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- Church Planting (3)
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- Discipleship (2)
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- Spiritual formation (2)
- Action (1)
- Acts 29 (1)
- Acts 2:42-47 (1)
- Adaptational model of ministry (1)
- Apostolic (1)
- Attribute-driven virtue-focused model (1)
- Attributes (1)
- Baptist General Conference (1)
- Biblical Theology (1)
- COVID-19; quarantine; Christian discipleship; parenting; Christian community; spiritual orthodoxy; catechesis; involuntary isolation; childhood (1)
- Childhood Grief; Spiritual Comfort; Spiritual Care Givers; Ministry Care Model; Children Ministry (1)
- Church (1)
- Church Leadership (1)
- Church leadership (1)
- Church planting (1)
- Clergy Self-Care (1)
- Community engagement (1)
- Contemplative prayer (1)
- Conversion (1)
- Cultural engagement (1)
- Dallas Willard (1)
- Dark side (1)
- Demonic (1)
- Devil (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 32
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Pastors In Crisis: A Proactive Prayer Life As A Measure Against Pastoral Burnout, Seth W. Hinrichs
Pastors In Crisis: A Proactive Prayer Life As A Measure Against Pastoral Burnout, Seth W. Hinrichs
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This Doctor of Ministry project examines the relationship between a proactive prayer life and pastoral burnout among senior pastors in Converge North Central churches. Addressing the increasing prevalence of burnout in vocational ministry, the study reframes burnout as a fundamentally theological issue rather than merely a psychological or organizational problem. Drawing on the work of Ray Anderson and others, the project argues that burnout reflects a misalignment between a pastor’s lived theology—particularly in identity, calling, and dependence on God—and the realities of ministry practice. The research integrates biblical-theological reflection, a review of contemporary literature, and quantitative field research through a …
A Case Study Examining The Strengths And Gaps Of Servant Leadership Within Pentecostal Churches Of Ohio, Octavia Denise Hardaway
A Case Study Examining The Strengths And Gaps Of Servant Leadership Within Pentecostal Churches Of Ohio, Octavia Denise Hardaway
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This study examined the gaps in servant leadership within Pentecostal churches in Ohio that could contribute to the departure of members from Pentecostal churches. This qualitative study examined the biblical servant leaders Nehemiah and Paul, as well as theological literature. The researcher created an instrument to assess the strengths and gaps in servant ministry leadership within Ohio Pentecostal churches.
Toward A Transformative Church: The Role Of Elders In Church Growth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Brian Kwalela Mungandi
Toward A Transformative Church: The Role Of Elders In Church Growth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Brian Kwalela Mungandi
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This study addressed the need for a transformational leadership strategy that engages elders in membership retention and church growth for a Seventh-day Adventist Church. This mixed-method study aimed to identify factors contributing to declining membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, with the goal of informing strategies for improved member retention and potential church growth. A survey involving 30 active members was administered to gather insights into the target church’s profile. Additionally, interviews were conducted with 18 elders across four churches to evaluate leadership perspectives concerning membership retention and church growth. These data sources offered a snapshot of the target church's …
Barriers To Spiritual Growth, Brian A. Brunke
Barriers To Spiritual Growth, Brian A. Brunke
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This thesis examined the barriers to spiritual growth among believers, analyzing biblical and theological sources alongside perspectives from additional literature. The study identified significant obstacles to spiritual development, including persecution, cultural and religious differences, conflict, lack of understanding, and worldly influences, as illustrated in the Book of Acts. Furthermore, modern challenges, such as the implications of neuroscience for spiritual formation, lifestyle choices, and cultural shifts, also contribute to these barriers. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing an online survey to assess spiritual growth across six dimensions: commitment to God, evangelism, engagement in spiritual disciplines, pursuit of intentional relationships, stewardship, and …
A Model For Transformational Leadership Development In Urban Ministry Contexts, Charles A. Hunt
A Model For Transformational Leadership Development In Urban Ministry Contexts, Charles A. Hunt
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The context of this thesis project, “A Model for Transformational Leadership Development in Urban Ministry Contexts,” is the Beloved Community Cooperative Ministry (BCCM) in Baltimore, Maryland. The BCCM was formed in July 2020 and is comprised of three urban United Methodist churches—Epworth Chapel UMC, Sharp Street Memorial UMC, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial UMC. The problem that this project investigated and addressed is the need for transformational leadership development training for leaders (clergy and laity) serving in urban ministry contexts, specifically among the three churches that comprise the BCCM. In response to this problem, the researcher (a) explored biblical …
