Digital Commons Network^™

Youth Ministry Curriculum Developing Korean American Youth's Christ-Centered Identity, Jonathan Hyung Lee

Doctor of Leadership

In this Project Portfolio, I will address the following NPO: High school students growing up in Korean American immigrant churches need a culturally and ethnically reflective youth curriculum to help them grow in their Christ-centered identity. The overall insight from this research is that there is a lack of youth pastors and youth directors available for the emerging second and third-generation Korean American youths who want to grow in their faith and identity. Although they have attended church since birth, they are growing up without a proper spiritual mentoring relationship that can help them become deeply rooted in faith. They …

The Theological Praxis Of Developing Relationships And Empowering Voices Within The Community: A Practical Method For The Church To Reflect On And Participate In The Kin-Dom Of God., Chase Burns

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Rev. Chase Hunter Burns April 2023

The Theological Praxis of Developing Relationships and Empowering Voices Within the Community: A Practical Method for the Church to Reflect on and Participate in the Kin-dom of God.

Jesus calls his disciples to follow his teachings of being ambassadors of God’s love, developing relationships beyond social barriers, and working toward peace, reconciliation, and equality. This dissertation explains the process of theological praxis – a means of developing relationships, peace, reconciliation, and equality within the local community.

This dissertation aims to promote a theological structure for transformative “Praxis.” This theological structure provides a means for …

Future Teachers Of The Lake Union, Beverly Matiko

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Sunscreen Is Not Just For White People: Church-Based Sunscreen Education For Black Women, Lauren Mitchell

DNP Projects

Significance and Background: African American women are an undeserved population in healthcare, particularly regarding skin cancer prevention. The lack of education and misinformation surrounding skin cancer has resulted in general mistrust of the healthcare system amongst African Americans. Proper education on sunscreen use and skin cancer screening is essential to prevent late diagnosis of skin cancer and to promote prevention efforts.

Purpose: This quality improvement project utilized evidence-based practice to provide education on the proper use of sunscreen and skin cancer screening to African American women in a faith-based setting in Southern Connecticut.

Methods: A pre-survey was conducted to assess …

Growing And Declining Churches Face Different Challenges: A Statistical Analysis Of The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches Study, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

The data behind the study The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches (Moody, 2023) is presented and analyzed with a focus on differences between growing churches and non-growing churches. Church leaders (N = 129) indicated how difficult they believed it would be for North American churches to overcome 50 potential challenges. For most challenges, no significant difference between the church leaders from growing and non-growing churches was detected. However, church leaders from non-growing churches viewed 1) attractiveness of programs, 2) retaining young adults, 3) youth programs, 4) small group participation, and 5) effective strategy as more difficult challenges to overcome than …

Finding Them, Keeping Them – Strategies For Evangelism And Assimilation: A Review Of The Books Written By Gary L. Mcintosh, Gordon E. Penfold

Great Commission Research Journal

A short review of each of the twenty-seven books by Gary L. McIntosh traces the development of the author’s thought up to his latest release in January 2023. This review demonstrates that McIntosh’s passion is to see churches and Christian leaders apply classical biblical church growth principles in their ministry contexts. His passion for reaching and assimilating new people, and for developing Christian leaders to carry out Christ’s Great Commission with a Great Commandment passion permeates each book. The breadth and depth of his knowledge are demonstrated in his many volumes with little overlap in their subject matter. His works …

Great Commission Research Journal Spring 2023, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Young Adult Attrition In The American Church: The Suspected Causes And Suggested Cures, Randall M. Morrow

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Young adults in America today are deciding that the Church is no longer relevant, so they are choosing to drop out in increasing numbers. Their disaffiliation from communities of faith is also harming their personal faith. This observation is irrespective of Church denominations; their exodus occurs in most faith groups, including Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, and Pentecostal/Charismatic denominations. Consequently, the future vitality of the Church is threatened. Why does this problem exist, and what can be done to intervene and change the downward trajectory? What should Christian parents and ministry leaders do differently to achieve a higher retention rate of …

My Pilgrimage In Church Growth, Gary L. Mcintosh

Great Commission Research Journal

A short autobiography by Gary McIntosh focusing on his role in the Church Growth Movement

The Beacon, March 31, 2023, Beacon Staff

The Beacon, 2022-2023

Unsung Heroes: Sherry Lang; The best of NW campus pranks; Cyrus's artistry not an endless trip; Film depicts America's spiritual awakening; A celebration of a century of theatre; Annual dance concert shows students' creativity; Environment importance in April: Earth Month; Using teaching experiences to serve with NEXT; Students enjoy the places of Orange City; The lovely pranks of NW; Should Women Be Pastors?; Why Hockey is the Best Sport; Dykstra and Vandersall Lead NWC Athletics; NW and Mayhem in the Middle of March; Double Trouble and Single Swingle on the Court; Engaging illusion show wows audiences; Battle continues for bragging …

Minter Lane Church Of Christ Records, 1951-2004, Minter Lane Church Of Christ

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

No abstract provided.

