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Mathematization In Missions, Jonathan Pawley

Mathematics Senior Capstone

This paper explores the implications of mathematization and the field of Christian missions.

The Role Of Organizational Culture And Pastoral Leadership In Sustainable Church Outreach: A Multisite Mini-Ethnographic Case Study, Althea P. Gordon-Scott

PhD in Organizational Leadership

This study examined the role of organizational culture and pastoral leadership in sustainable church outreach programs. Two churches were chosen for this multisite mini-ethnographic case study because, for multiple years, they have participated in multiple outreaches each week to their non-Christian neighbors. These two churches differed in terms of geographical location, size, demographics, and budget. Data collection included field observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. The themes that surfaced from the data were altruistic foundations, relational equity, organizational agility, organizational challenges, exemplary pastoral leadership, and the centrality of God. This research contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding …

Book Review: Missiological Triage: A Framework For Integrating Theology And Social Sciences In Missiological Methods By Sarah Lunsford, L. Lynn Thigpen

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

In Search Of Great Discipleship : A Project Exploring Best Practices Of Discipleship Among Hispanic Churches Of Central Florida, Omar Cardona

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Church Doors And Hospital Doors: The Interrelationship, Azubuike Chukwubumnobi Okeke, Samuel Obiajulu Ike

Great Commission Research Journal

This study examines the place of medical evangelism as a means of church expansion in modern Nigeria. It is a retrospective cross-sectional investigative study involving data collection from the Good Shepherd Specialist Hospital’s anonymized patient records. The Good Shepherd Specialist Hospital is in Enugu State in southeastern Nigeria. Over 100,000 patients sought medical care in the hospital during a period of 19 years. Seventy-four percent had spiritual care provided by a person of the same faith. Most of the respondents came from within the Enugu metropolitan area. Using the church planting ministry of the Chapel of His Resurrection within the …

2025 Vol 17(1) About The Great Commission Research Network, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Pastors Of Smaller And Larger Churches Face Different Challenges: Empirical Evidence, William Ingersoll, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

This study seeks to expand our understanding of the differences between the challenges faced by pastors of smaller churches and the challenges faced by pastors of larger churches. Pastors of North American churches (N = 347), generally with a theologically conservative orientation, responded to an online survey indicating how difficult they perceived each of 79 challenges to be. In general, evangelism and retaining youth were the most difficult challenges. However, clear distinctions were found between pastors of smaller churches and pastors of larger churches for over one-third of the challenges. For example, pastors of larger churches found that adequately addressing …

Book Review: Stronger Together: Seven Partnership Virtues And The Vices That Subvert Them By Dave Harvey, Rex Ng

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

2025 Vol 17(1) Complete Issue.Pdf, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

A Framework For A Flourishing Life Within The American Pentecostal Church Through The Lens Of Scripture And Research, Josh M. Mayo

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This dissertation examines six Pentecostal churches across the United States, exploring the research question, “What best practices (strategies) and beliefs (theologies) within six Pentecostal churches act as breakthroughs or barriers in promoting spiritual flourishing among their attendees?” Drawing from Matt 5:2–12, the Beatitudes serve as a foundational text for understanding spiritual flourishing in God’s kingdom. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies conducted at Cross Church in Cumming, Georgia, Real Life Church (Bowling Green, Kentucky), Vima Church (Wichita, Kansas), Harvest Time (Fort Smith, Arkansas), New Life Church (Peshtigo, Wisconsin), and Life Point Church, which serves …

Multiplying Multipliers: How To Develop Church Planters Who Multiply Through Evangelical Church-Based Planting, Patrick Grach

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The Evangelical Church of America is declining, while the population of the United States is growing. Though the church has a biblical mandate to multiply and fulfill the Great Commission, the church-planter pipelines within church-planting churches and organizations are shrinking, and only a fraction of churches are multiplying by developing church planters and releasing them to plant new generations of churches. The challenge of generational church multiplication is captured in the research question: How can church-planting churches and church-based church-planting networks prepare church planters to multiply? This study provides a biblical foundation for a practical theology of church multiplication and …

