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How The Economic Mindset Impedes The Faithful Practice Of The Missional Call A Case Study Of The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus Global Mission Endeavors, Wondimu M. Game

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Wondimu M. Game, “How the Economic Mindset Impedes the Faithful Practice of the Missional Call: A Case Study of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus Global Mission Endeavors,” PhD Dissertation, Concordia Seminary, 2026, 278 pp.

This study examines the theological and missiological foundations of the indigenous church in light of the Venn–Anderson three-self principles of self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation. While these principles have shaped Protestant mission practice, their application has often become structural and economic rather than ecclesial and theological, In some contexts, this has contributed to patterns of financial dependency and weakened local initiative due to an impoverished economic …

Business As Ministry In The Us Rural Midwest For The Common Good, Eric Zhong-Ming Ma

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

The rural Midwest region of the United States serves as a significant locus for American history, culture, and faith, in addition to being renowned as the nation’s primary agricultural hub for maize and soybeans production. Nevertheless, the prevailing body of literature pertaining to the integration of business and Christian ministry for the common good predominantly represented the viewpoints of individuals engaged in international missions or those involved in urban settings regarding the underlying purposes of business. Limited knowledge existed regarding the practices and perceptions of business as ministry stakeholders in the rural Midwestern United States concerning the concept of the …

Faith-Based Social Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Case Study Of Evangelicals, Richard Clark

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study is the experiences of eight individual evangelical social entrepreneurs within their congregations. What type of legitimacy do they seek and/or receive for? Do they sense any pressure to conform/motivations to act relative to their congregation’s values/identity? Do these relationships encourage or discourage their entrepreneurial orientation/intensity and in what ways?

The primary research question is “how does embeddedness in an evangelical faith community affect the experiences and expression of social entrepreneurial orientation and intensity for evangelical faith-based social entrepreneurs, if at all?”

The study identifies three types of congregations in terms of their relationship to the …

Vile Methods: Bridging Divides And Expanding Churches' Understanding Of Creativity, Tyler Jack Kaufmann

Doctor of Ministry

Over the last 25 years, technology has made learning, sharing information, and connecting easier than ever before. Humans, especially in North America, have access to unprecedented amounts of information, ways to interact, and tools for relationship building. Yet, in the United States, humans find themselves in one of the most polarized times of the last 50 years. At the same time, the US church has been in major membership decline and its societal influence has decreased. Great numbers of the poorest US Americans are leaving the church and with that exodus gaps between social classes are widening as less spaces …

Faith-Driven Impact Investing: Renewing A Belief That An Investment In Entrepreneurialism And Commerce Is Central To God's Plan Of Redemption And Human Flourishing, Jonathan Mark Halverson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the need for a renewed belief among faith-driven investors that investments in redemptive businesses is central to God’s plan of redemption and biblical human flourishing. The explosive growth of values-aligned investing, such as Socially Responsible Investing and impact investing, has opened the door to introducing values into investment decision-making. There are significant opportunities for Christ followers to align their biblical values with their investment strategies, and to “put to work” (Matt. 25:16) resources apportioned to them by God; however, they have been slow to embrace the opportunities. Research was conducted to understand the underlying biblical-theological beliefs of …

Justice And Righteousness For Creation, Renita Reed-Thomson

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

A hymn entitled “This Is My Father’s World,” written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock around the year 1901, includes the words: “This Is My Father’s World, O let me ne’er forget…” Unfortunately, many Christians seem to have forgotten that this world belongs to their Heavenly Father. Justice for the poor and the environment has been neglected as Christians pursue economic and material gain, as well as the church’s pursuit of converts over disciples. That the Protestant Evangelical Church may have forgotten the creation may be a surprising point for some given that it has a reputation for caring for the poor …

A Missiology Of With: The Catalyst For Missionary Effectiveness In The 21st Century, Jennifer Williamson

Doctor of Ministry

The world is a very a different place than it was a century ago, and while the modern missionary movement has slightly evolved through time, many of the accepted standards and approaches are predicated on realities that no longer exist. Global connectivity, the ease of travel, and shift of the global center of Christianity mean that practices which may have been effective even fifty years ago are becoming outdated and fruitless. Nevertheless, mission agencies continue to employ these archaic practices, burning-out missionaries, alienating nationals, and wasting Kingdom resources.

