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Preparing Three Southern Baptist Churches In Mason, Tennessee, As Lighthouses Of Hope In Crisis And Disaster: The Intersection Of The Firehouse And The Church House During A Global Pandemic, Brian J. Styer May 2024

Preparing Three Southern Baptist Churches In Mason, Tennessee, As Lighthouses Of Hope In Crisis And Disaster: The Intersection Of The Firehouse And The Church House During A Global Pandemic, Brian J. Styer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) ministry program faces challenges due to limited awareness among Southern Baptist pastors, leading to inadequate promotion and participation. The proposed solution involves providing targeted education, improved advertising, and encouraging local leaders to promote engagement. The project aims to prepare three churches in Mason and Stanton, TN, to serve as Disaster Relief teams through specialized training and courses like ‘Introduction to Disaster Relief.’ The goal is to increase awareness of SBDR, recruit and train new members, and inspire individuals to become endorsed SBDR and Public Safety Chaplains. The project incorporates a theological foundation to integrate …


Mentoring As A Catalyst For Change: Creating A Mentor Training Curriculum Using The Servant Leadership Model, Alana S. Freeman May 2024

Mentoring As A Catalyst For Change: Creating A Mentor Training Curriculum Using The Servant Leadership Model, Alana S. Freeman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation-in-praxis was a response to the problem of a lack of youth involvement at Warren Chapel United American Free Will Baptist (UAFWB) church in Winterville, NC. The Collaborating Coach, Pastor Betty Haddock, and the Collaborating Team were concerned about the church's future amid its aging congregation. The importance of investing in the spiritual formation of the younger generation in preparation for them being mature successors of current leaders is a principle reflected throughout Scripture. The Bible encourages the older generation to teach the younger generation about Godly principles so they will retain what they have learned when they are …


Evaluating Instruments And Strategies For Change: A Pilot Study For Total Life Ministries, Lisa M. Hunter May 2024

Evaluating Instruments And Strategies For Change: A Pilot Study For Total Life Ministries, Lisa M. Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In times of turbulence and crisis, people and families should look to the church to receive comfort, salvation, spiritual and emotional assistance, and support from the church. Declining rates of prayer and worship church service attendance levels is an issue of major concern. Continually formulating new strategies, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical and theological models are necessary to address this situation. A participatory action research intervention pilot study was conducted at Total Life Ministries church, which comprised a phenomenological study with hermeneutical consistency and a case study essence. The new strategy centered on certain prayer types and ways of praying that …


Beyond The Pulpit: A Quantitative Analysis Of Midwest Church Leaders' Confidence And Competence In Addressing Sexual Trauma, Eryka Mcmillan May 2024

Beyond The Pulpit: A Quantitative Analysis Of Midwest Church Leaders' Confidence And Competence In Addressing Sexual Trauma, Eryka Mcmillan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study investigates the interconnectedness of confidence and competence within the context of Midwest church leaders in addressing survivors of sexual trauma. Sexual Trauma encompasses crimes like sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse, and it presents complex challenges within faith communities. This research employs an ordinal logistic regression, combining a survey instrument to assess leaders' confidence, known as the Readiness to Work with Trauma-Exposed Patients (RTEPS), and a comprehensive tool to measure competence, referred to as the Trauma-Informed Care Questionnaire (TICQ). Additionally, demographic factors, including race, age, gender, denomination, previous trauma training, and years of ministry experience, are analyzed …


Long-Term Partnerships Between Communities And Mission Organizations: A Case Study, Rebecca Boggs Bishop May 2024

Long-Term Partnerships Between Communities And Mission Organizations: A Case Study, Rebecca Boggs Bishop

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the long-term partnership of World Changers with the community of Chattanooga, Tennessee to understand best practices for creating similar cross-sector partnerships involving short-term mission work. Within this research, long-term partnership is defined as an arrangement existing for at least ten years. The study utilized the theories of covenant community (Lingenfelter, 2008), legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and cross-sector social-oriented partnerships (Selsky & Parker, 2005) to guide the research. The study considered the perspectives of community members, ministry leaders, and mission organization leadership to determine benefits and areas of …


An Examination Of The Perceived Impact Of Social Networking On Discipleship In Yalobusha County, Mississippi, Gary Bernard Walton May 2024

