Religion Commons^™

Let The Little Children Come To Me: A Developmental Discipleship Model, Ben Martin

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

T his paper demonstrates the need for intentional, age-appropriate discipleship. It lays out a model based on developmental research from educators, psychologists, and theologians. This Developmental Discipleship Model provides a holistic approach for children and youth that equips and empowers parents, teachers, ministry leaders, and pastors to work together for the discipleship of the next generation by giving them a framework that reaches across ministry lines.

Mentoring Youth In A Digital World: Integrating Technology For Effective Discipleship, Aundrea Thompson

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

In the digital age, technology significantly impacts the worldview and spiritual lives of youth, creating new challenges and opportunities for discipleship. This paper explores how faith leaders can integrate digital tools like social media, online platforms, and apps into youth mentorship to foster spiritual growth. While technology offers opportunities to engage with youth where they are, it also presents challenges like information overload, distractions, and online misinformation. By adapting Biblical mentoring models to digital spaces, mentors can build authentic relationships, break geographical barriers, and create meaningful, flexible, and creative discipleship experiences. The paper provides strategies for leveraging digital platforms to …

Discipling Pathfinders, John Nebare

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Mentorship And Peer-Led Initiatives In Fostering Spiritual Growth Among Youth, Nelson A. Orkoh

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

T his study explores the role of mentorship and peer-led initiatives in fostering spiritual growth among Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) youth, drawing insights from the epistle of 1 John. Adolescence presents spiritual challenges due to societal pressures, media influences, and peer expectations. The research highlights mentorship as providing spiritual guidance and intergenerational learning, while peer-led initiatives promote mutual encouragement and accountability. The study evaluates program effectiveness, challenges, and solutions using a case study survey approach among 61 Ghanaian SDA youth, ages 15–25. Findings reveal high engagement in mentoring and peer-led church activities. The study recommends structured mentorship programs, leadership training, and …

Discipleship Includes Both Acceptance And Change, Steve Case

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Discipleship—following Jesus—includes both acceptance and change. Acceptance from Christ transforms the orientation of humans to follow the God who initiates and completes our acceptance. But discipleship also involves change—sometimes radical and sometimes gradual. The transformation that began with acceptance continues with change. An emphasis of one over the other, or worse, ignoring or denying one of these two dynamics, results in a skewed discipleship. Both acceptance and change remain supernatural actions in the God-human relationship of discipleship.

Focus Group: Administrators, Nelson Silva, Pedro Perez, Tracy Wood

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Facilitated by Nelson Silva, Pedro Perez, and Tracy Wood.

Participants included: Cris Cazarine, Exton Clarke, Raul Gonzalez, Roberto Gonzalez, Lamarre Guerrier, Andrew Nugent, Zack Payne, Christian Ponciano, Hector Quinones, Daniel Romanov, Christian Ronalds, Brian Seewaldt, Ron Whitehead, and Tracy Wood.

Focus Group: Practitioners, Ron Pickell, Sonja Cartwright

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Facilitated by Ron Pickell and Sonja Cartwright.

Participants included: Keith Acker , Pedro Albeiteris, Luis Aviles, Cris Cazarine, Lamarre Guerrier, Zira Lalanzira, Vidal Mendoza, John Nebare, Roldanardy Norelus, Manny Ojeda, Tamara Pierre, Freddy Rodriguez, Eli Rojas Jr., Don Tamayo.

Summary, Steve Case

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Practicing The Way: Be With Jesus, Become Like Him, Do As He Did, By John Mark Comer, Steve Case

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Partnering Church And Home: Discipleship For The Next Generation, By Denise Muir Kjesbo, Shelley Henning, And Luz Gálvez De Figueroa, Nelson Silva

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Imaginative Prayer: A Yearlong Guide For Your Child’S Spiritual Formation, By Jared Patrick Boyd, Steve Case

Journal of Adventist Youth and Young Adult Ministries

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Impact Of The Rejuvenation Project In Local Church Communities, Caleb Stayton

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Conversations That Matter : Discerning And Responding To Prevenient Grace In Evangelistic Practice Among Australian Nazarenes, Richard H. Giesken

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Neo-Monastic Invitation : A Rule For Church Multiplication In South Georgia, Andrew Robert Anderson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Spiritual Gentrification Amid The Rise Of Platform Urbanism: "Wanghong Temples" And Emerging Buddhist Cultural Economies In Tianzhu Road, Hangzhou, China, Han Zhang, Junxi Qian, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This study scrutinizes how the Tianzhu Road in the Lingyin Community - a peri-urban area in Hangzhou ringed by a cluster of temples that constitutes a distinct spiritual enclave - has been reworked through a two-phase gentrification process driven by the spiritual aesthetics and platform logics. Drawing on a two-month ethnography and media content analysis, this study conceptualizes spiritual gentrification as a spiritual aesthetics and culture-oriented recalibration of urban space in which spiritual elements operate as symbolic capital, attracting culturally motivated entrepreneurs and aligning the spiritual atmosphere with slow-life values as an alternative to urban modernity. In particular, platform urbanism …

