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Mission Refocus: A Strategic Realignment Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Worldwide Mission Effort In The Context Of The Three Mission Refocus Windows, Erton Kohler

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church emerged as a worldwide missionary movement committed to proclaiming the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, language, and people. Throughout much of its history, the Church demonstrated a strong commitment to cross-cultural mission and the establishment of an Adventist presence in territories with low or no access to the gospel message. However, as the Church expanded globally in membership, institutions, organizational structures, and administrative responsibilities, a gradual shift in mission priorities occurred. Increasing attention to institutional maintenance and regional demands often reduced emphasis on frontline mission territories and populations with no or low Adventist presence. …

Transforming Pathfinder Acculturation Gaps: Confronting Intergenerational Cultural Conflict Between First- And Second- Generation Immigrants With Family Strengthening Workshops Among Scottish Mission Pathfinders And Their Parents, Njabulo King Ndlovu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The immigrant population in the UK is rapidly increasing along with correlated increases in the membership of both the British Union Conference (BUC) and the Scottish Mission (SM) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Scottish Mission Pathfinder clubs (SMPCs) have many immigrant children. However, as immigrants’ home culture comes into continuous contact with the British culture, acculturation gaps between first- and second-generation immigrants tend to form naturally as a result of the differing pace with which these two generations acculturate. Adolescents are generally thought to adapt quicker. Parent-child miscommunication and disagreement on critical matters such as values, beliefs, and …

A Strategy To Increase Membership Among The Xhosa-Speaking People In Zimbabwe, Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist membership among the Xhosa-speaking people in Zimbabwe (a minority ethno-linguistic group) is very low. The Seventh-day Adventist presence among the Xhosa-speaking people in this particular area has been minimal. This trend has led to a lot of frustration in the planning and implementation of outreach programs among this people group. The problem is that in spite of the outreach programs conducted for the Xhosa, the response of the community remains relatively low as compared to other ethnic groups in the same area.

Method

A theological study on reaching the unreached was developed and formulated from a review …

Transforming Attitudes And Commitment To Missions At The Mt. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church In Greenville, South Carolina, Jermaine A. Boyce

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This ministry project's goal was to seek transformation in attitudes and commitment to missions at the Mt. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. The goal of transformation was to guide the congregation's mission practices to be exemplary of its 'Missionary' name and the overall mission of the church as discovered in Luke-Acts and in the Abrahamic Covenant.

The project tested the attitudes and commitment to missions from the Missionary Society in comparison to the general congregation. The project revealed both strengths and weaknesses in the attitudes and commitments of the Missionary Society and the congregation about missions. The …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Toward The Development Of A Theological Critique Of Church-Growth Principles From A Seventh-Day Adventist Perspective, Terence G. Joshua

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church perceives itself as having a unique eschatological mission. Numerical growth is an important part of the objective of the SDA Church. To attain this aim, the principles of the church-growth paradigm developed primarily at the "School of World Mission and Institute of Church Growth" at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, has begun to be incorporated into the North American SDA mind-set.

There is minimal documented theological reflection upon church growth done from an SDA perspective. The analysis of the distinctive issues involved yields some concepts that are theologically consistent and some that are inconsistent with …