An Examination Of The Perceived Impact Of Social Networking On Discipleship In Yalobusha County, Mississippi, Gary Bernard Walton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Significant technological advancements in this new digital age and culture have increased digital and online technology. However, churches faced many challenges in integrating, creating, and transitioning new media platforms to develop a cooperative network society to train and equip disciples. Some research showed that many clergies vehemently opposed the use of digital platforms for discipleship, primarily because those leaders believed that digital discipleship platforms were insufficient in power to be transformative as compared to what would occur at a traditional church location (Campbell & Garner, 2016). This phenomenological research study aimed to understand better the perceived impact of social networking …


Critical Thinking And Worldview Formation In Ministry, David W. Belles Apr 2024

Critical Thinking And Worldview Formation In Ministry, David W. Belles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research thesis project engaged eleven ministers in the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies with a multi-session training designed to help them identify potential areas of cultural accommodation detrimental to Christian life and witness. The project utilized a multi-week training program where participants viewed training videos and attended online discussion sessions. The participants recorded their impressions throughout the four-week training period. Six weeks after the training concluded, small group sessions were scheduled to determine whether the participants could utilize the training material in their ministry. Data were collected through journaling, entrance and exit questionnaires, and small group interviews. The …


The Church And Sexual Socialization: A Practical Guide Equipping Youth Ministers To Aid Lgbtq+ Students, Connor Kennedy Apr 2024

The Church And Sexual Socialization: A Practical Guide Equipping Youth Ministers To Aid Lgbtq+ Students, Connor Kennedy

Senior Honors Theses

Sexual socialization is the process by which people learn about their sexual desires and identity. This paper displays the process of sexual socialization as it specifically relates to the youth in the United States. The need for authority on the matter of LGBTQ+ beliefs is established through a biblical worldview. The gap between the church and gender and sexual minority youth is wide, and the problem must be addressed. The author then provides a process and set of beliefs that any youth minister should hold if they desire to aid LGBTQ+ students.


Rainbows Around The Throne: Theological Aesthetics In Evangelism To Same-Sex Attracted Men, Austin Tucker Kemp Apr 2024

Rainbows Around The Throne: Theological Aesthetics In Evangelism To Same-Sex Attracted Men, Austin Tucker Kemp

Senior Honors Theses

Cultural barriers and worldview differences between American evangelicalism and the LGBTQ+ movement have historically hindered evangelism to same-sex attracted men. Although recent Christian theologians have offered wisdom for including same-sex attracted believers in the church and for combating prevailing secular worldviews, evangelistic strategies to reach gay unbelievers remain underdeveloped. This thesis identifies five desires common within the population of same-sex attracted men (beauty, friendship, romance, sexuality, and masculinity) and proposes a method of evangelism which targets these desires using theological aesthetics to communicate the beauty of the gospel creatively and compellingly. A focus on aesthetic apologetics, aesthetic community, and aesthetic …


An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman Apr 2024

An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents have an enormous role in the lives of their children. They are responsible for all aspects of their children’s development to prepare them to manage adulthood successfully. Parents invest much of their time in many important areas of the home, yet regarding discipleship, they will often pass on that responsibility to others or neglect it altogether. The danger of a lack of discipleship in the home is that it can potentially contribute to the growing trend of young adults leaving the faith. This thesis project examines the Biblical mandate for parents discipling their children, the reasons for parents not …


Mentorship For African American Female Officers Of Faith In The United States Air Force, Tanquer L. Dyer Apr 2024

Mentorship For African American Female Officers Of Faith In The United States Air Force, Tanquer L. Dyer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mentorship has emerged as a critical component for the cultivation and development of leaders. Mentoring is beneficial for the mentee and mentor both personally and professionally. The United States Air Force (USAF) encourages formal and informal mentoring for their leaders through initiatives and regulations. Other branches emphasize leadership development; whereas, the USAF emphasizes career development. While African American female officers of faith continue to hold leadership positions, it is unclear whether mentorship serves as a factor of success. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and understand the lived experience of African American female officers in the USAF …


Ministry And Diversity In The City, William Thomas Feb 2024

Ministry And Diversity In The City, William Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Missouri trains and develops men and women to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His church. The church of Jesus Christ, biblically, is a multi-ethnic body comprised of men and women of every tribe, nation, language, and tongue. God’s intention is for all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Though the mission of the church is clear, go and make disciples of all nations, Christian colleges have not always developed classes to equip ministry students to effectively minister across lines of racial, cultural, and socio-economic differences. This …