Forgotten Grievers: Perspectives On Childhood Grief In The Baptist Church In Kenya, Esther Wambui Kiarie
Forgotten Grievers: Perspectives On Childhood Grief In The Baptist Church In Kenya, Esther Wambui Kiarie
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This project was aimed at developing a ministry care model for grieving children for the Baptist church in Nairobi, Kenya. Three Baptist churches with an active children’s ministry were identified. A study of the spiritual support available to the broken-hearted and the biblical view of children provided this project's biblical and theological foundation. Special attention was given to Psalm 23, John 10:1-21 and Luke 7: 11-17. The researcher discovered that children grievers can receive spiritual comfort, care, and community support to facilitate effective coping and grief resolution. The researcher then reviewed the literature on theories of child grief and bereavement, …
Parenting During A Pandemic: Exploring The Experience Of Evangelical Parents Cultivating A Spiritual Orthodoxy In Their Children During The Covid-19 Quarantine, Joseph E. Brown
All Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Beginning in March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced evangelical parents to adjust their parenting and Christian discipleship. With in-person gatherings limited, families and churches had to reorient to more isolation and less community. This study sought to explore this experience among evangelical parents of congregations of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in the Greater Richmond area. Using an embedded single-case study research method with multiple participants, the researcher gathered data from one hundred one participants representing about sixty families units through virtual focus groups, in-person interviews, and online surveys. This research began with an extensive biblical, theological, and historical …
Happiness Groups As A Strategy For Transforming A Chinese Church From Attractional To Missional, Mingsheng Qin
Happiness Groups As A Strategy For Transforming A Chinese Church From Attractional To Missional, Mingsheng Qin
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This project established that the love of God is the foundation of mission and evangelism. God loves people and calls Christians to participate in His redemptive mission. God calls Christians to bless them and make them a blessing to others. The church is believers who are gathered to bring nonbelievers to God. The nature of the church is missional. A missional church engages every believer to participate in the Great Commission. The incarnation of God demonstrates God’s love and reveals the model of mission and evangelism. The incarnational approach is entering other people’s worlds as Jesus Christ entered the world …
Investigating And Increasing The Efficiency And Effectiveness Of The Children’S Ministry At Victory Church Of Melbourne, Florida, Stanley R. Patton
Investigating And Increasing The Efficiency And Effectiveness Of The Children’S Ministry At Victory Church Of Melbourne, Florida, Stanley R. Patton
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The purpose of this study was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the children’s ministry at Victory Church of Melbourne, Florida, a growing multicultural and multigenerational church. Conversations with the children’s ministry team, parents, child participants, and the senior pastor of Victory indicated that changes needed to be implemented in order to grow the ministry. This project used a case study methodology, focusing on a church with similar demographics as Victory, to discover the underlying factors needed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Victory’s children’s ministry. To test the working theory that an increase in resources, team leadership, …
Video Church: The Effects Of The Video Church Model On Christian Hospitality, Assad Mohammed Saif
Video Church: The Effects Of The Video Church Model On Christian Hospitality, Assad Mohammed Saif
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Hospitality is fundamental to human spiritual growth. Jesus knew this. Therefore, Jesus spent much time seeking to encounter people in the spaces they naturally congregated in. God sent Jesus to come from heaven to earth to show people the incarnate God and his desire to welcome them into his family. More specifically, God sent Jesus to a specific culture in the world where he believed the message of God’s love could be viewed through the lens of hospitality. By using a grounded theory approach, the researcher set out to discover the methods by which hospitality is impacted within the video …
The Impact Of Presence And Touch On Church Growth, William Charles Berg
The Impact Of Presence And Touch On Church Growth, William Charles Berg
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This project addresses the problem of discovering whether, when churches move to be physically present in their communities and engage in appropriate touch through serving, there is a corresponding impact in confession of faith and church growth. To answer this problem, the researcher began with the incarnation and trinity as a model of presence and touch. The researcher reviewed the Gospels to identify Jesus’ use of physical presence and touch in His ministry. The researcher also looked at the impact of presence and touch on the early church in the Book of Acts. He reviewed literature that focused on the …
