Digital Commons Network^™

The Urban Legacy Of Twentieth Century Missiology, Jeff K. Walters

Great Commission Research Journal

In this “urban century,” it is sometimes easy to forget that urban work is not new to global missions. The purpose of this article is to review the work of four key twentieth century missiologists—Donald A. McGavran, Francis DuBose, Harvie Conn, and Roger Greenway— and consider their impact on the evangelism and missions in urban contexts. The article concludes with a brief analysis of their missiology and its application to twenty-first century missions strategy.

Africa: Adventist Mission In Africa: Challenges & Prospect, Gorden R. Doss

Books

The great continent of Africa plays a very significant role in global Christianity. A century ago African Christians constituted a tiny fraction of world Christianity but today Africa is a major player in the global faith.

Among Seventh-day Adventists, Africa occupies a significant place, having something over a third of the total world membership. The highest ratios of Seventh-day Adventists to the population are in parts of southern Africa. At the same time, other parts of Africa have only a miniscule Christian presence and the lowest ratios of Adventists to the population in the world. This contrasting picture of evangelization …

Book Review: Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional By Alvin Reid, Chuck Lawless

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Missional Church And Leadership Formation: Helping Congregations Develop Leadership Capacity By Craig Van G Elder, Ed., Scott D. Edgar

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Sharing Witness Along The Way: Engaging The Lived Theology Of An Urban Congregation In Evangelical, Public, And Missional Strands, Scott J. Hagley

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This ethnographic phenomenology explores the lived theology of an urban congregation as it engages with civil society. Drawing methodological considerations from Jen-Luc Marion, Paul Ricoeur, and James Clifford, the research journey attends theologically to the sociality embodied both within the congregation and with its neighborhood for the sake of participating with this congregation in bringing to discourse its lived evangelical, public, and missional theological strands.

Drawing upon Charles Taylor's use of moral frameworks in relationship to narratives, practices, and goods, the evangelical strand explores intimacy as a strongly valued good. Theologically, such a good makes possible James McClendon's vision of …

Implementation And Evaluation Of The Jesus Loves Jeans Initiative To Evangelize And Retain Youth For The Houston International Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Kendall Turcios

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Topic

The Houston International Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church has had significant challenges baptizing and retaining its youth. In the last five years, only a few youth have been baptized and nearly 50% no longer attend church. A primary contributing factor seems to be the lack of training to develop genuine biblical discipleship in the youth and young adults. Eims (1978) describes the process of discipleship as ―[taking a] person from the time of his conversion and helping him become a solid, dedicated, committed, fruitful, mature disciple who could in time repeat that process in the life of another‖ (p. …

An Examination Of The Compatibility Of The Church Growth Movement With A Calvinistic Soteriology, Michael Waldrop

Great Commission Research Journal

The purpose of this article is to establish that the strategic, missiological thinking of the Church Growth Movement is compatible with a Calvinistic soteriology. The method for accomplishing this purpose involves, first, a clarification of terms. Both “Church Growth Movement” and “Calvinism” have been defined in myriad ways, and these are not all equally valid. Thus, specific descriptions are included here. Next is a necessary discussion of the tensions that are perceived to exist between Church Growth and Calvinism. This is followed by a survey of kindred concerns and an exhibition of the common doctrinal ground shown to be held …

Fishing For Men While Fishing With Men- Relationships Built Through Recreational Experiences As A Tool For Effective Evangelism In Contemporary American Culture, Jonathan Rockey

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Rockey, Jonathan R. "Fishing for Men while Fishing with Men: Relationships Built through Recreational Experiences as a Tool for Effective Evangelism in Contemporary American Culture." D.Min Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, 2008.316 pp. with Appendices.

The stated goal of this project is "to evaluate a program for the equipping of volunteers for sharing the good news of God's love in Jesus in a recreational setting, and to evaluate the results of that equipping in the lives of these participants by looking at their willingness to witness and the effects they describe that arose from the experience and the process …

"There They Go": Short Term Mission Trips As A Metaphor And Model For Youth Slipping Out The Back Door, Steve Case

180 Symposium Publications

Millennials slip out the back door of church involvement for a variety of reasons. One currently popular youth ministry activity, Short-Term Mission Trips (STMT), provides a metaphor and a model for this phenomenon. STMT take into account both positive and negative elements as well as a host of factors with intensities that vary from one millennial to another. Utilizing STMT as a metaphor, and the varieties within the model, demonstrate the complexity of the issue rather than providing a singular and simplistic explanation and solution. Inherent in this model is a proactive sending motif rather than a passive clinging for …