Equipping Equippers: Training Alaska Bible College Students For Equipping Ministry Through Mentorship, Justin Glenn Archuletta Feb 2024

Equipping Equippers: Training Alaska Bible College Students For Equipping Ministry Through Mentorship, Justin Glenn Archuletta

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The research project strived to improve the Christian Ministry Training program at Alaska Bible College, by adding a multi-generational equipping mentorship focus to the already existing program. The addition of the multi-generational mentorship is modeled after the exhortation found in 2 Timothy 2:2. Adding the primary goal of equipping to the mentorship program is founded in Ephesians 4:11-16. There were a total of 28 participants in the research project, which included recent graduates, faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students as of January 2023. The research project seeks to equip students of Alaska Bible College to begin equipping mentorship as student …


A Study On The Effects Of Biblical Counseling Techniques On Teacher Relationships With Students With Autism, Matthew Mcneill Feb 2024

A Study On The Effects Of Biblical Counseling Techniques On Teacher Relationships With Students With Autism, Matthew Mcneill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are in need of greater spiritual care from their teachers. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a concept which is becoming increasingly present in the world of education. With this growing presence, autism is becoming an issue in Christian education, as it seems that Christian educators struggle to understand it and to care for their students with autism spiritually. Further, little to no research has been done regarding autism and this area. The purpose of this study was to train Christian special educators in biblical counseling techniques and perspectives in order that they might better …


The Need For A Spiritual Reboot In The Youth Of Great Commission Church, Jean Max B St Louis Dec 2023

The Need For A Spiritual Reboot In The Youth Of Great Commission Church, Jean Max B St Louis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The decline of the youth attendance is evident in many Protestant churches. This research paper examined forty-three young believers from three Haitian Baptist churches, respectively, located in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. These data results help develop a suitable spiritual program that includes the six key influencing factors for spiritual growth: discipleship, mentoring, parental influence, church attendance, personal devotion, and ministerial involvement. This spiritual program was tested on a small group of young people from Great Commission Church in Queens. This research uses a mixed-method methodology, which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The …


Preserving Hope Through Youth Attendance At New Canaan Baptist Church, David C. Turner Dec 2023

Preserving Hope Through Youth Attendance At New Canaan Baptist Church, David C. Turner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The biblical perspective of training up a child in the way to go provides the foundation for mentoring to influence youth success. This thesis project applies a needs analysis to fulfill the effort to preserve hope through youth attendance at New Canaan Baptist Church. No secular or spiritual mentorship program exists for African American male youth in Chester, Georgia. This qualitative study used surveys to query the beliefs of African American youth, church leaders, and parents about the need for a mentorship program. Findings from analyses of survey data from almost thirty participants implied the need for a community-based mentorship …


Faith Comes By Hearing: Impact Of Expository Preaching In The Worldview Of Young Adults At Sda Church Plants, Kenneth Martinez Dec 2023

Faith Comes By Hearing: Impact Of Expository Preaching In The Worldview Of Young Adults At Sda Church Plants, Kenneth Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this thesis, expository preaching is proposed as the mechanism to communicate a biblical worldview to Adventist young adults (people ages 18 to 40). This thesis project engaged the young adults of two Adventist church plants: Refuge Church and Triumph Church. The project consisted of preaching Adventist biblical theology through expository sermons, with the thesis that it would be interpreted as a worldview by young adults. The preaching series delivered salvation history, broken down into eight pericopes, and used the Great Controversy as its metanarrative. The goal of each sermon was to expound the assigned passage and its place on …


Coveting Relationships Over Association: The Church's Response To The Millennial's Exodus, Erik W. Switzer Dec 2023

Coveting Relationships Over Association: The Church's Response To The Millennial's Exodus, Erik W. Switzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project identified the reasons church-affiliated millennials in Tyler, Texas, have exited the church after reaching adulthood and have failed to return in significant numbers. To capture the reasons for this generational church exodus, area millennials were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. To participate in the survey, millennials must have regularly attended an Evangelical or Catholic church during childhood and adolescence and stopped attending church after age eighteen. The survey invitation was distributed through emails and the social media platform Facebook. The invitation contained an embedded hyperlink that directed participants to Survey Monkey. All survey results reside …