Cultivating Relational, Developmental And Missional Discipleship Within A Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb
Cultivating Relational, Developmental And Missional Discipleship Within A Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb
All Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Over the last two decades, many Lutheran mega-churches have become stagnant or have begun to decline in worship attendance. Some have even closed their doors, not surviving past their founding leadership. Furthermore, few of these mega-churches offer any kind of intentional growth pathway for their members. What is called discipleship often appears instead to be a classroom-driven assimilation process. This project addressed the problem Lutheran mega-churches have in making disciples by exploring the relational, developmental and missional aspects of discipleship and how they might be integrated into an effective discipleship strategy for use in these mega-churches. This project began with …
Diaspora, Migration, And Refugees In Europe: Developing Leadership Within Multicultural Teams, Matthew S. Paschall
Diaspora, Migration, And Refugees In Europe: Developing Leadership Within Multicultural Teams, Matthew S. Paschall
All Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This research study addressed the challenge of developing leaders in the midst of the recent refugee crisis in Europe, historic waves of immigration, and ongoing global migration of diaspora peoples. Migration has led to unprecedented diversity in leadership as leaders from the Global South are relocating North and West. Each person carries preconceived cultural notions of how leaders should function and interact. Church and mission leaders must be equipped to navigate this complex cultural environment in order for multicultural teams to work effectively. The researcher based the theology of multicultural leadership in the Trinity where Father, Son, and Spirit expressed …
Narratives Church: A Missional Church Planting Path For Cultivating A Unified Theological Vision, Mark Miller
Narratives Church: A Missional Church Planting Path For Cultivating A Unified Theological Vision, Mark Miller
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This research project focused on the development of a unified theological vision for the missional movement with specific attention given to the United States. The researcher conducted a thorough investigation of Scripture and current biblical material in order to discern the barriers existing within the missional movement. The researcher looked at key areas that shape the missional church planting movement: leadership development, theological interpretation of the early church, church planting methods and practice, ecclesiology, and the application and interpretation of Ephesians 4:11. Four church planting organizations participated: North American Mission Board (NAMB), Acts 29 Network, Association of Related Churches (ARC), …
Multiethnic And Missional: God’S Heart For An Integrated And Diverse Church, Justin Saul Hiebert
Multiethnic And Missional: God’S Heart For An Integrated And Diverse Church, Justin Saul Hiebert
All Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The American church is largely segregated and homogenous. This has not only stunted the growth of the church but led to an ineffective and limited mission vision. The contemporary American church must reclaim the biblical mandate to be both ethnically diverse and missionally minded. Through a qualitative research methodology this research project focuses on creating a healthy and sustainable multiethnic identity and leadership structure. Through interviewing and visiting some of the leading multiethnic churches of the Central Valley of California, the researcher lays out a clear understanding and argument for multiethnic churches. This paper examines the book of Acts, interviewing …
Disciple-Making: Key Ingredients For Building God’S Kingdom, Sid Emory
Disciple-Making: Key Ingredients For Building God’S Kingdom, Sid Emory
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The first century Church was founded in response to the disciple-making processes of Jesus. His disciples were transformed by following Jesus in a way that obedience, transformation, community, education, worship, and the expansion of God’s kingdom became the central themes of their lives. This study addressed the need to understand the disciple-making process found in Scripture in a way that will yield the results that are found in the Book of Acts primarily those found in Acts 2:42-47. Christian churches of every denomination, tradition, model, and size have been called to make disciples. The Scripture, literature, interviews, and surveys researched …
The Need To Equip Lutheran Congregations In Mission For Christ Church Planters For Spiritual Warfare, David John Heinrich
The Need To Equip Lutheran Congregations In Mission For Christ Church Planters For Spiritual Warfare, David John Heinrich
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The goal of this research project was to address the need for spiritual warfare training and equipping for church planters to be more efficient in mission within the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) movement. The researcher designed a sequential mixed method approach to this research with LCMC church planters. The research findings demonstrated that church planters were well educated but 96 percent did not receive any formal spiritual warfare training and equipping in seminary or Bible school; the spiritual warfare training environment preferred was hands-on activation workshops.
