Christianity Commons^™

Discipleship: Attracting, Retaining, And Discipling Young Adults In Beauty Spot Missionary Baptist Church Fayetteville, North Carolina, Mamie Masella Bailey-Kindell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The partnership of young adults as well as their active involvement in God’s Kingdom work is a key issue facing Christian discipleship within churches in the 21st Century (Allan & Allan, 2020). The young adult congregants had been missing from the sacred teaching, preaching, and discipleship development training within congregations. What seemed only a temporary phenomenon had become a startling realization that reflected the demise of discipleship among the young adult congregants within churches. Christian leaders had wondered when the young adult congregants would return to the gatherings for spiritual worship, refreshing, and spiritual development (Barna Group, 2019, October 21). …

Remembering The Past: The Origins Of The Pentecostal Church In South Travancore, Viju Wilson

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Early Pentecostals in the Thiruvananthapuram district (South Travancore) of Kerala state, India, embraced the Pentecostal faith in a context where traditional denominations held enormous power, resources, and social recognition. C. Manasseh played a significant role in spreading the Pentecostal faith and establishing the first congregation in the region. This forms an important part of the global Pentecostal heritage. Remembering the life and ministry of Manasseh, as well as the past and present journey of the first congregation, carries significant implications for the witness of Pentecostals today. Remembering the past is both a biblical and theological act, calling believers to participate …

Do Not Sit Or Quit: From Marginalized To Mobilized In The Third Stage Of Life: A Theological And Pastoral Response To The Rebirth Of Purpose, Dignity, And Calling Among Aging Believers, Brent M. Nordan

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This project examines how senior citizens can rediscover purpose, productivity, and spiritual vitality in the third stage of life through intentional pastoral engagement and church-based ministry models. The study addresses the growing demographic of aging adults who often face social marginalization and spiritual neglect within local congregations. Using a qualitative research approach, this project incorporates biblical and theological reflection, case study analysis, and ministry fieldwork conducted within an active church context. Grounded in the biblical doctrine of the imago Dei, the research affirms that senior adults retain divine purpose and value regardless of age. Key passages of Scripture form the …

Opening And Closing Doors: Internationalism In The Norbertine Missions To Settler And Indigenous Populations In Wisconsin, Alex Gruber

Journal of Global Catholicism

In this essay, I argue that the Premonstratensian or Norbertine Order located in Berne Abbey in the Netherlands responded strongly to a call for international ministry by going to northeast Wisconsin for Walloon settlers from Belgium and their descendants in 1893. However, these priests and brothers fell much farther short of internationalism in the mission to the Oneida Nation reservation they received in 1898. I will make my case by detailing these two missions and analyzing how the Norbertines acknowledged their international nature and practiced or failed to practice internationalism in them. Diving into the mission histories requires discussion of …

Founders Vision, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

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 …

Three Mothers Who Prayed, James M. Taylor

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

Leading Elca Lutheran Colleges And Universities: Lutheranism, Purpose, And Alignment, Ian K. Mcmichael

Doctorate in Education

The colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) occupy a unique space within the higher education market. To varying degrees, each school currently professes to be a school of the “third path” between sectarian dogmatism and secular relativism. However, the mission of these schools has shifted dramatically since their founding and whether there is anything markedly different between them and secular liberal arts schools remains an open question. While research has addressed mission, values, and purpose in this context, what has not been extensively explored previously is the role the leaders of these institutions play …

Center And Edge A Flourishing Relationship : Encouraging Best Practices In A Mixed Ecology, John Marsh

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Prophetic Role Of The Church In The Associations Of Nagaland Baptist Churches Council (Nbcc) To Address The State Of Morality And Spiritual Transformation In The Land, Imti Lithrongla

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Living Christianly: Under The Lordship Of Christ, Everything Matters, Leah A. Zuidema

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"I want to proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and when I say that the Lordship of Christ matters in every area of life, I want to be ready with specific examples about what it means to live Christianly."

Posting about working towards Christ-centered renewal in all areas of life from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining a faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life—until all is made new.

Living Christianly

"Together On God’S Mission" [Review] / Hildreth, D. Scott., Michelet William

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review

Recovering A Missional Ecclesiology: A Framework For Reviving Congregational Mission Within The Baptist Union Of Victoria, Gayle Hill

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This project is an intervention to develop a theological and theoretical framework

that will become the foundation for a future curriculum for recovering a missional ecclesiology for the pastors of the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV). Despite mission being central to the overall vision of the BUV, declining numbers, the post-COVID context in Victoria, and an overarching post-Christian and pluralistic context have significantly challenged the centrality and functioning of mission across our denomination. The impetus of this project was the observation that our churches were floundering rather than flourishing in the missional space. Many chronic and acute provocations were …

A Friend Who Does Me No Good: Aphorism In Matteo Ricci’S On Friendship, Maximilian Chan Weiher

Asian Languages and Cultures Honors Projects

This paper argues that Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) designed his aphoristic compilation, Jiaoyou Lun 交友論–On Friendship (1595)–to serve the Jesuit mission of converting the Chinese to Catholicism and express the conflict he may have felt exploiting friends to forward the Jesuit mission. Utilizing friendships to allow for greater social influence was central to the Jesuit proselytization strategy in China. However, Ricci’s moral education from youth taught him to judge utilitarian friendships as immoral. The extant scholarship regarding Ricci’s On Friendship fails to acknowledge the significance of the aphoristic form to this work. To illuminate the value of aphorism …

Missional Renewal In A Large And Established Suburban Western Church, Michael Stevens