A College Outreach Initiative To Connect Paine College Students With Thankful Baptist Church, Christopher J. Waters Dec 2023

A College Outreach Initiative To Connect Paine College Students With Thankful Baptist Church, Christopher J. Waters

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

College students’ declining attendance and participation at Thankful Baptist Church is a growing concern for the congregation and its leadership. For over one hundred years the church has had a strong outreach to the students at Paine College, a local HBCU and private Christian institution. However, over the last five years Thankful Baptist Church’s outreach to Paine College students has declined significantly. This research project implemented training for ten outreach volunteers and six weeks of mentoring for ten Paine College students to revive the declined college ministry to Paine College into an active ministry which attracts and retains college students …


Retaining Students After Graduation With Biblical Servanthood, Carlos Henrique De Freitas Dec 2023

Retaining Students After Graduation With Biblical Servanthood, Carlos Henrique De Freitas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis addresses the inadequate understanding of the biblical concept of servanthood among high school students (grades 9-12) within the congregation of Macland Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia. As a result of this problem, students gradually distance themselves from their faith, discontinue church attendance, and cease participating in church service activities. The thesis of this paper is that exposing these high school students to various dimensions of biblical servanthood will significantly impact their understanding of this concept. The underlying assumption posits that a profound understanding of biblical servanthood, coupled with knowledge and service opportunities, will cultivate Christlike character in …


Exploring The Impact Of Spiritual Disciplines Among Disciples Of Christ, Sharon Yvette Hardy Hunter Dec 2023

Exploring The Impact Of Spiritual Disciplines Among Disciples Of Christ, Sharon Yvette Hardy Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Spiritual disciplines have long been recognized as a means to foster more significant spiritual growth and maturity in the life of disciples of Christ. However, in today’s culture, there is a perceived lack of commitment to spiritual growth with new and established disciples of Christ of the twenty-first century vs. those of the twentieth century at Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan. Therefore, this study will look at the impact of introducing spiritual disciplines to new disciples of Christ to foster more significant spiritual growth and a commitment to a life of faith in Christ. Although faith community members embrace a …


The Single Father In The Christian Church And Their Struggles, Kennedy Abbott Dec 2023

The Single Father In The Christian Church And Their Struggles, Kennedy Abbott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis project is about a severe but unseen problem in the church. The single fathers in the Christian church have been quietly struggling because many do not seek help. Caretakers of this single-father ministry identify and are aware of the struggle affiliated with single fathers, summarized from personal experience in Chapter One. In Chapter Two, this research elucidates the severity of the problem related to children separated from either parent, possibly leading to behavioral concerns in school, the community, and the home. The fundamental principles of this research derives from gathering data relevant to this research to support this …


Church Of Christ's Organizational Involvement Related To Human Trafficking: Awareness, Knowledge, And Prevention, Veronica D. Jackson Dec 2023

Church Of Christ's Organizational Involvement Related To Human Trafficking: Awareness, Knowledge, And Prevention, Veronica D. Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if any relationship exists, and to what extent, between human trafficking and prevention measures taken by Churches of Christ located along Highway 20 corridor between Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta, GA. The goal of this study brings awareness to any gaps identified in Churches of Christ organizations related to their awareness, knowledge base, prevention, service to community, youth, and victims related to trafficking. The researcher also examined whether there is a relationship with local law enforcement related to human trafficking prevention and making basic referrals for medical services. Human trafficking is …


Discipling Elementary Children As A Father, Jeremiah Jabez Canfield Dec 2023

Discipling Elementary Children As A Father, Jeremiah Jabez Canfield

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study aimed to show the importance and the need for the father in the home to discipline his children. God did not give a father's children to provide for them financially, but God laid a clear plan in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 on how to point one's children to God. Even though this text is thousands of years old, it is still relevant to the culture today. It is easy to see that many fathers today are clueless about discipling their children and have left this job entirely up to the church. The busyness of life has also prevented fathers …


The Transformative Preaching And Teaching Of The Old Testament Through Its Expositional Approach, Sony Olivier Nov 2023

