Digital Commons Network^™

Leading Our Children To Christ: Christian Education And Discipleship, Scott R. Ward

Faculty Publications

Some pastors are already involved in supporting the schools run by their church, but my prayer is that every pastor will feel energized and equipped to get on campus, partner with our educators and parents, participate in leading outreach with our children, and help make our schools centers of influence in their communities, places where people can come together to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe that when our children become involved in such vibrant, gospel-oriented schools, they will be inspired to become and remain active followers of Jesus.

Exploring Strategy Planning And Execution Methods In Church Missions Programs, Jonathan Daniel Deming

Masters Theses

The aim of this thesis is to explore the extent to which church missions programs employ strategic planning and execution methods. In order to validate available literature on the topic of strategic planning (both biblical and secular), the author contributes a current survey dataset which validates the problem and highlights specific areas of potential improvement. This research successfully articulates the need for North American Southern Baptist Convention churches to focus on strategic planning. In analyzing the survey data, one is able to understand the cause-and-effect relationships between successful strategic planning and a church’s ability to optimize their ability to advance …

A Strategic Plan To Grow A Healthy New Church Start, Andrea Bernadette Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the health and spiritual maturity of a new startup church, namely People of Destiny Healing and Deliverance Ministries (PODHDM) and identify ways in which PODHDM can grow spiritually and numerically, in the 21st century. The thesis will supply characteristics of a healthy church from the writer’s viewpoint, and from suggestions by notable scholars. The thesis will also explore hindrances to church growth, looking through the lenses of the church, as well as scholars, and provide insights and strategies to foster healthy church growth. This study will suggest that Sunday sermons are not …

Incorporating Wisdom Christology Into The Phronesis Of Courtyard Church Of Christ, Tiffany A. Dahlman

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to address an identified problem Courtyard Church of Christ members were having with decision-making in a way that promoted shalom and reflected Christ to the world. I proposed that Wisdom Christology could assist in the decision-making process and formed an intervention team of five additional people from within the congregation to explore the situation through participatory action research. We met for six sessions in the early months of 2020. The team embarked on a thorough examination of Wisdom Christology through the Scriptures climaxing in the Wisdom Hymn of Col 1:15–20. Our subsequent collective understanding …

Multi-Site Church : Best Practices To Launch And Sustain Multi-Site, Brandon Beals

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Healthy Pastor : Surviving In Ministry Without Losing Your Soul, Terry L. Roberts

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Evangelism Through Online Gaming : Communicating To Gen Z Beyond The Church Walls, Michael A. Mcmullen

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Holistic Pastoral Care In Dhading District : An Evaluation Of The Pastoral Care Practice In Dhading District Of Nepal, Yohannan Thomas

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Five-Fold Paradigm : Effects Of The Five-Fold Experimential Course Equip, Nathaniel Dean Mcwherter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Shallow Well Church: A Biblical Direction, Eric Paul Burmahl

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The author of this thesis project aims to address the need for the deacons of Shallow Well Church to be trained in first-order doctrines of the Christian faith and the biblical church leadership model prescribed in Acts 6. With the development and implementation of the Deacon Training Manual, the deacons of Shallow Well Church will increase in the knowledge of God and rightly understand the roles of elders and deacons in the local church. Ultimately, through the training and help from God, the church will move from its current denomination which differs in doctrinal beliefs from Shallow Well Church. In …

What In The World Is Research?, Tim Sensing

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Doctor of Ministry projects engage in robust field research involving data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Often, DMin students are entering the world of a social science field researcher for the first time. Words like “research”, “Institutional Review Boards”, and the non-sequitur “non-research,” fall outside the common vocabularies of even the professors. Navigating the language so one is not lost in translation fosters researcher confidence.

Developing Ethical Training Curriculum For University Short-Term Missions, Elizabeth P. Sutphin

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

This thesis addresses common problems associated with short-term mission (STM) trips and the gaps in existing training materials for these trips. The research throughout this project is designed to inspire community-specific training materials for college students participating in domestic STM trips through their universities. The final chapter of this thesis includes the framework for a sample curriculum to promote sustainable STM work — providing cross-cultural communication techniques and relationship-building tools to avoid harming the communities students seek to serve.