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the topic of missional renewal at Clovercrest Baptist Church (CBC), specifically focusing on participating in the mission of God through simple, memorable, and reproducible missional practices. The identified problem is a lack of process or framework for enhancing participation in God’s mission and churchwide missional renewal at CBC, a large suburban Western church. The purpose of this project intervention is to develop a resource guide of missional practices that facilitate participation in the mission of God at CBC towards missional renewal. This intervention is guided by the theological foundation that God is a God of mission. He …

Signs Of Spring, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Soldiers Of Christ In A Pluralistic Army, Jordan Lee Pittman

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to answer the question: How does a Christian chaplain in the U.S. Army fulfill the Great Commission given by Jesus in Scripture while facilitating the free exercise of religion for everyone in his organization? Jesus commands his followers to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). The primary audience of this thesis consists of military chaplains and candidates. The conclusion reached is that the chaplain can accomplish both tasks stated in the question. To facilitate a soldier’s free exercise of religion does not automatically betray the teachings and guidance of Scripture nor does it prevent the chaplain from making disciples. …

Kingdom Economy Found In A Cup And On A Mat, Nicole J. Richardson

Doctor of Leadership

My NPO is: Churches struggle being relevant forces but could become restorative and thriving communities by rethinking traditional approaches to ecclesiology through reframing Biblical koinonia, mission, and worship. Curating a well-balanced “third space” that offers opportunities for people to engage in their spiritual pilgrimage will fill a void in our context. Additionally, it will offer the universal church another way to nurture community, define worship, and practice relational mission daily through radical hospitality. I serve a Presbyterian Church in North Carolina. The focus is to serve an 8-mile radius in the Piedmont Triad area focusing on the Nones and Dones …

Healing Through Homecoming Rediscovering The Hospitality Of Jesus As The Mission Tone Of The Church, W. Matthew Rice

Doctor of Ministry

This Project Portfolio addresses the following NPO: In an increasingly hostile culture, there is an opportunity to incarnate the hospitality of Jesus to a world in need of God’s embrace; in doing so, the Church will rediscover and release the mission tone of Jesus, a kindness that heals as it welcomes people home and leads to Spirit-empowered turns. The key insight of my research is that the coming of Jesus is the ultimate expression of ancient hospitality, and when God’s kindness permeates the mission tone of a church, it creates an environment where the gospel is heard, the Spirit’s power …

Re-Innergized The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit, Stacey Spence-Baldwin

Doctor of Ministry

In this Project Portfolio, I will address the following NPO: The church is in decline or dying because it lacks connection with the Holy Spirit. Through the church relying on human reason instead of the will of the Holy Spirit, the church has lost its light. The key finding in my research is that when a church embraces the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it will live again. This finding came from my personal experiences of the Holy Spirit resurrecting three small rural churches which were in decline/death back to life. When congregations allowed the Holy Spirit to prompt their …

First Christian Voices: Practices Of The Apostolic Fathers, Michael T. Cooper

Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics

What were the most important practices in the early church? In this volume, Michael Cooper arranges the writings of the Apostolic Fathers into eight themes that provide deeper understanding about the subjects important to the disciples of the New Testament apostles.

First Christian Voices examines the written testimonies of the late first and second centuries to discover what animated the church in the face of internal and external struggles and growth as the gospel extended to the boundaries of the Roman Empire.

Abundance And Flourishing In Rural Appalachia : Theological Thinking And The Local Church, Julie D. Keel

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Contrasting Beliefs With Reality : The Epistemology Of Branding And Brand Image In The Small Church, James Pernell Sr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Foundational Missionaries Of South American Adventism [Review] Plenc, Daniel O., Silvia C. Scholtus, Eugenio Di Dionisio And Sergio Becerra, Eric E. Richter

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review by Eric E. Richter.

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

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

"For All Peoples: A Biblical Theology Of Missions In The Gospels And Acts" [Review]/Keener, Craig S.", Boubakar Sanou

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review by Boubakar Sanou.

Characteristics Of Growing Churches In Estonia: A Qualitative Study, Ago Lilleorg, Kaido Soom, TõNu Lehtsaar

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This is an overview of the characteristics of growing churches in Estonia. The study is grounded in semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019-2020 in nine Protestant congregations that have grown in 2003-2017. There were three to four interviewees from each congregation, a total of 14 being women and 18 men. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed by combining both the open and the invivo coding model. No prescribed categories were used in the analysis. The results were formulated as characteristics of growing churches: spiritual life; inner climate; human focus; the minister of the church; relationships outside the church; and a …

The Expected Value Of Sports In The Christian School, Timothy Van Soelen

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

Conflict Between The Clergy And The Laity In The Quaker Church In Kenya, John Muhanji

Doctor of Ministry

The Quaker church missionaries came to Kenya as part of the West's Christian movement to the dark continent. Historians have usually referred to the Society of Friends' spiritual life as quietism, which did not resonate well with African spirituality which was disregarded by the missionaries as evil. Africans unquestioningly believe in the supreme creator of the universe and humanity. There is no ethnic group in Africa that does not have a specific name for a supreme God.1 Therefore, the Quaker belief that "there is that of God in everyone" was not considered by the Western missionaries that Africans believed in …

The Sent Life: Discovering The Mission Of God And The Christian's Place In It, Cliff Roberts Jordan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The church in the West today has separated something that was never intended to be divided. This critical error impacts the very core of who a Christian is which informs and empowers what a Christian does. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you,” and in doing so He designated all Christians as “sent ones.” This means living on mission as a sent one is not reserved for a special class of Christians, but is the very calling of all Christians. Since that is true, all Christians need to understand and be equipped for the mission …