The Transformative Preaching And Teaching Of The Old Testament Through Its Expositional Approach, Sony Olivier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The aura of the Old Testament preaching and teaching today has been absorbed by the enthusiasm of its fulfillment in the New. Thus, the interest in exploiting the Old Testament principles as fulfilled in Christ through its expositional preaching and teaching needs to be revised. As revealed in the book of Acts, the commitment to preach the complete Word of God, the Old Testament, is vividly clear as Christ being the center of their preaching and teaching. Therefore, in today’s context, proclaiming the whole counsel of God’s Word calls for every preacher to consider Scripture in its entirety duly, from …


Grace-Based Faith Discipleship Approach Of Adults In South Rock Christian Church: Addressing The Contemporary Legalistic Lifestyle Of Disciples, Nicholas John Pannone Nov 2023

Grace-Based Faith Discipleship Approach Of Adults In South Rock Christian Church: Addressing The Contemporary Legalistic Lifestyle Of Disciples, Nicholas John Pannone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Discipleship often evokes different responses. However, contemporary Christians have a faithfulness dilemma driven by the constant messages they hear. This DMIN project seeks to develop and promote a ministry structure that educates, equips, and enriches the Christian life based on God’s grace. The project seeks to provide a framework for participants to be transformed holistically by God’s grace. Often, the members of South Rock Christian Church understand grace as the entry point into salvation, but not the identifying trait of their faithful life in Christ. This action project consists of qualitative research that demonstrates a gap between belief and action …


A Stewardship Curriculum To Promote Financial Independence: Congregants Of Sbc Depend On The Church For Financial Support, Davon Simpson Aug 2023

A Stewardship Curriculum To Promote Financial Independence: Congregants Of Sbc Depend On The Church For Financial Support, Davon Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis project investigates the congregation of Second Baptist Church of Selma, Alabama, and their dependency upon the church for financial support. The thesis presupposes biblical illiteracy on stewardship as the hinderance for congregants of Second Baptist Church in obtaining financial independence. This project will launch a research study of the congregants of Second Baptist Church using a triangulated approach evaluating the knowledge of participants from the congregation in comparison to the stewardship curriculum. The research method includes surveys, one-on-one interviews, and small focus groups as tools to investigate the problem. This design proposes that when the curriculum is implemented …


The Paradigm Of Personal Application: A Method For Cross-Generational Sermon Application At Cambria Baptist Church, David B. Locke Aug 2023

The Paradigm Of Personal Application: A Method For Cross-Generational Sermon Application At Cambria Baptist Church, David B. Locke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

God tasked pastors with the command to preach the Word to conform God's people to His image. In completing this task, pastors seek to apply God's Word to God's people. The unique context of each congregant’s life complicates this task. As a healthy, rural church in southern Michigan, Cambria Baptist Church maintains a multigenerational congregation. Because a broad age group attends the Sunday service, the pastors at Cambria cannot specifically apply the sermon to each situation. Therefore, the purpose of this DMIN action research project was to create and implement a paradigm by which congregants of each generation can effectively …


Counseling By Default: A Study Of Pastoral Burnout Among Liberian Pastors, Helen Gibson-Newman Jul 2023

Counseling By Default: A Study Of Pastoral Burnout Among Liberian Pastors, Helen Gibson-Newman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many Liberians turn to their pastors for help before considering going to a professional counselor. Pastoral counseling in Africa, especially in Liberia, is framed within African life and thought based on appropriate backgrounds that are evident in cultural assumptions and practices. Hence, pastoral counseling in Liberia assumes a cultural background central to the holistic Christian life that connects all dimensions of one’s social and spiritual life. Thus, the Liberian view of pastoral counseling is distinctly African, with a unique blend of noticeable Liberian values, traditions, and cultural practices based on a combination of its American and indigenous African heritage. The …


Evangelistic Mentorship To Address Youth Decline At Dawn Baptist Church, Rickey Wesley Dover Jul 2023

Evangelistic Mentorship To Address Youth Decline At Dawn Baptist Church, Rickey Wesley Dover

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This paper presents an intervention addressing young adults’ tendency to leave the church after adolescence. This thesis project proposes that false conversion in a person’s formative years drives young adult church departure. For those who have a relationship with Christ, the most probable cause for departure is the lack of sanctification and growth due to an absence of biblical training. Therefore, this project designed and implemented an evangelical mentorship program specifically designed for youth in the church. While the research approach focuses more on quantitative methods, it also has qualitative elements. This research is qualitative in many of the self-reflections …