Leonard Ginther Wymore Papers, 1909-2010, Leonard Ginther Wymore

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Restory Your Church, Mark Youngman

Doctor of Ministry

This project provides a framework for churches at a turning point or near closure to “ReStory” and consider legacy options for their future including a restart, repurpose, or reallocation of resources. This is the key insight of this project: Churches that tell their past and present stories are well positioned to stay connected to a future vision that meets the needs of the community through creative and innovative means.

I am a pastor in the Tennessee Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church. In this context, I have witnessed the closure of dozens of churches in both urban and …

The 835 Weekend: A Model For Recruitment Of Generation Z Entrepreneurs Toward Church Planting In Europe, Mark Good

Doctor of Ministry

The continent of Europe, once a center of spiritual renewal and missionary mobilization, has now become a gospel desert. The need for church planting is acute. The means to address this need is partly through the deployment of church planting teams, yet there is a dearth of both European and expatriate missionary young adults ready to take up this charge. Generation Z entrepreneurs must be successfully engaged and recruited to meet the need for pioneering career church planters among the least reached peoples of Europe. The key insights discovered regarding recruitment of Generation Z to missionary careers come from the …

Bridging The Gap Between Orthodoxy And Orthopathy In The Life Of The Reformed Pastor, Daniel Mckinney

Doctor of Ministry

What if Reformed pastors cared about every aspect of their humanity with the same passion they care about their doctrine? When we think about the health of the reformed pastor, we tend to think mainly in terms of our orthodoxy. From 2018-2022 I have witnessed the most orthodox of pastors fall into marital unfaithfulness, resign due to relational conflict, and suffer from burnout. All of this within the state of Utah, where there are only 7 PCA churches. Therefore, there is a need to bridge the gap between Reformed Theology and the emotional, spiritual, and relational health in pastors of …

The Banner - V. 157, No. 4 - (April 2022), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

No abstract provided.

Prayer, Leadership, And Church Planting Movements : Learning From The Prayer-Lives Of Western Renewal Movements And Their Leaders, Matthew Porter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sacred Business: Outlining Business As Mission For The Fulfillment Of The Great Commission, Eli Jackson

Senior Honors Theses

Business as Mission (BAM) is the operation of a for-profit business located in a cross-cultural setting and aimed toward the fulfillment of the great commission. This definition reveals four key success factors for BAM: support, financial and otherwise, for both the business and the missionaries; the ability to gain access to cross-cultural settings; the opportunity to advance the gospel; and the requirement of managing both missional and business goals. Examining each of these areas, along with the historical effectiveness of BAM, reveals that BAM is an efficient and effective missional strategy, which should be used to see the Great Commission …

Creating Harmony Through A Unified Definition Of Discipleship, Dereck S. Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is difficult to function as one unified group in an association of churches where autonomy is central. The ninety-one churches that call Converge Northeast their association desire to start churches, strengthen them, and send people into the harvest field. However, this group of capable churches and leaders has been unable to sustain church health, lacking church growth. After bringing in new leadership, there has been a resurgence of relationship building and vision casting. What might this group of churches need to become vibrant disciple-making churches? Unity among autonomous churches will require that leaders are on the same page and …

Applying Biblical Teaching To Resolve Power Struggles Between The Pastor And Deacons In A Southern Baptist Church, Jason Oneal Sweeton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As the Body of Christ, each person within the church must know their role and responsibility, especially the leadership. The Bible teaches that there are pastors, elders, and bishops referring to one office who have been given the authority to shepherd, or lead as it were, the church. The Bible teaches that deacons are an integral part of the church. They are to be servants in the church and minister to the needs of the congregation. The purpose of this project lies in the misconceptions surrounding the roles and biblical responsibilities of both deacons and pastors. Many churches simply follow …

Exploring Perceptions About American Theological Institutions In Preparing Worship Pastors For Service, Phillip Sandifer

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the current and historical information available, highlighting the issues and considerations, regarding Worship Pastors in conservative evangelical churches and the preparatory work for service offered by theological educational institutions and that which is expected by their prospective employers. Stakeholders for this research are aspiring Worship Pastors, Churches (their prospective employers), and conservative, evangelical theological educational institutions.