The Bison, March 23, 2023

The Bison Newspapers

No abstract provided.

A Gentle Whisper: Restorying The Narrative Of Eleven Ministers To Create A Collective Voice In The Battle Against Burnout, Darrel Sears

DMin Project Theses

This March 2023 Doctor of Ministry project thesis at Lipscomb University investigates how there has been much research poured into the subject of burnout over the last fifty years and how its effects take a toll on an employee’s emotional, physical, and mental health. Burnout is especially prevalent in helping professions like human services, nursing, social work, psychology, and criminal justice to name a few. Vocational ministry, also a helping profession, has received its fair share of attention pertaining to burnout. Countless hours and hard work concerning stress management, clergy outpatient therapy, emotional contagions, self-care practices, spiritual-care practices, and a …

The Digital Pulpit: Having Church When You Can't Have Church, Joshua W. Hall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique difficulties and challenges across the globe. Churches responded to these challenges in different ways. At Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, where the researcher serves, the physical church buildings were closed and physical worship services suspended in favor of online services. This arrangement persisted for ten weeks. After reopening the physical church building for in-person services, average church attendance had decreased, church giving had increased, and spiritual formation had taken place. This research aimed to address the reason as to why these challenging conditions produced such unexpected results. To achieve this, the researcher utilized a series of …

Mrs. Gracie M. Mincey

African American Funeral Programs

Mrs_Grace_M_ Mincey.pdf - Funeral program for Mrs. Gracie M. Mincey

Teaching High School Students An Apologetic Curriculum On Relativism, Ryan G. Willert

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to develop and teach an apologetic curriculum on relativism to the high school students at Eastern Hills Church. The research project will measure the student's prior knowledge of relativism and show that an apologetic curriculum on the topic can be used in order to grow their knowledge of the worldview that inhabits their generation. There were twenty total student participants. Eight total male students ranging from 9th grade to the 12th grade level. There were twelve female students ranging from the 9th grade to the 11th grade level. Each student was given …

Korean American Young Adults: Spiritual And Emotional Formation Though Art, Hesed Lee

Doctor of Ministry

It is a well-known phenomenon in America that many young adults are disengaged from the Church, at the same time they are battling internal emotional conflicts while trying to understand their faith journey. Even though most of them grew up in the Church, participated in church programs, and learned about God, they are anxious, lonely, and struggling to discover their spiritual identity. What then, what are we missing? After conducting an anonymous online survey with Korean American young adults and gathering narrative research from Korean American young adults as well as Asian American English Ministry pastors, this paper explores the …

Practicing Presence: How The Local Church Should Target Poverty Of Solidarity With Their Neighborhood’S Youth, Sarah Lowder

Theology Undergraduate Work

A high school student attends a youth group at a local church in his neglected neighborhood. He participates in Bible studies, youth group events, and experiences an altar-call moment to accept Christ into his heart. The church was there to help him live like Christ and grow spiritually. He gets to know God at an early age through the church; however, as he graduates high school, the connection with the church starts to dwindle. One day, he finds himself in jail, still struggling with his life's physical, mental, and social factors. This is the true story of Nick, a young …

Using Tonga Proverbs In Presenting Biblical Concepts, Johan Siachibila

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

The Tonga tribe, located in the Southern part of Zambia, is rich in cultural communication. The Tonga people often use proverbs to communicate important ideas with each other, to solve problems among themselves, during common conversations, and when teaching Tonga children. They also are proud that their proverbs are a source of wisdom, with every phase of life having important proverbs attached to them. The Tongas have more than 500 proverbs, however, in this article I will only look at some of them to illustrate how they could be used in presenting biblical principles in the Tonga cultural setting. This …

The Echo: February 27, 2023, Taylor University

2022-2023 (Volume 110)

No abstract provided.