The Contributions Of Spiritual Formation Questions To Redeeming The Shadow Side Of Pastoral Identity, Natalie Hendrickson
The Contributions Of Spiritual Formation Questions To Redeeming The Shadow Side Of Pastoral Identity, Natalie Hendrickson
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There is a well-documented problem of shadow side issues, hidden sin or dysfunction, derailing many pastoral leaders and devastating families, congregations, and whole communities. In response to this problem, this Doctor of Ministry thesis project sought to explore the contributions of spiritual formation questions to redeeming the shadow side of pastoral identity. This researcher explored biblical questions and focused on the questions of Jesus in the Gospels to identify an efficacious spiritual formation approach to using questions in redemptive work. In addition, this researcher conducted more than a year of fieldwork with pastoral participants utilizing mixed-method data analysis. Quantitative data …
An Investigation Of Self-Care Practices And Principles Among The Pentecostal-Apostolic Clergy, Chelsea A. Hall
An Investigation Of Self-Care Practices And Principles Among The Pentecostal-Apostolic Clergy, Chelsea A. Hall
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The goal of this research project was to investigate the perspectives and practices of self-care among Pentecostal-Apostolic (P-A) clergy, and create a set of principles to assist the P-A clergy in conducting a God-honoring self-care. This was done through use of a convergent-parallel mixed method research design, with a case study approach. Literature reviews were conducted in biblical, theological and psychological research areas, while a survey containing both qualitative open-ended questions and quantitative Likert-scale items was developed and distributed via email to P-A clergy from the United Pentecostal Church International, Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship, and Independent organizations. Thirty-four complete responses were …
From The Suburbs To The City: Seeking The Shalom Of An Inner City Neighborhood, Elias Soiles
From The Suburbs To The City: Seeking The Shalom Of An Inner City Neighborhood, Elias Soiles
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Journey Community Church, a five-year old white, suburban, college-educated, middle class church, moved into the Bell Hill neighborhood of Worcester, Massachusetts on July 1, 2015. This was a neighborhood of which Journey Church knew almost nothing and of which it seemingly had little in common. The Bell Hill neighborhood is poor, working class, culturally and ethnically diverse with whites comprising less than forty percent of the population. This project outlines the model of ministry that enabled Journey Church to begin to reach its neighborhood and contribute to its holistic flourishing. The biblical and theological review examined the role and nature …
Homophobia In The African American Church In Dmv, Nurney Kasem Mason
Homophobia In The African American Church In Dmv, Nurney Kasem Mason
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A look at some causes of homophobia in the African American(AA) church in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Using mixed methods and interviews, the researcher uncovered some reasons why homophobia exists in the AA church. Based on the data the researcher constructed a rubric scale AA leaders can use as a reference. The researcher offered fourteen recommendations AA church leaders can use as a tool to assist them in ministering to the LGBT members in the AA church.
A Model For Small Church Leadership To Support Their Minister’S Self-Care, Jeremy Allard
A Model For Small Church Leadership To Support Their Minister’S Self-Care, Jeremy Allard
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The complexity of vocational ministry is difficult to manage and maintain. Balancing the complex nature of the church, relationships, family life, spiritual and personal life provides the minister with a struggle that rarely ceases. Pursuing self-care within this environment can provide relief to the struggle but is difficult to do alone. The study seeks to provide a model for local church leadership to support their minister so he or she can successfully manage ministry and personal life through self-care practices. The project identified ministers employed at Stone-Campbell churches with a weekly attendance of less than 125 in Minnesota and Wisconsin. …
The Whole Servant Leader: Leading From The Inside Out, Jewel Denise Williams
The Whole Servant Leader: Leading From The Inside Out, Jewel Denise Williams
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While research on servant leadership focuses on the behavior or actions of leaders toward the follower, this project examines the inward development of those leaders to determine what godly attributes need cultivation to demonstrate the seven virtues of Kathleen Patterson. Patterson’s doctoral work “Servant Leadership: A Theoretical Model,” was published in 2003 by Regent University School of Leadership Studies. The examination of the lives of pastors, leaders, and lay leaders defined as servant leaders based on Patterson’s theory helped in the development of an attribute-driven virtue-focused servant leadership development model for this project. These leaders were asked to share what …
Imparting Biblical Theology Cross-Culturally For Transformation, Malcolm S. Reid
Imparting Biblical Theology Cross-Culturally For Transformation, Malcolm S. Reid