Redefining The Mother Wound: Marianism, The Church, And Communal Mothering In Las Madres: Latinas In The Heartland Who Led Their Family To Success, Maria R. Loya-Pérez

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis reconsiders the restrictive role assigned to Mexican mothers that is perpetuated by the Church and Marianism, and how those restrictions are liberated by communal mothering. In examining how a Mexican mother is expected to act based on cultural expectations, I analyze the stories of three real mothers from the familial autobiography Las Madres: Latinas in the Heartland Who Led Their Family to Success. I analyze three mothers, the matriarch Candelaria, her daughter Rafaela, and her daughter Irene to better understand how the Church and Marianism has restricted them based on the experiences of Candelaria. These restrictions when placed …

Navigating Faith And Sexuality: Christian Pastors' Experiences In Providing Pastoral Care For Lgbtq+ Youth, Keith I. Raymond

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Within the Christian context, religion and sexuality are often cultural factors that shape the identity development of LGBTQ+ youth, with congregational stance (affirming, tolerant, non–affirming) and individual religiosity/spirituality serving as protective or risk factors (Crockett et al., 2018; Raedel et al., 2020; Yarhouse & Sadusky, 2021). Christian pastors’ theology, relational ministry approach, and pastoral skills influence how they engage with and care for queer youth, yet the professional ties between pastors and LGBTQ+ youth remain underrepresented in counseling literature. Guided by queer theory, this qualitative case study examined how Christian pastors understand and navigate pastoral care for LGBTQ+ youth within …

Chaplains In Khaki: Methodist Soldiers In Camp, On The Field, And On The March, H. K.

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

Juanita Stout Ray: Life On The Frontier, A 20th Century Latter-Day Saint Woman's Life, Karen Glenn, John Murphy, Elspeth Rayback-Maxwell, Hallie Davidson

Faculty Publications

This exhibit explores the life of Juanita Stout Ray (1891-1954), a Latter-day Saint woman whose journals, letters, photographs, and family records provide a rare and intimate view of women's experiences in the early twentieth-century American West. Born in southern Utah and raised in a polygamous family, Ray spent part of her childhood in the Mormon colonies of northern Mexico before her family fled during the Mexican Revolution. Her life was shaped by many of the defining events of her era, including revolution, pandemic, economic hardship, world war, migration, and profound personal loss.

The exhibit traces Ray's experiences as a teacher, …

Field Notes: Introducing Godly Play In Cross-Cultural Contexts: Notes From A Short-Term Mission Trip In Kenya, Shannon Clarkson Rains

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This field note explores the use of Godly Play in a short-term mission context in Kitale, Kenya. It focuses on the author’s experience using this method to limit the temptation to impose one’s own theological and cultural interpretation when teaching Bible stories. While Godly Play emphasizes open-ended wondering, participants often hesitated to respond, reflecting familiarity with didactic learning environments. The study highlights how prior knowledge, language, and adult mediation influence theological engagement. It argues that pedagogy itself is culturally embedded and offers practical implications for cross-cultural ministry, including the need for cultural awareness, translator preparation, and realistic expectations for short-term …

Developing Leadership In Ghanaian Churches Of Christ: Problems, Principles, And Proposals, Francis Brown, Nathan Bills

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This article explores the need for leadership development in the Churches of Christ in Ghana, focusing on Church of Christ congregations in Teshie. It highlights persistent challenges, including the lack of spiritual maturity, structure, and contextualization. To meet these challenges, this article emphasizes principles and practices of discipleship, intentional training, and cultural relevance. This study contributes to a broader understanding of ecclesial leadership of the Churches of Christ within African Christian contexts and suggests practical pathways for strengthening leadership in similar congregations.

Witness Beyond Technique: Gospel, Conversion, And The Moral Formation Of The Church, Christopher Flanders

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Technique, efficiency, and measurable outcomes typically govern contemporary Western approaches to evangelism. Such approaches presume a thin account of the gospel, a punctiliar understanding of conversion, and an instrumental view of the church’s witness. This article argues that these assumptions represent not merely pragmatic missteps but theological distortions. Drawing on Scripture, historical theology, missiology, and practices of Christian initiation, I contend that evangelism is best understood as ecclesial witness oriented toward the moral formation of persons and communities under the reign of God. Conversion, on this account, is not a discrete decision secured through persuasive technique but a transformative journey …

Candi Perwara Pada Percandian Ijo, Plaosan Lor, Dan Plaosan Kidul: Sebuah Kajian Arsitektur Dan Tinjauan Inskripsi, Dwi Ratna Sylvia Widyahastuti, Agus Aris Munandar

