementation Of A Volunteer Lay Pastor Ministry In The Territory Of The North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists, José Cortés Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

This study examines the strategic necessity and implementation of a Divisionwide Volunteer Lay Pastor Ministry (VLPM) within the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA Church). The NAD oversees the church’s work in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Guam, and Micronesia, serving over 1.2 million members across 6,300 congregations. Despite its strong presence, the NAD faces challenges reaching a diverse population of approximately 370 million. With 69 percent of its congregations either plateauing or declining, the church is at a critical point that requires proactive measures to maintain its mission.

Method

Our study begins with an …

A Strategy To Equip Selected Members Of The Gaeta Church To Build Bridges With Immigrants To Draw Them Toward The Fellowship Of The Congregation, Rebecca Kessewa Gaisie

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Due to the outbreak of a civil war in Libya in 2011, Italy has been experiencing a great influx of immigrants. Many are scattered throughout Italy, including Gaeta. A majority of the Italian members of Gaeta Church do not understand and engage in the call of God to bring all people into the fellowship of the church. This causes a lack of interest in building bridges to reach immigrants.

Method

The task of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a strategy to equip some members of Gaeta church to build bridges with immigrants to draw them toward …

Cross-Denominational Dialogue: Sola Scriptura In Setting The Table For Charitable And Faithful Christian Discourse, Ciprian Mihai Manea

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In this project, the problem centers around cross-denominational dialogue. The contemporary Christian theological landscape is highly complex and varied. Theologians engage with different theories of knowledge, authority sources, and theological methods, resulting in diverse perspectives that conflict with each other and with Adventist Christian convictions. The differing rational structures of these perspectives require committed effort to understand and communicate effectively. Best practice cross-denominational dialogue involving the theologically informed must account for these differences and provide a context that can facilitate faithful and charitable discourse. Such a context would not only ease the tensions among different Christian traditions but would …

Programa De Capacitacao Em Evangelismo Publico Para Pastores Distritais Na Divisao Sul-American Da Igreja Adventista Do Septimo Dia, Rafael Ayala Silva Rossi

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In a world facing constant changes, the School of Evangelism of South American Division emerges as another key element in preparing and inspiring district pastors to lead effective evangelism campaigns. The reality presents unique missionary challenges, and thus, the urgency to strengthen communal faith and expand public evangelism becomes more pressing. This thesis addresses the crucial importance of reformulating guidelines and updating the curriculum of the School of Evangelism to meet new spiritual and missionary demands. The aim of this thesis is to answer the following question: In what way can a training program in public evangelism help district …

To Assimilate And Nurture Newly Baptized Members In The 9 Mile Seventh-Day Adventist Church Through An Intergenerational Approach, John Gunua Nebare

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The 9 Mile Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the biggest churches in the city Port Moresby. It has been discovered that many young people and some adults who were baptized into the 9 Mile SDA Church in the last ten years no longer attend church. According to overall General Conference statistics, 9 Mile SDA Church’s local conference has been losing members over the last ten years.

Method

The research was conducted using the established research protocols. Three types of research were conducted: focus groups involving both active and non-active members; a major research survey of one hundred people …

Estrategia Para Formar Discipulos Na Uniao Sudeste Brasileria Da Igreja Adventista Do Setimo Dia, Eber Soares Nunes

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The work of district pastors of the Southeastern Brazilian Union Conference is typically coordinated by a team of eight to twelve administrators and departmental leaders. This structure, in practice, entails the responsibility of implementing an annual average of 48 official church programs with their respective materials, which takes up almost all of their weekends, the period in which has the most access to members. As a result, local church pastors do not have time to make disciples according to Jesus’ mandate in Matthew in the Great Commission (Mat 28:19-20). This study aims to create a discipleship program that answers …

Seminario Sobre Conceptos Básicos De Capellanía Policial Para Pastores Adventistas En Fresno, California, José Antonio Pagán

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

There is a high demand for chaplains in the Fresno Police Department who can support police officers in addressing city crises. Most Adventist pastors in Fresno do not have the basic knowledge of police chaplaincy nor do they have the certification to practice in this specialized ministry. The latest study published by the California Department of Justice (2023) on the wave of violence in California shows that in 2022, 2,206 homicides were reported, of which 60 were reported by the Fresno Police Department (2023) which required the intervention of trained chaplains to care for the survivors of each victim. …

Spiritual Care For Staff During Trauma And Acute Stress At Adventist Healthcare, Sydney: An Ethnographic Study, Stenoy Stephenson

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Health Care is evolving from an exclusive concentration on the physical dimension of illness to a more holistic model which considers the psychosocial and the spiritual. There seems to be a growing need for the spiritual care of the staff who have experienced trauma and acute stress. Although the need for spiritual care in health care services has been largely advocated, there is arguably a lack of attention to the spiritual care needs of staff dealing with traumatic situations and acute stress. The task of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate spiritual care intervention with staff who …

Self-Care Through Clinical Pastoral Education For Emotional Healing Of Pastoral Staff In The United States: A Case Study For Exploring Relationships, Roberto Vizcaino

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

I have observed that many pastors are suffering from problems experienced in the past and in the present. The problems are both personal (e.g., lack of self-care and depression) and national (e.g., lack of support for social recovery from hurricanes and other natural and socioeconomic catastrophes). Some of the problems experienced by these pastors are because they have not had the opportunity to identify the traumas they experienced in their lives and that still affect them now. In addition, many of them do not have a place where they can share their problems with their colleagues, be heard, supported, …

Capacitación Para Padres Y Maestros Hispanos Del Ministerio Infantil En La Conferencia De Potomac De Los Adventistas Del Séptimo Día Respecto A La Transmisión De Creencias Y Valores, Ana Maria Benzaquen

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The author of this project perceived, during the more than 30 years she served in Children’s Ministry in various locations around the world, that Adventist parents (as well as Children’s Ministry teachers) generally want to pass on to their children and students the beliefs and values they themselves hold so dear. Even outside the church setting, the transmission of values has been touted as the hallmark of successful socialization (Danioni, 2024). However, the results are not always as desired in society, and even in the church. One study revealed in 2006 that 61 percent of young people around twenty …

Programa De Capacitacion Sobre Predicacion Expositiva Para Ancianos Y Otros Lideres De Las Iglesias Adventistas Del Septimo Dia En El Distrito De Silver Spring, Maryland, Willy A. Benzaquen

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Most Adventist pulpits are served by people who are not pastors. By 2023, the Seventh-day Adventist Church had 175,144 congregations, and only 21,903 active ordained pastors. This indicates that, even if all pastors preached every week in some Adventist church, still 87.5% of Adventist pulpits around the world would be in the hands of someone who is not a pastor (Office of Archives, 2024). The author of this project serves as pastor in a three-church district, and it is simply impossible for him to preach in every one of them every weekly worship service. For that reason, at least …

Implementación De Un Seminario De Educación Sexual Para Matrimonios En La Iglesia Adventista Del Séptimo Día De Satélite, México, Josué Omar Martínez Grimaldo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Satellite District is composed of four churches belonging to the Seventh-day Adventist Association the Central Mexican Union, which maintains a limited and reduced teaching on the topic of marital sex education, despite the availability of governmental information, denominational publications, and other resources which indicates that it has been omitted from church programming for the last ten years. Within this context, the following research question was formulated: How does the lack of guidance and information on sexual education impact the marriages of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Satelite District in the second semester of 2023?

Methodology

The researcher …