Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Reviving A Dying Church: The Role Of Leadership, Jane Thayer

Faculty Publications

A pastor known for his church planting skills was brought into a declining/dying church in Maryland, USA, and with his leadership team, turned the church around in three-and-a-half years. A case study method was used to explore this pastor and congregation’s willingness to “pay the cost” to bring new people into the church. They focused on children’s ministry, evangelism, discipleship, prayer, small groups, meals, and vision—knowing why they engaged in each ministry.

Using Christ's Method: Reshaping Evangelism In Milton Keynes International Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Sampson Osei Aboagye

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Milton Keynes International Seventh-day Adventist Church (MKI) is not able to evangelize its multiethnic/multicultural neighbors. This is because individual members of the church consider evangelism to be an annual event where speakers are invited from abroad to hold two- or three-week campaigns. Despite the high cost involved in this method, few people are baptized and even then, it is difficult to retain the new members. The culprit is the church's inability to connect with its multiethnic and multicultural community because of not using the evangelistic method of Jesus Christ effectively.

Method

A total of six hours over four Sabbaths …

Programa De Capacitación Evangelística Para La Iglesia Adventista Hispana De Poughkeepsie, New York, Fernando Rosario Castro

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

An investigation conducted along with the church board revealed that the congregation has not had an evangelistic training program in the last 5 years. Consequently, only 5 of the 347 members are involved in the evangelistic work of the local community. An evangelistic training program has the potential to involve members fully equipped to evangelize the people in their community.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to develop an evangelistic training program to involve more church members in the evangelization of the community and to involve church members in holistic growth.

Methodology

This investigation belongs to the discipline …

An Evangelistic Approach To Children Of The Brantford Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Brantford, Canada, Alexander Gietsel

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Over the past five years (2015-2020) the Brantford Seventh-day Adventist Church has experienced a decline of baptism among young people ages 10-14. Some of them have been involved in church programs, and some have attended the local Christian school. According to Barna (2003a), children are more ready to accept Jesus at ages 10-14. At Brantford Seventh-day Adventist Church, this is the average range of the children. This church has more than 80 families and more than twenty-five children at that age group. After many of them leave for high school, they lose interest in baptism and in following Jesus. …

A Follow-Up Program For Public Evangelism Using Online Discipleship In The Indiana Conference, Eric Freking

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Traditional Adventist public evangelism in North America typically sees a large drop in attendance of new converts or potential converts shortly after the meetings end. I have personally held or been a part of around thirty evangelistic series in the past twenty years and have seen this pattern in each of them. The consequences are the loss of new or potential members, who, given more interaction with the evangelist, may assimilate into the church.

Method

An online discipleship program was created and launched in the Summer of 2020 in Indiana. Its purpose was to educate the participant on how …

Developing And Testing Concise Evangelistic Videos For Millennials And Generation Z In Columbia, Missouri, Hiram Rester

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Gathering an audience for evangelistic meetings has become increasingly difficult via traditional proclamation approaches. This challenge is even greater among young adults and has been observed where the researcher pastors in Columbia, Missouri. Research shows that technology has changed the way people choose to receive information. This is particularly true of Millennials and Generation Z. Additional strategies must be developed to meet the needs and demands of the digital age, especially by making use of concise online videos. Concise videos need to be developed and tested to aid in engaging with Millennials and Generation Z. Beyond that, it was …

To Make Man Whole: Towards A Strategy For Gospel-Centered, Comprehensive Health Evangelism, Kyle L. Allen

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Historically the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an evangelistically oriented movement. In harmony with this historical precedent, the evangelistic focus of the Church has included an emphasis on God’s plan to restore the whole person—to make people whole physically, mentally, and spiritually. This wholistic focus on evangelism is based on Christ’s method of a threefold ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. When this is the practice, many prejudicial barriers are reduced and the reception of the message the Church is called to share is made easier. Despite this focus, the evangelistic strategies of the Church have often not effectively integrated …

An Evangelism And Discipleship Pathway To Address The Cultural And Worldview Distance Between The Preston Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The White British Culture In Preston, Jeff Keith Couzins

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem.

