Digital Commons Network^™

Betrothed To Jesus: Embracing Uncertainty As The Key To A Lasting Romance, Kyle H. Chase

Doctor of Ministry

NPO:

Churches are not giving college students the tools they need to navigate uncertainty with Jesus.

Key Insights:

For college students who decide to follow Jesus, the experience of uncertainty after college can result in a deconstruction of faith. Church leaders often respond by equipping students with tools aimed at eradicating uncertainty (biblical and cultural apologetics, catechisms, formulaic practices, etc.). The solution is more elegant: If students are to remain adaptable and resilient for a lifetime, they do not need to eradicate uncertainty but to embrace it—not as an occasion for explanation but as an opportunity to encounter the living …

Re-Imagining Church As A Spiritual Family, Abraham Acosta-Newball

Doctor of Ministry

The contemporary Christian church faces a crisis of belonging; many members are opting out for non-theologically related reasons or differences. The claim for this exodus is a lack of genuine community that serves as an extended spiritual family. Modern churches function as event-centered gatherings, and less like a multigenerational community, reflecting instead a culture of individualism and spiritual consumerism. The purpose of this project is to explore strategies for churches to assume a more biblical role of a spiritual family. Particularly focusing on practical ways for building stronger community within multigenerational and multiethnic Worship settings. The project culminates in three …

Called To Lead: Leadership Journeys And Workplace Experiences Of Women Presidents In Seventh-Day Adventist Institutions, Gary Thurber

Dissertations

Problem

Although women constitute more than half of Seventh-day Adventist Church membership, they remain substantially underrepresented in senior leadership roles across North America. This disparity raises important questions about the historical, theological, organizational, and gender-related factors that shape women’s access to institutional leadership within the denomination. A growing body of scholarship has examined the life experiences of women clergy in the church; however, limited research has explored the experiences of women serving in presidential leadership roles within Seventh-day Adventist institutions.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to understand and describe the experiences of women serving in presidential leadership roles …

Pastors In Crisis: A Proactive Prayer Life As A Measure Against Pastoral Burnout, Seth W. Hinrichs

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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 …

Leadership Pathways Foundations: Developing Women In Alliance Missions, Melissa Lynne Singfiel

Doctor of Ministry

The project was developed to address the NPO: Women in Alliance Missions have unmet developmental needs, are often overlooked in the first decade of service, and underutilized for leadership opportunities.

A key insight of the research was a twofold obstacle facing women in ministry. First, the fundamental theological disagreement over women’s participation in leadership results in pervasive patriarchal preference and predominance of male leadership voices in the organizational culture. Second, a general lack of preparation and mentoring for women in the areas of leadership and formation results in an absence of women in the leadership pipeline and an additional layer …

A Case Study Examining The Strengths And Gaps Of Servant Leadership Within Pentecostal Churches Of Ohio, Octavia Denise Hardaway

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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.

A Better Way: From Pyramids To Gardens: Recovering God's Design For Leadership, Accountability And Renewal, Tara Naomi Korpi

Doctor of Ministry

This doctoral project emerges from my vocational context as a consultant and pastor working with senior pastors and executive leadership teams within evangelical contexts. Across these settings, I encountered patterns of abuse and unethical and immoral behavior that were not rooted in isolated mistakes but embedded within organizational cultures that normalized pastoral isolation, protected institutional image, and lacked effective structures for accountability. These observations shaped the project’s conviction that, when empowered with appropriate tools for integrity and accountability, leaders can cultivate healthier churches where righteousness is prioritized, harm is prevented, and pastors are supported to finish well for lasting Kingdom …

Leadaptive: A Leadership Framework That Equips Pastors To Discern Ministry Season And Flex Leadership Styles With Wisdom, And Effectiveness, Glyn Barrett

Doctor of Leadership

This doctoral project, Leadaptive, addresses the following NPO: inflexible leadership style in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches stifles growth, leading to stagnation and reduced gospel impact. The project addresses this challenge within my vocational context as the Senior Pastor of a multisite church in the United Kingdom, a national denominational leader, and the Chair of Global Church Planting for a worldwide Pentecostal fellowship of more than 460,000 churches. In these settings, leaders often face a tension between spiritual conviction and adaptive responsiveness. The project seeks to design and implement a replicable, Christcentered framework to help pastors lead effectively through the diverse …

What Church Planters Need : How Community, Training, & Intentional Relationships Fuel Church Growth, Carolina G. Miller

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

What Church Planters Need : How Community, Training, & Intentional Relationships Fuel Church Growth, Carolina G. Miller

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Prayer Presence Patience: How The Church Multiples Around The World, Carolina G. Miller

Books

No abstract provided.

Toward A Transformative Church: The Role Of Elders In Church Growth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Brian Kwalela Mungandi

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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 …

Cultivating An Evangelistic Culture At Mountain Chapel Methodist Church Through Preaching, Nicholas Channing Hughes

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to examine the effectiveness of an intentional sermon series, Everyday Evangelism, in cultivating an evangelistic culture at Mountain Chapel Methodist Church, a Global Methodist congregation. The study used a program evaluation model and addressed the question, How does preaching cultivate an evangelistic culture in the local church, along with questions concerning growth in prayerfulness for the lost, gospel conversations, acts of compassion, invitations to Christian community, follow-up with seekers, and whether leaders exhibited greater change than the congregation as a whole. The project employed a pre- and post-series survey design using two participant groups, …

Patterns, Pressures, And Pathways : An Ethnographic Study Of Discipleship In Nepali-Speaking Immigrant Churches In The United States, Ram Kumar Budhathoki

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.