This dissertation proposes cross-cultural collaboration as the needed paradigm for missionary effectiveness …

Faith-Based Social Entrepreneurship: The Integration Of Faith And Business For Sustainable Social Impact, Christine Beech

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

Faith-based nonprofit organizations face myriad challenges in securing a sufficient donation base within a restricted pool of donors. This funding challenge often limits their ability to conduct their mission. To offset this challenge and model self-sufficiency, many faith-based organizations are looking to evolve into hybrid platforms that operate as faith-based social entrepreneurial ventures and manage to a triple bottom line of social good, financial impact, and spiritual mission. Yet even with the best of intentions, successfully merging a for-profit business model into a preexisting nonprofit organization often fails, even before the faith-factor is in play. This study of social entrepreneurship …

Validation Of The Transformative Work In Society Index: Christianity, Work, And Economics Integration, John R. Terrill

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

In recent years, concern for faith-work integration has evolved from a special interest to a sustained movement within workplace and ecclesiastical communities. This study’s purpose is to validate the Transformative Work in Society Index (TWSI) exploring Christian faith, work, and economics integration within the larger nomological net of workplace spirituality, organizational outcomes, and faith maturity measures. The TWSI incorporates the full affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of what it means to be agentic human beings at work. A total of 405 participants who self-identified as Christians took part in this study (40.2% female; mean age = 46 years; mean as …

Business As Mission And Mission As Business: Case Studies Of Financially Sustainable Christian Mission Ventures With A Focus On Anglican Dioceses In East Africa, Dennis Obura Tongoi

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

Anglican dioceses established by The Church Mission Society and other Western-founded Christian denominations in East Africa were envisaged to grow and become self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting. The first two goals (to be self-governing and self-propagating) have more or less been achieved. The third goal (the pursuit of self-support) is at a critical stage, especially considering that resources, in terms of funding and personnel, are in decline. This research sought to document the factors that contribute to, or hinder, the role that lay people (business people in particular) can play in sustaining the ministry and mission of Anglican dioceses. The research …

The Business Of Rescue -- Uncovering The Relationship Between Immigration Policy And The Rescue Industry., Diya Ray

Theses and Dissertations

The global movement of women has created a panic across borders in the 21st century, when it is suspected that they have been forced against their will to engage in sex work, which has manifested in the formation of what has come to be called the Rescue Industry (Augustin, 2007). Governmental agencies and efforts have been directed at 'rescuing' victims of trafficking from an assumption of coercion, force and victimhood. However, a closer look at the profiling of these individuals, the process of victim construction and the problematization of trafficking being equated to prostitution reveals that a significant number of …

An Integrative Study Of Doxological Metanarrative, Mission, Motivation And Mechanism, João Mordomo

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation engages in an integrative study of the doxological metanarrative of Scripture in relation to mission, motivation and mechanism, with special attention given to the business as mission (BAM) mechanism in Brazil. Two research techniques were utilized: 1) archival research in order to define and describe both the doxological components (metanarrative, mission and motivation) and the BAM mechanism; and 2) case study method in order to examine the motivations that drive successful Brazilian Christian entrepreneurs to start Kingdom companies.

The researcher identified three key metanarrative frameworks for understanding Scripture and redemptive history: the Nature of God (NOG), the Kingdom …

When Business Is The Mission: A Study Of Faith-Based Social Business In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brian W. Albright

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

There is an extraordinary group of people, motivated by their Christian faith, starting businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa because they believe that business plays a key role in alleviating poverty. These faith-based social business (FSB) leaders face situations similar to those faced by leaders in other academic and practitioner fields including business as mission, social entrepreneurship, international business, and international development, given their pursuit of multiple-bottom lines, cross-cultural engagement in undeveloped nations, and a focus on integration of faith. The complexities of their contexts create opportunities and challenges in which their strategies and operations require further investigation and analysis.

This case …

Exploring The Background And Motivations Of Social Entrepreneurs, Timothy A. Lucas

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

No abstract provided.

An Inductive Study On How Business As Mission Entrepreneurs Decide To Start Businesses, Michael J. Bates

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Businesses as Mission (BAM) entrepreneurs seem to have characteristics of both for-profit and social entrepreneurs. For-profit entrepreneurship literature has transitioned from focusing on who the entrepreneur is, to what they do as a function of their cognitive processes. Social entrepreneurship research areas have trended toward the formation of personality and motives of the socially-minded entrepreneur. Regardless of type, each entrepreneur must recognize opportunity, evaluate it, and then decide to take action or not. There were few peer-reviewed articles in the literature with regard to the study of BAM organizations or the entrepreneurs that start them. Since …

An Inductive Study On How Business As Mission Entrepreneurs Decide To Start Businesses, Michael J. Bates

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

No abstract provided.

The Leadership Of Christian Value-Led Companies: Observations Of Character, Practical Wisdom, And Decision-Making Complexities, Tim Roddy

Theses and Graduate Projects

Aspiring Christian-values leaders might have many questions on this topic, including: Where does the knowledge to lead this way come from? Who has experience in this endeavor? What are the obstacles which might be faced in leading this way? What research exists on this topic? How can I learn what experienced Christian-values leaders already know about leading this way? Therefore, this research has been undertaken as a qualitative study in observation and documentation of the phenomena surrounding the research question. Themes or trends are discussed in terms which 11 Christian-values business leaders expressed as significant. Their documented comments and views …