The UK Preston Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North England Conference is a predominantly Black church situated in a White British city. The Church has seen a numerical increase of almost 25% since 2013, but only one person from this growth was from the majority culture population, a group who tend not to be attracted to traditional Adventist forms of evangelism. The hypothesis for this project, therefore, is that when the cultural and worldview distance between church members and individuals in society is reduced, it is easier for the Christian witness to then explain the Kingdom of God. Also, …

Developing A Discipleship Program For Chinese Speaking People To Create A Core Team For The “Abiding Christ Net” Via Zoom Video Conference, Sung Sub Song

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research (ASTR) data in December 2019 showed that among the 1.4 billion population in the Mainland China, there were 467,516 Adventist members, and the population per Adventist member ratio was about 3,000:1. Furthermore, there are about 50 million Chinese people living overseas. As a result, there is a great need to efficiently and effectively spread the Gospel to nearly 1.45 billion Chinese people around the world. In July 2020, the online Chinese discipleship network, ACN, was established to create a global Chinese discipleship network by connecting and utilizing Spirit-filled human resources, …

Increasing Effectiveness And Efficiency Through A Collaborative Evangelism Strategy Within The Georgia-Cumberland Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Victor Maddox

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

There were a number of organizations, ministries, and individuals throughout the Georgia-Cumberland Conference (GCC) territory engaged in various forms of evangelism which include health education, literature distribution, media presentations, community service, Bible instruction, etc. All had some level of success. Personal observations of these efforts revealed a redundancy in programing, uncoordinated planning, insufficient record-keeping, inadequate follow-up on interests generated, and failure to build upon the results of previous evangelistic meetings within the GCC.

Method

The goal was to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the evangelism process in the GCC through the coordination of evangelistic meetings between organizations, …

Toward A Post-Religious Urban Theology: The Missionary Movement Ethos In Secularized Contexts, Marcelo E. C. Dias

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"An urban theology should be the center of conversation with the current post-religious context that takes into serious consideration people’s search for meaning and the new spirituality in this age. Perhaps popular culture can give clues about contemporary meaning-making as well (Shannahan 2014:207-217). On the one side, history assures that an urban setting does not need to feel like a threat to the Christian faith. “Early Christianity was primarily an urban movement. The original meaning of the word pagan (paganus) was ‘rural person,’ or more colloquially ‘country hick.’ It came to have religious meaning because after Christianity had triumphed in …

Development And Implementation Of A Community-Based Health Evangelism Strategy At Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Tallahassee, Florida, Daphnis Ricardo

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist church desired to reach its community but did not have a strategic plan on how to do so. The lack of a strategic plan hindered the effectiveness of the church in making an impact in its neighborhood and left the members with a sense that they were not making a difference in their community. Initial observations done through formal talks with church leaders suggested that health ministry was a focus where their church had a strength and was a means by which to reach the neighborhood.

Method

The methods used were to develop a team …

An Approach To Discipleship To Create A Culture Of Evangelism In The Adventist Churches In St. Lucia, Caius Alfred

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In spite of an annual growth in membership, a significant number of Seventh-day Adventists in La Bayee and Vieux Fort are not engaged in personal evangelism. Although the members reported that they have a good relationship with Christ, one does not see the evidence of spiritual transformation that is expected of the believers (National Church Development, 2009). Neither is there the type of penetration of the Gospel in the work place, neighborhood, among friends and associate as it should be. Several attempts were made to address the problem but to no avail. The current state of things in the …

A Comprehensive Strategy For The Calgary Metropolitan Area Churches, Christopher L. Holland

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In my 16 years of ministry, in every location I have pastored, the church has struggled to connect with the surrounding community. In Calgary, there are 14 Seventh-day Adventist churches and companies. These churches have, on occasion, worked in unity for evangelism. However, according to several of the local pastors, that has not happened for over 10 years. If the churches in Calgary are to fulfill the Great Commission, an effective way of engaging the community is needed. Because the communities that surround churches are growing increasingly secular, comprehensive evangelistic strategies may be an effective way of reaching them. …

Using Social Media For Evangelism, S. Joseph Kidder

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Health And Social Ministries: A Holistic Approach To Ministering In Contemporary Society, Ezekiel Adeyemi Oyinloye

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

It has been observed for thirty years that Adventists conventional way of doing outreach ministries especially in the cities, fail to have expected response that fulfills goals. Attitudes of people are apathetic and reserved they stand aloof and are removed from sharing in what has been offered. They cannot be bothered. The inner city of Ibadan especially displays this type of attitude. Thus, inner city Ibadan has remained unentered by the Adventists since the inception of the Church in Ibadan a century ago. There is no single church of the Seventh-day Adventists in inner city Ibadan.