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Moore Theological College’s Preliminary Theological Certificate has been a vehicle to impart an approach to Biblical Theology not only domestically but also outside Australia. Course participation overseas has seen significant growth and this research identifies some of reasons for this as well some principles for imparting Biblical Theology cross-culturally. The first chapter of this study outlines the specific approach of the research. Four specific case studies are identified as being Latin America, India, East Africa and South East Asia. A biblical foundation is laid down in the next chapter. Three themes that affect a Biblical Theology of culture in the …
Transformation Of The Prescott Foursquare Church: Becoming A Church Planting Church, John W. Gooding
Transformation Of The Prescott Foursquare Church: Becoming A Church Planting Church, John W. Gooding
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This study is a qualitative study of the Prescott Foursquare Church and its transformation from a small, broken denominational church to a disciple making and church planting fellowship of churches. The project sought to discover the key trigger events or processes that brought about church growth in the Prescott church and led to the growth of a fellowship of over twenty-two hundred churches in one hundred and sixteen countries. The result of interviews of pastors and review of historical data of the church and Christian Fellowship Ministries was the discovery of a discipleship culture in the local congregation in Prescott …
The Use Of Oral Training In Uganda To Develop Biblically Trained Leaders, Kevin J. Olson
The Use Of Oral Training In Uganda To Develop Biblically Trained Leaders, Kevin J. Olson
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The researcher spent a year in rural Tanzania and found that the volunteer lay leaders had little training. These lay leaders had a love for Jesus and for his people, but the obstacles these men faced in order to get further training were overwhelming. Attending seminary meant paying tuition, leaving families, leaving farms, taking classes in English, and following a Western style of education. There were economic, emotional, and educational barriers these lay leaders faced. This caused this researcher to seek a new method to train people in God’s Word. This search led to the oral training method that was …
Pursuing Kingdom Growth By Intentionally Engaging Our Culture, Florin Docea
Pursuing Kingdom Growth By Intentionally Engaging Our Culture, Florin Docea
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The goal of this research project was to strengthen the church’s ability to effectively engage the culture and expand the kingdom of God. This project is important because American Churches have invested time and resources looking for ways to transform the culture. In the process many discovered that the culture has also transformed the church with mixed results. This research project showed that new churches continue to face difficulties engaging the culture without compromising the mission of the church or disrupting the unity of the body. Using the attractional or missional models, churches have struggled in the tension created by …
The Faith At Work Movement At Westwood Community Church, Daniel Albert Bolt
The Faith At Work Movement At Westwood Community Church, Daniel Albert Bolt
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This thesis investigated the faith at work (FAW) movement through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics. The work concepts of both Old and New Testaments were explored, along with theologian’s voices on the intersection of work and faith. The literature review demonstrated the one-dimensional emphasis of the FAW for the church and the working world. The church and world need the FAW as an ethos with an emphasis on the whole person. The research was a mixed method of case study utilizing qualitative and quantitative method. This mixed method helped underline the shallowness of current scholarship of the FAW as an …
Negotiating The Doing To Being Boundary In J. Robert Clinton's Leadership Emergence Theory, Charles W. Sattgast
Negotiating The Doing To Being Boundary In J. Robert Clinton's Leadership Emergence Theory, Charles W. Sattgast
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According to the research of J. Robert Clinton only a third of leaders finish well. Clinton describes a developmental barrier he refers to as “the doing to being” boundary that many leaders face in their forties or fifties. This barrier requires leaders to undergo a paradigm shift from finding their meaning and fulfillment in achievement to ministry that flows out of being. According to Clinton many leaders fail to successfully negotiate this important transition which contributes to the alarming failure rate of leaders. This research project addressed this problem by exploring the nature and meaning of doing and being and …
Discovering The Work Of Baptist General Conference Mission In Ethiopia: The Essence Of Mission That Lasted For Six Decades, Kebede Gonfa
Discovering The Work Of Baptist General Conference Mission In Ethiopia: The Essence Of Mission That Lasted For Six Decades, Kebede Gonfa
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The researcher has explored six decades of mission work and leadership development by the Baptist General Conference (BGC) in Ethiopia. The main purpose of this project is to summarize the work of the mission in Ethiopia and its relationship to the national church with comments from local pastors and missionaries in regard to the conclusion of the work of the missionaries and the turnover to the local church, so that the current and coming generations may benefit from the strengths and weaknesses of the BGC Ethiopia ministry. The evaluations by missionaries and local leaders provides a balance of perspectives on …