The Efficacy Of Shared Spiritual Practices Toward The Formation Of Families At Mayfair Church Of Christ In Huntsville, Alabama, Matthew P. Flynn

DMin Project Theses

This February 2023 Doctor of Ministry project thesis at Lipscomb University presents the results of a qualitative research study of the efficacy of shared spiritual practices in the formation of families at Mayfair Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama. Once a week for six weeks, I met with six Mayfair families with adolescents, where they were able to learn about and practice spiritual disciplines consistently together over the course of six weeks. The selected disciplines engaged different God-given human faculties intended to unite us with God and with each other. After each session, families were then invited to practice the …

The Loft: Where Gen Z Goes To Build Relationships And Discover Spiritual Truths, Jeremy S. Deweerdt

Doctor of Ministry

It is an alarming but indisputable fact that the vast majority of Generation Z, specifically those between ages 18 and 25, are not attending and/or not interested in the faith or beliefs of the American Protestant Church today. Studies show that the Western Christian church is losing touch with an entire generation and that reality is the driving force behind this research project. We know from research conducted for this Doctoral Project, as well as from multiple academic and sociological studies that members of Generation Z are often interested in spirituality but are either ignorant or highly skeptical of organized …

Unlocking Potential: The School-To-Prison Pipeline For Students With Disabilities, Navena F. Chaitoo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research uses quasi-experimental, matched sampling to examine the school-to-prison pipeline for students with disabilities using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. This study presents novel insights into an at-risk group that has faced disproportionate rates of school discipline and incarceration. The study finds school suspension to be associated with future involvement in the criminal legal system and lower educational attainment. Disability was not found to mediate the relationship between suspension and future involvement in the criminal legal system or the relationship between suspension and academic outcomes. However, disability was found to be a statistically …

Columns Spring 2023, Southern Adventist University

Alumni Newsletter

Features information about early childhood education, small business endeavors, service opportunities, and the dedication of land for the future School of Business facility.

The Nature Of A Small Town Church In Granville, Ohio., Portia Brackley

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Language Translation In Localizing Religious Musical Practice, John Macinnis, Jeremy Perigo

Books by Dordt Authors

The focus of this Special Issue is language translation in the process of localizing religious musical practice. As an alternative to related concepts (such as contextualization and indigenization), musical localization is presented by ethnomusicologists Monique Ingalls, Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersberg, and Zoe Sherinian in Making Congregational Music Local in Christian Communities Worldwide (Routledge, 2018) as an effective way to account for the complex, diverse, and shifting ways in which religious communities embody what it means to be local through their musical practices: "Musical localization is the process by which Christian communities take a variety of musical practices - some considered 'indigenous, …

Meet Rachel Gaura: Gardner-Webb’S Newest Tucker Scholar, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Gardner-Webb University’s 2022 Tucker Scholar, Rachel Gaura of Chapin, S.C., is known for her willingness to serve her church, school and community with a caring spirit and humble nature. The teacher who nominated her for the Tucker Heart, Soul Mind and Strength Scholarship described how Gaura was the perfect representative of GWU’s most prestigious award.

Democracy For Some: Greek-American Institutions And The Greek Junta, 1967-1974, Olga Koulisis

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

In 1967 a military junta took over Greece, silencing the democratic process in Democracy’s birthplace with the tacit approval of Democracy’s heir apparent, the United States of America. The tolerance, if not support, of Greek-American institutions to the establishment of the Greek Junta and the U.S. government’s support for that regime offers a case study of why democratic publics accept, if not bolster, their own government’s support for anti-democratic regimes. This case offers an intriguing juxtaposition because of the historical claims that U.S., Greek, and Greek diaspora identities make on democratic practice and commitment. This study examines how junta-tolerant Greek …

An Order (Rlte) Of Christian Initiation Of Adults Handbook For Directors, Coordinators And Team Ministers, Patricia M. Dudas

Master of Theological Studies Honors Theses

Vatican II called for a renewal of evangelization, catechesis, and liturgical celebration. The Catholic Church then wrote new rites for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). To help OCIA ministers get started with group formation on the journey of faith resulting in conversion and transformation of lives, an OCIA Handbook was written that explains how best to catechize: to discuss the Scripture with a focus on life experiences and Christian responses; to incorporate the Church’s doctrines and precepts; and, to involve more parishioners in the OCIA process to welcome new members and to reinvigorate the parish congregation’s faith.

80th Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectureship--Harbor: God Loves Forever (2023), Mike Cope

Pepperdine Bible Lectures: Programs

Program booklet for the 80th Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures, held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, May 2-5, 2023. The Pepperdine Bible Lectures is an annual event hosted by Pepperdine University featuring a wide variety of lectures and classes on topics and themes in the Bible and Christianity.

Mike Cope, Lectureship Director

Evan Woods, Rachel Higgins, and Tami Williamson, Lectures Team