In addition to the literature review, this qualitative phenomenological study involved interviews of 15 church Executive Pastors, 1 Pastor, 2 Worship Pastors, and the Director of a professional organization that consults Executive Pastors nationwide. Also examined were current curriculums of …

Writing Literature Reviews In Church-Based Research, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

Because of the knowledge explosion taking place, literature reviews in church-based research are needed more than ever. Summaries and syntheses of previous research make this knowledge available to practitioners and help researchers focus on what remains unknown. In contrast to empirical studies, literature reviews rely on previously published studies to make conclusions and advance theory. These studies may include both church-based research and more general research that is not particularly Christian. In contrast to meta-analyses which focus on synthesizing statistical information, literature reviews focus on conceptual synthesis and theory advancement. To write a literature review, authors must first choose a …

Leadership: Essential For A Church To Grow Numerically And Spiritually, Steven L. Estes

Great Commission Research Journal

This article relates the spiritual gift of leadership (Rom. 12:8) to numerical church growth. Scripture presents spiritually gifted leaders as those who received authority from God and had knowledge of his will for his people. Biblical leaders delegated effectively and encouraged those who were given tasks to accomplish. The overall scope of biblical teaching on leadership indicates that pastors/elders should have the gift of leadership. Allowing those who qualify and have the gift of leadership to emerge is crucial for the health of a church.

The Continuity Mindset For Christian Mission, Jack T. Davison

Great Commission Research Journal

Missionaries from the Global North regularly serve as trainers for Christians in the Global South. From personal experience, missionaries are regularly seen as being qualified to do this work simply because of their position. Rather than missionaries assuming they are competent purely on the basis of their titles, I believe they should instead practice the Continuity Mindset for Christian Mission, a mindset that emphasizes the continuity of one’s identity and ministry in one’s home culture with one’s identity and ministry in the host culture. This practice includes elements of vulnerable mission, nonresidential mission, tentmaking, cultural intelligence, and authentic leadership. I …

About The Great Commission Research Network Spring 2022, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

The Sinner’S Prayer: An Inappropriate Ritual For Thai Christian Culture And A Suggested Replacement, Kelly M. Hilderbrand

Great Commission Research Journal

The practice of encouraging seekers to say the sinner’s prayer has become commonplace in Thailand. However, the practice is relatively recent and has developed out of Western individualistic assumptions. It is not an explicitly biblical practice and has serious practical problems, producing decisions for Christ that often do not result in a long-term commitment to Christianity. The practice also runs counter to many Thai cultural norms and can be harmful to evangelism and discipleship in Thailand. This article suggests a different approach, the prayer challenge.

Great Commission Research Journal Spring 2022, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Qu(E)Erying Evangelism: Growing A Community From The Outside In, Cheri Dinovo

WLU Press Books

“Qu(e)erying Evangelism: Growing a Community from the Outside In” is a look at the true meaning of evangelism. Evangelism is not growth or marketing and is not the ‘work’ of Christians converting others but instead is the calling of those who have been ‘othered’ converting those inside Churches. It is the act of the Divine through the marginalized from the outside/in.

The ‘others’ include 2SLGBTQ who have been, in many instances, abandoned by Churches. It gives the example of both a Church in downtown Toronto, the site of the first legalized same sex marriage in Canada and of Riverside Church …

Can Christians Be Possessed By Evil Spirits?, Kelvin Onongha

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

In the African ministry context, accusations of demon possession are commonplace. It would appear that every strange, bizarre, or abnormal form of behavior is attributed to demon possession. Unfortunately, in many cases there is a very thin line between occurrences of mental disorder and demonization. This is because the symptoms in several instances are quite similar, and the precursors may be quite complex. For these reasons, another article in this issue sought to address the issue of discerning whether certain conditions were caused by mental disorders or demonization.

In addition, the predisposition to regard every unexplained behavior as having a …