Osiek, Carolyn, And Margaret Y. Macdonald, With Janet H. Tulloch. Awoman’S Place: House Churches In Earliest Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006. 345 Pp. Paper, $21.00., Teresa Reeve

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review

Book Review: Planting New Churches In A Postmodern Age, Daryl Thompson

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Transformation Into Mission : A Case Study Of Forest Park United Methodist Church, Derek Edward Russell

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Short-Term Missions On The Participants Of The Berkshire Mission Group, Garold Ray Wagner

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The face of missions is changing. While regular mission service (long-term) is still very much needed and extant, it no longer dominates the missions landscape. Fewer people are being sent to third-world or developing countries from North America to serve long term for positive reasons. There has been, however, an explosion in the number of people traveling to other countries for short terms and very short terms. While focus has shown that teens and young adults are positively impacted, no study has shown the impact on people of all age groups who go for this type of service.

Method …

Cross-Training Christians For Rural Servant-Leadership : An Exploration Of The Role Of A Congregation In Nurturing Leadership In The Community Of Wessington Springs, South Dakota, John H. Paulson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This study explores the relationship between what is learned and experienced in the Christian faith community and people’s involvement in collaborative leadership within the rural community of Wessington Springs, South Dakota. The author makes use of Martin Luther’s theology of the cross and his teachings regarding Christian vocation, including the calling of parents as family leaders. This approach to leadership development employs a missional ecclesiology, with attention to the Triune God’s transformative, sending work in the world, and examines contributions from knowledge about civil society and human and social capital. Asset mapping is examined as a tool for leadership development.

A Comparative Study Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The United Methodist Church With A Strategy For Enhanced Adventist Membership Growth In Cote D'Ivoire, Elie Weick-Dido

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Seventh-day Adventists first reached the French colony of Cote d’Ivoire around 1920. In 1946 the Church was organized with only 17 members. By 1985, the membership was 2,057 and in 2000, there were 7,215 members. By comparison, the Methodist Church of Cote d’Ivoire was established in 1924 and in 2000 had 1,350,000 members. Both Seventh-day Adventists and Methodists have conducted with mission in the same context where 20.8 percent of the population was Roman Catholic in 2000, Muslims represented 38.7 percent, and the French cultural influence was strong. Yet, Seventh-day Adventists have experienced a much slower church growth than …

When Scholarship Goes South: Biblical Scholarship And Global Trends, Evertt W. Huffard

Restoration Quarterly

Huffard, Evertt W. (2006) "When Scholarship Goes South: Biblical Scholarship and Global Trends," Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 48 : No. 2.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

A Strategy To Reach Animistic People In Madagascar, Jacques Ratsimbason

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The majority of the Malagasy people who live in Madagascar are unreached with the gospel message. A preliminary investigation of current literature indicated that 50 percent of the Malagasy are followers of traditional religions. This present study was to develop a strategy to reach the animistic people with the gospel message.

Method

This study presents Malagasy people, their social characteristics, population, worldviews, and lifestyles. A study;and evaluation of Malagasy beliefs and practices were developed using Hiebert's model of critical contextualization.

Results

The study reveals that the Seventh-day Adventist Church must update its evangelistic methods to reach animistic people and …

The Theological Roots, Vision, And Contribution Of The Church Growth Movement, George Hunter

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

In the 1970’s, Donald McGavran’s Church Growth movement emerged in the service of a powerful theological vision: to fulfill the ancient promise to Abraham—that all of the earth’s peoples would be blessed, and to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission—to reach, and make disciples, among the lost peoples of the earth. Church Growth’s people, however, have never “majored” in Constructive Theology. With most other Christians, we regard Christianity as a revealed (not an imagined) faith; most of us affirm the classical theology of the Church, with deep roots in the Scriptures and normative respect for the several ancient creeds. So Church Growth …

Here’S To Your Health: The Church Or The Kingdom? A Reflection For Emergent Church Leaders, Roger Helland

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

A pressing question for many pastors is what will help grow their church. But perhaps this question is based on faulty assumptions flowing from faulty theology. In his book, The Present Future, Reggie McNeal discusses the shift from church growth to Kingdom growth. To him the wrong question to ask is, “How do we grow this church?” That is, how do we get them to come to us?” This question, with its set of assumptions, is based on church thinking rather than kingdom thinking. Rather, the tough question is, “How do we transform our community?” He argues that we need …

The Need For A Biblical Theology Of Holistic Mission, Wagner Kuhn

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Strategy For Revitalization And Growth Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Iceland, Jorgen Eric Gudmundsson

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Topic

This dissertation analyzes the growth pattern of the Adventist church in Iceland from its inception about a hundred years ago to the present and presents an objective portrayal of the future possibilities of church growth on the island and develops a practical strategy of revitalization of the church.