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Temple or Candi are sacred Hindu and Buddhist buildings constructed in accordance with the prescriptions of the Vāstuśāstra, including subsidiary temple or candi perwara. This study examines the candi perwara of the Ijo, Plaosan Lor, and Plaosan Kidul Temple Complex to analyze their technical aspects, religious functions, and chronological positions within their respective temple complexes. Employing a descriptive-comparative method and a historical-archaeological approach supported by epigraphical review, the research identifies similarities in the roof forms and ornamental reliefs. Differences are observed in ground plans, stone materials, construction systems, vestibule, base forms, body variations, …

Redefining Certainty: Non-Euclidean Geometry And Theology Transformation Throughout The Intellectual Unrest Of The Early 1800s, Luke Bensinger

Honors Theses

To bridge the gap between mathematics and theology, it is necessary to explore their intersection and challenge the notion that these fields are incompatible. This study focuses on the 19th century, a period when non-Euclidean geometries emerged and disrupted mathematical certainty, while Protestant theologians such as Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell grappled with Calvinism and shifting theological perspectives. By analyzing mathematicians studying geometry, such as Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Riemann, this research examines how both disciplines balance change with enduring truths.

Sacred Steps: Walking, Religion, And The Path To Peace, Francesca Benna

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Walking is one of the simplest and most primordial human acts, yet it carries profound meanings that transcend cultures, religious traditions, and paths of individual and collective transformation. Walking is not merely a means of movement but a practice that fosters reconnection with oneself, the environment, and the community. Bruce Chatwin, in The Songlines (1987), highlights how nomadism is an inherent human condition, suggesting that movement is essential not only for physical survival but also for mental and spiritual well-being. In an era marked by environmental crises, conflicts, and increasing technological alienation, rediscovering the value of walking responds to a …

Killing Bali (Part I) A Journey From God’S Paradise To Human Inferno, Pierre Fournié, Dr Pierre Fournié

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism is growing and growing fast. Before the pandemic, in 2018, the number of arrivals worldwide reached 1.4 billion arrivals from less than 600 million, twenty years earlier. In many countries, especially in developing ones, tourism is perceived as a unique opportunity, a model of territorial development, possibly a national strategy. In Indonesia, after being elected in 2014, former President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasised the importance of tourism, considered as a strategic sector. It had to become the largest exchange currency contributor to Indonesia’s revenue thus bypassing rubber, coal, oil and gas (Fournié & Dou, 2018).

In the collective awareness …

Bibliography Of Religious Faith And The Mathematical Sciences, Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This Bibliography is offered as a helpful resource for anyone who wishes to thoughtfully explore the connections between religious faith and the mathematical sciences. Searching the database for a topic of interest will bring up items with that focus. An entry’s attached PDF (when publicly available) can be opened and read while in the database. Alternatively, each item contains a URL/web link to a location where one can either read the item or retrieve information about how to obtain a copy of it.

Grace And Generosity: A Nt Defense Of Christian Giving And Stewardship, Jermaine Mcinnis

Masters Theses

This thesis holds that Christian stewardship and giving remain divinely appointed activities in the NT, despite growing skepticism in modern ecclesial and academic circles. Firmly grounded in biblical theology and canonical exegesis, the research argues that the disciplines of tithing, giving, and sacrificial stewardship are not eliminated by grace but are redirected and intensified with Christ. The research examines OT assumptions, Jesus’ instruction, and apostolic instruction to illustrate consistency in God's expectation of His people's obedience regarding finances. Drawing on current scholarship, the thesis refutes assumptions that giving is optional or less culturally relevant, underlining its vital importance to church …

Developing A Digital Platform For The Christian Leadership School At True Vine Baptist Church, Tonia Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This Dissertation-in-Praxis (DiP) project examined the development and implementation of the True Vine Christian Leadership School (TVCLS) at True Vine Baptist Church. Rapid congregational growth revealed a need to connect members to sustained discipleship beyond worship attendance. In response, TVCLS was developed as a digital ministry solution to bridge the gap between initial engagement and long-term spiritual development while advancing the Great Commission. The purpose of the project was to provide biblical and theological instruction, promote outreach and fellowship, and cultivate a congregation with a deeper connection to Christ. The program utilized the Christian education framework established by the Sunday …

A Phenomenological Study On Pastoral Leadership In Post-Covid In-Person Worship Attendance Growth Within Southern Baptist Congregational Polity, David Christian Justice

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research is to examine and reveal the perceived experiences of pastoral leadership in post-COVID in-person worship attendance growth among North Carolina Southern Baptist Churches (NCSBCs) operating within the framework of congregational polity. The theory guiding this study is that pastoral leadership is vital for post-COVID in-person worship growth in Southern Baptist Churches (Bryan, 2024; Hudson, 2018). Hudson’s (2018) competency model for church revitalization identifies pastoral leadership as “one of the most consistent predictors of a church’s ability to grow after a period of plateau or decline” (p. 3). The unique leadership structure of Southern …