Getting Back To God’S Design For Womanhood: Examining Purpose, Identity, Relationships, Mission And Ministry For The Twenty-First Century Woman, Cynthia Degrie

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Division, debates, and disputes abound surrounding the practical ministry issues regarding the theology of woman and womanhood, leaving an unresolved stalemate, disengagement, and a mass departure from the church. As a result, the church and culture are left at a point of crisis, devoid of relevant biblical answers to their questions. The church is at a very important crossroad. Continuing on this current path is no longer an option. The time has come to develop an accurate, Scripture-driven theology of womanhood and a Scripture-guided practical ministry response to the issues the twenty-first century woman faces. The first steps entail examining …

Light & Faith: April 2025, Taylor University

Light & Faith

No abstract provided.

The Characteristics Of Missionary Understanding And Practices And The Impact Of Transnationalism In Reference To The Indian Pentecostal Church Of God (Ipc) In The Us, Jaewoo Joung

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

How Spanish Seventh-Day Adventists Respond To A Discipleship Characteristics Training Program, Victor N. Rodriguez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The current condition of the local church reflects a problem that concerns many churches in North America: There is a lack of understanding regarding the meaning of discipleship. The local church needs to recover a sense of biblical discipleship to execute the Great Commission and make disciples who make disciples. The purpose of this DMIN action research project was to understand how members of Olympia Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church would respond to a discipleship characteristics training program (DCTP). This research project used a mixed method approach to collect and analyze data from 16 participants and 16 members of a control …

Addressing Church Retention In A Post-Christian Age: A Multi-Faceted Approach, Lawrence Kendall Gurley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Declining and shuttered churches in America have become the norm in the past several decades. Congregations and church organizations have witnessed a steep decline while the average age of members and clergy continues to rise. Interventionist efforts to alter the calculus of these trends have been underway for many years in both mainstream and evangelical circles. Only recently have Pentecostal organizations begun to address this decline. The research shows that church decline and attrition, although pervasive, are not inevitable but require concerted and sustained efforts to restore health and a sense of mission to local churches. This dissertation builds on …

Exploring The Concept Of Eternal Security In The Primitive Church Of Orlando, Fl, Evelyne Petion Laroque

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study explores the concept of eternal security in the Primitive Church of Orlando, Florida. The purpose is to accede to a genuine guarantee of eternal life. The Primitive Church of Orlando, Florida, may not understand the concept of eternal security, but the fault may not be entirely theirs. Theologians and believers have debated eternal security for centuries, with some advocating for “Once saved, always saved.” Moreover, others emphasize assurance of salvation. It is unclear how this ongoing argument serves God’s redemptive purpose for His Church. Still, it continues to frustrate believers’ spiritual formation worldwide. This study presents findings on …

The Bison, March, 20, 2025

The Bison Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Gardner-Webb Officials Announce Speaker For Spring Commencement, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

A local pastor with ties to Gardner-Webb University will be the featured speaker for commencement on May 8 at 6:30 p.m. in Spangler Stadium. Skip Allen a lead pastor at Hope Community Church in Shelby, N.C., will address graduates and their families and friends.

Having The Heart Of An Apprentice: A Life-With-Life Journey To Becoming Whole, Catherine Estelle Glei

Doctor of Leadership

Ministry leaders, college chaplains, and pastors have observed a significant decline in church attendance and engagement, especially among Generation Z. This trend has raised considerable concern, particularly about the phenomenon of faith deconstruction within this demographic. This project addresses a pressing concern: Young adults within the denomination of the Free Methodist who may be deconstructing their faith experience the absence of a deeply rooted faith stemming from insufficient discipleship in the path of life-giving holiness. This ultimately highlights the urgent need for a revitalized discipleship approach.

To meet this need, the project introduces Having the Heart of An Apprentice: A …

Thriving Families For Thriving Communities, Kimberly Sanford

Doctor of Leadership

NPO statement: Christian parents in France need spiritual and practical support in an atmosphere of grace and vulnerability, which should be lived out and encouraged by church leaders.

Addressing this need will increase parental well-being. As parents feel better equipped to reach the goals they have set for their families, they will feel increasingly effective and satisfied in their role as parents. Healthier, thriving families has the potential to lead to healthier churches, organizations and communities.