The Purpose

The proposed strategy presented in this project aims at increasing the quality of life of the Icelandic Adventist churches, raising their self-identity and sense of mission, and strengthening their ability to reach the community and to grow.

The Sources

A Biblical theological rationale for this program is set …

Programa De Discipulado Para La Iglesia Adventista Del Séptimo Día De Rio Grande, Albuquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Joel Soto

Doctor of Ministry Projects

A discipleship program is the key to maintaining a healthy church in constant growth. It also provides the opportunity to consolidate the believers in church philosophy, exercising faith through practice of spiritual life. The purpose of this dissertation was to elaborate a program that would retain new believers in the church, leading them to action in their spiritual life, and in the practice of lay activities.

The investigation revealed the causes for lack of participation in spiritual activities, in the practice and discovery of spiritual gifts, and intervention in missionary work. This program is expected to better-equip members so they …

Big Picture Curricula For Multiethnic Ministry, Tom A. Steffen

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

This article will propose a storied, big-picture approach to multiethnic ministry. It will advocate curriculum that builds a cathedral rather than isolated rooms. Before considering story-based, big-picture curricula I will first look at how the multiethnic church, and other types of churches, relates to the dominate theological themes of unity and diversity.

Repositioning Paul’S Missionary Band In A Postmodern World: A Case For Culture-Bridging, Missional Teams As The Heart And Soul Of The 21st Century Church, R. Daniel Reeves

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

This article adds to our continuing quest to understand how to minister effectively in a postmodern culture.

Church Growth Viewed “Through A Glass Darkly”, Eddie Gibbs

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

In the Spring of 2000, Dr. Eddie Gibbs was installed in the Donald McGavran Chair of Church Growth at Fuller School of World Mission. His appointment followed the retirement of C. Peter Wagner from the chair in 1999. At his installation, Dr. Gibbs presented a paper, “Church Growth Viewed ‘Through a Glass Darkly,’” which is reprinted as the lead article in this issue of the JASCG.

A Response To Dr. Litfin, Charles Van Engen

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

A response to Duane Litfin's (1995) "Understanding Your Critics: An Outsider’s Analysis of a Core Criticism of the Church Growth Movement" (in this issue).

A Response To Dr. Russell, Geroge C. Hunter Iii

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

A response to Russell's (1995) article "40 Years of Church Growth: A View from the Theological Tower."

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 29 No 1 - April 1994), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Editorial: John Bolt - 9 / "Covenant" Overload in Reformed Theology by John H. Stek - 12 / The Continuing Conundrum: Calvin and the Conditionality of the Covenant by Peter A. Lillback - 42 / The Covenant of Works and the Stability of Divine Law in Seventeenth-Century Reformed Orthodoxy: A Study in the Theology of Herman Witsius and Wilhelmus à Brakel by Richard A. Muller - 75 / The Doctrine of the Abrogations in the Federal Theology of Johannes Cocceius (1603-1669) by W. J. Van Asselt - 101 / The Perkinsian Moment of Federal Theology by Michael McGiffert - …

The Educational Needs Of The Adult Layperson Concerning The Mission Of God_Research Towards Writing An Introductory Adult Mission Education Course, Stephen Gaulke

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

What are the educational needs of an adult layperson concerning world mission? What ought an introductory adult mission education study course attempt to teach? This thesis endeavors to answer the question in three chapters.

Chapter One articulates a concise theology of mission. Rooted in Scripture, especially the mission commands of the risen Savior, and drawing on the Apostles' Creed, The Book of Concord, and Martin Luther, Chapter One sketches the "who, what, where, when, why, and how" of God's mission.

Chapter Two surveys mission professionals to discover what they believe an introductory adult study course on world mission ought to …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 24 No 1 - April 1989), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Hermeneutical Issues Then and Now: The Janssen Case Revisited by David E. Holwerda - 7 / Common Grace by Herman Bavinck, translated by Raymond C. Van Leeuwen - 35 / The Dimension of Ultimacy and Theology of Culture: A Critical Discussion of Langdon Gilkey by Brian J. Walsh - 66 / Dutch Calvinist Philosophical Influences in North America by Richard J. Mouw - 93 / Scholia: The Water of Baptism and the Wine of Communion by James LaGrand - 121 / Jude and the Rhetorician: A Dialogue on the Rhetorical Nature of the Epistle of Jude by Thomas R. …