Method

A strategy …

An Introduction To The Process Of Re-Purposing The Fort Worth First Seventh-Day Adventist Church From Maintenance To Mission, Tyler Bower

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem. In 2008 the Fort Worth First Seventh-day Adventist church had nearly 200 filled volunteer positions (according to the nominating committee report) as well as a wide range of ministries that served the needs of the members. The weekly attendance at that time averaged between 220 and 250 individuals (including children). In a self-administered survey only 20 members (less than 10% of weekly adult attendance) reported that they were engaged in direct evangelistic ministry aimed at recruiting new members (accessions). A similar survey was filled out by ministry leaders and 58% of these ministry leaders reported that their ministry had …

A Strategy Of One-On-One Evangelism In The Nyamira Conference, William Ongaga

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Public evangelism has been a successful way of bringing converts to the church, and by using public address systems the church has been able to reach those who are afraid or too skeptical to come and sit in the meetings. Some have actually made a decision and have been baptized as a result of listening from a distance. But with time the public address systems have been misused with people complaining of noise pollution. This concern has forced the government to pass a bill in parliament banning loud noises in public places. This change calls into question the public …

Youth Evangelism, "Link2llife," A Strategy To Reach Postmodern Youth In Germany And Switzerland, Stephan Sigg

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In terms of cross-cultural mission youth are the most crucial group of people to be reached with the Gospel. From a theological, a sociological as well as a psychological point of view adolescence can be seen as the most receptive phase of life regarding the adoption and integration of faith, a coherent value system and a meaningful life narrative. The process of individuation in the adolescent years offers the biggest potential for both conversion and apostasy. Despite a professionalized youth ministry youth evangelism has never been high on the missional agenda of the Christian Church.

Method

The youth ministries …

Progama Para Evangelizar A Los Inmigrantes Hispanos De La Iglesia Adventista Del Septimo Dia De West Valley En Phoenix, Arizona, Enoc Marquez

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The West Valley Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, has the challenge to serve, evangelize and retain immigrant visitors that arrive to the church in search of attention and a remedy for their needs. The truth is that there is no structured program to achieve this goal. Because of this, the church was searching for a way to find strategies to serve them in such a way they feel welcome in the church and they are prepared to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior, and become members of a church. With this background in mind, the West Valley …

A Strategy To Evangelize The Members Of Siu San Wan Social Center For The Elderly In Hong Kong, Linda Muoi Tsui

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The number of senior citizens in Hong Kong is increasing. By 2036, approximately one-fourth of the population of Hong Kong will fall into the elderly category, representing a challenge to the government as well as to the church. However, there is a scarcity of research done on elderly evangelism and an accompanying dearth of literature on the topic, therefore there is a need for a research study on how to evangelize the elderly, to make a significant contribution to an increasingly important ministry of the church.

Method

A “Four-stage Elderly Evangelism Model” was developed and implemented to reach the …

A Training Program To Equip Local Churches For Small Group Evangelism In The East Ghana Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Kwasi Ansah-Adu

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many Adventists in the East Ghana Conference like others in the global church erroneously perceive ministry as limited to activities at the church premises on the Sabbath or specific programs or events like a three-week evangelistic series, rather than a lifestyle. Even so few participate in ministry leaving the bulk of the membership in the pew as spectators.

Method

My research was based on the study of the Bible, E. G. White counsels, literature on church growth, statistics on growth trends of the East Ghana Conference, and the church in Ghana, as well as my personal journey as a …

An Investigation Of Why The Christian Servant Leadership Model Is A Factor In Effective Evangelism And Retention Of Members At The Nakonde Mission District In Zambia, Frank M. Sikazwe

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Baptismal percentages are not marching with retention levels. The desire to meet baptism goals has slowly caused a shift in emphasis with more attention on winning souls than in keeping them. Comparing baptisms to losses for the Zambia Union Conference for the period 2001 to 2005 reveals that the annual retention rate drastically dropped while evangelistic initiatives and funding increased. This trend has caused an imbalance in evangelism. The current project will investigate this trend in order to determine its possible cause before providing solutions.