This project will be deployed in the context of my ministry as a church planter in Northern France where I have worked since 2011. …

Creating A Culture Of Connection And Belonging Among Ministry Leaders In New Life Fellowship Of Churches, Jennifer M. Dooley

Doctor of Leadership

This doctoral project seeks to create a culture of consistent connection and belonging that benefits the social-emotional and spiritual well-being of ministry leaders within New Life Fellowship of Churches in Southeast Asia. The NPO statement guiding the project is,

New Life Fellowship of Churches ministry leaders and spouses could benefit from meaningful, practical, and more frequent opportunities for relational connection that encourage being known, accepted, and loved.

The key insight was the need for increased relational support. Stakeholders identified flexible platforms and more frequent opportunities for connection as potential solutions. Stakeholders emphasized that being listened to without judgment was of …

Following The Mission Leader: The Value Of Imitational Learning In The Training Of Apostolic Church Planting Teams At Memorial Lutheran Church In Katy, Texas, John F. Davis Jr

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Davis, Jr., John F. “Following the Mission Leader: The Value of Imitational Learning in the Training of Apostolic Church Planting Teams at Memorial Lutheran Church in Katy, TX.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. pp. 272

Reaching the unchurched and unbaptized in our communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a huge challenge for most of our churches. In The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the number of adults being baptized in the churches (a measure of our effectiveness in carrying out the Missio Dei) is less than one per year. To reach people who have no …

The Banner - V. 160, No. 2 - (March 2025), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

No abstract provided.

Missions Upside Down, Aaron Baart

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"It was a missional epiphany for me—to realize that the effectiveness and stewardship of supporting indigenous leaders would be so much more effective than anything I could accomplish."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­re-igniting the church's passion for the Great Commission from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

Missions Upside Down

A Phenomenological Study Of Syrian Refugees’ Experiences Seeking Mental Health Care In Lebanon, Mark Christopher Todd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experience of Syrian refugees living in Tyre, Lebanon as it related to seeking mental health care. The theory guiding this study is the phenomenological approach of Moustakas (1994) as informed by the transcendental phenomenology of Husserl (Moustakas, 1994) in that it seeks to describe the essence of the phenomenon by putting aside all preconceptions and looking anew at the phenomenon through the lens of human experience. This study was also strongly influenced by transformative frameworks (Creswell & Poth, 2019) and decolonization theory (Smith, 2021) as it looked for answers …

Cultivating Millennial Engagement And Spiritual Formation In The Black Church For Leadership Development, Rufus Chambers Iii

Doctor of Ministry

The Black church has historically served as a cornerstone of African American life, transcending its role as a place of worship to become a multifaceted institution deeply embedded in the community’s cultural, social, and political fabric. However, the Black church has been unable to connect with teens, young adults, and young families due to its proclivity towards Black Baptist approaches towards worship, ministry, and community engagement. The rationale for conducting this study is to increase the number of millennial church leaders fully vested in the solvency of the Black church and positions of succession. Across the published literature, Black churches …

The Bison, February, 07, 2025

The Bison Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Deepening Relationships With God At Crosspoint Church Through Understanding Covenantal Heritage, David J. Ogurek

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project addressed the problem of Crosspoint Church’s members not understanding their heritage as God’s covenantal people, which impeded deep relationships with God. The project designed and delivered a six-week sermon series with small-group discussion guides to help participants deepen their relationships with God through understanding their covenantal heritage. The project utilized a multi-week sermon series that employed a teaching method involving biblical history to show how God’s story continually points toward Christ and is relevant to Christianity. Data were collected using surveys before and after the sermon series and a focus group of small-group leaders. The research …

Local Baptist Leader, Jason Ballard, Featured Speaker For Gardner-Webb Greene Lectureship, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Jason Ballard, associational mission strategist for the Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association (GCCBA) in Shelby, N.C., is the speaker for the C.O. and Eliza Greene Endowed Lectureship on Tuesday, March 4, at Gardner-Webb University. His topic is “Leading Change in the Local Church.”