Method

I used ten focus groups with ten members each. After training, the researcher …

Creating A Relational Model Of Evangelism In The Texas Conference, John L. Dubosque Jr.

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist evangelism has attracted fewer postmodern Generations X and Y persons in the recent past due to a lack of understanding subgroup culture and the church’s tendency to accommodate only didactic preaching in a public evangelistic series. Complicating transformation are some Builders and Boomers who are resistive of the needed deep changes in public evangelism ministry which includes small groups. Researched principles that could readily be applied without alienating the older generations had to be field tested in six evangelistic campaigns in order to determine if success could be obtained in reaching Generations X and Y.

Method

Three …

Reaching The Indian Communities In Zambia: A Biblical Model Of Evangelism, John Shumba

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Statistics show that there are a significant number of Asian-Indians who are Zambian nationals. But the church in Zambia has not come up with a program to reach them with the gospel. Therefore, it is important to develop a biblical model of evangelism to reach the Indian communities.

Method

Studies were conducted using available data to obtain information on the social, religious, cultural, and political milieu of the Indian communities in order to develop a modality for cross-cultural mission based on missiological principles and social science disciplines.

Results

Results indicate that there is need for a training program to …

A Friendship Evangelism Seminar For The Bladensburg Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Marcellus Tyrone Robinson

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Members of the Bladensburg Seventh-day Adventist Church expressed a desire establish closer bonds within the congregation and community. The lack of close friendships within the church fellowship led to several members transferring to other area churches. Later, an interest survey revealed the congregation wanted to participate in friendship evangelism. In response to the desire of members to form closer friendships and to engage in friendship evangelism, the purpose of this study is to develop a seminar of friendship evangelism for the Bladensburg Seventh-day Adventist Church that will enable members to identify, understand, and form friendships within the church fellowship …

Los Medios De Comunicación Masiva En La Evangelización Adventista En Texas, Daniel Sosa

Professional Dissertations DMin

The mission Jesus entrusted to the church, “Go and make disciples,” is not yet accomplished. To solve this problem, mass media communications can be used, especially in Hispanic churches. At all times, God has communicated with created beings. This communication has taken many shapes, culminating in the coming of God’s Son to earth. However, the Bible is the most accessible form to human beings in the twenty-first century.

Adventist pioneers used the secular press as well as the publication of their own books and periodicals, both before and after the disappointment of October 22, 1844. The Adventist Church has taken …

Training Members In The Greenwich Seventh-Day Adventist Church Towards A More Effective Sharing Of The Gospel, Terry Messenger

Professional Dissertations DMin

The Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Britain is clergy dependant and as a result the Church is not growing as fast as it could be. Members of the Church are not proficient or confident in leading a person to Jesus.

The Method

A personal profile has been established so it can be seen that much of this project arises out of my own personality and spiritual characteristics. A profile of the Greenwich community as well as the church has been established through research, interviewing, and data gathering from kept records. A Task Force Team (TFT) has been set up …

Development Of An Evangelism Model For The Silver Springs Shores Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Creaton Leopold Francis

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

From 1994 to 2003, the Silver Springs Shores Seventh-day Adventist Church in Florida had difficulty attracting and retaining members despite yearly evangelistic crusades and other efforts at soul winning. The purpose of this project was to develop and introduce a plan designed in response to this challenge, one tailored toward the specific needs of the Silver Springs Shores Church.

Method

In order to develop a model that would specifically address the needs of Silver Springs Shores Seventh-day Adventist Church, a thorough demographic study of the local community was conducted. The project entailed a feasibility study of the community and …

A Discipleship Model For Evangelism In Northeast Brazil, Emilio Abdala Dutra

Professional Dissertations DMin

Churches in Northeast Brazil (NB), including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, have been growing rapidly. Their numerical growth is phenomenal by any estimation. However, these churches are growing numerically and not in depth. We see a discipleship deficit among new believers in the form of a high rate of backdoor losses, unawareness of the meaning and duties of discipleship, spiritually undisciplined members, absence of intentional relationships to share faith, biblical illiteracy, and lack of church fellowship. How can churches in Northeast Brazil grow in quality, reproducing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ?

Method

Current literature related to the problem was reviewed, …