Practical Theology Commons^™

Seminario De Orientacion Matrimonial Basado En El Libro De Cantares Para La Iglesia Adventista Del Septimo Dia Hispana De Plano, Texas, Ronaldo D. Marsollier

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Although marriages and families have experienced threats and obstacles in every age, they suffer today from a plethora of pernicious onslaughts of growing intensity. The seeds of familial unhappiness and disintegration are often sown long before arriving to the nuptial altar. These realities highlight the importance of seeking a solid marital orientation before, during and after the wedding ceremony. The condition of the family, starting with its foundational marital entity, inevitably affects the destiny of the individual, the church and society. As it is evident in the area of North Dallas in Texas, multiple challenges and problems endanger the …

Escuela De Capacitación De Liderazgo Para Ancianos De La Misión Sur Metropolitana De Chile, Josue G. Espinoza

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The observations made by this researcher between 2019 and 2020 in the South Metropolitan Chile Mission led to the conclusion that most elders from the 79 organized churches showed leadership deficiencies. This was deduced from observations during local church training events, activities provided by the local conference, and also from the analysis of growth indicators in congregations. It is also important to note that the average of 6.3 congregations per pastor makes it difficult for the elders to develop as local leaders. Added to this condition is the high mobility of pastors who often remain for only one or …

Developing Spiritual Disciplines In Youth And Young Adult Leaders Through Mentoring At The Peachtree City Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Nathaniel E. Elias

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Peachtree City Seventh-day Adventist Church (PTC) leadership and parents of teenagers expressed concerns regarding the lack of spirituality and church involvement of their youth and young adults. Church appointed youth and young adult leaders had not received consistent spiritual equipping to share with the youth and young adults of the church. Youth ministry primarily focused on recreational fellowship and lacked spiritual focus. The church approached the associate pastor to provide spiritual equipping for youth and young adult leaders.

Method

Six church nominated youth and young adult leaders participated in a 10-month mentorship program that equipped them with spiritual …

A Strategy To Train Members To Encourage Non-Members To Make Decisions For Baptism And Church Membership At The Middletown Valley Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Joshua William Voigt

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In every church I have pastored, there have been individuals who attend the church but are not members. Some come to community-focused events the church holds throughout the year, while others come to the weekly worship service. There are also some who come whenever the doors of the church are opened. This group of people includes both Christians from other denominations, as well as non-Christians. The Middletown Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church had an unusually large ratio of non-member to member attendance.

Method

A six-month evangelistic strategy was developed for the Middletown Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church. The strategy began with …

Training, Equipping, And Deploying Teenagers For Preaching With A Prophetic Emphasis At The Plantation Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Iosif Salajan

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Teenagers were not integrated in the preaching ministry of the Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their involvement in the worship service revealed challenges in publicly expressing their faith and spiritual experience. The absence of training, equipping, and deploying teenagers for preaching ministry contributed to their low retention and their lack of representation in the leadership of the church.

Method

Between August 2018 and May 2019, under the coordination of the researcher, preaching mentors offered teenage mentees from the Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church a complete learning cycle called sermonic process. It started with producing the sermon, continued with practicing the sermon …

Discovering Successful Pastoral Mentors Based On Their Spiritual Gifts Cluster And Engaging Them In Mentorship In The Wisconsin Conference Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Adam Case

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many pastors are placed into pastoral ministry with passion and education but lack sufficient mentoring to help them succeed in ministry. These pastors would benefit from a mentor who could support them and/or grow them through intentional mentorship in specific agreed upon areas. The concept of mentoring is biblical, Jesus being a prime example, and one that is in line with the principles of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There is no conflict with the concept of mentoring, but nothing practical has been put into place in the Wisconsin Conference to discover good pastoral mentors and then engage them in …

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

Doctor of Ministry Projects

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, …

Strategy To Implement And Evaluate A Health And Wellness Program In The Inner-City Of Benton Harbor, Michigan Through The Harbor Of Hope Church, Imasiku Mubita

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The data from the Berrien County Health Department (2011b) shows that the city of Benton Harbor has unusually high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. In addition, the city is a food desert and residents lack good healthcare coverage which helps to exacerbate these lifestyle diseases among its inner-city residents. Also, the dearth of healthy food intake plus the lack of exercise further hampers the community's health.

Method

A nine-week health-wellness program was opened to the community through the Harbor of Hope church in Benton Harbor. During this program community members had their biometrics screened at the beginning and …

A Strategy To Coach Pastors To Revitalize Declining Churches In The Carolina Conference And Other Seventh-Day Adventist Conferences In The United States, Brad Cauley

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many English-speaking Seventh-day Adventist churches are in an attendance decline or plateau in the United States. Specifically, the investigator found that 56% of English-speaking churches within the Carolina Conference of Seventh-day Adventists were in decline when comparing the five-year attendance mean for 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 using annual average attendance data. This discovery was alarming. Simultaneously, however, the population was growing in many of these communities. More intentionality was needed to stem the tide of attendance decline. These churches were in need of revitalization, but many of their pastors lacked the natural temperament and/or support needed for revitalization to occur. …

Desarrollo E Implementación De Un Seminario Respecto Al Ayuno Bíblico En La Iglesia Adventista Hispana De Fort Worth Norte, En Texas, Aníbal Antonio Herrera Pellicer

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Fort Worth North Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church has no record of a seminar on biblical fasting, a practice that is perceived as spiritually and physically beneficial in several cultures and religions worldwide. Within Adventism, fasting is seen as an outward expression of the person’s inner commitment and reliance on God (Rodriguez, 2001). Furthermore, pastoral observation revealed that in this local church there are conflicting views and a lack of knowledge about biblical fasting. The observation also disclosed the need for developing a training program in the area.

Method

The task of this project was to develop, implement, and …

A Training Program For Members To Minister To Hiv/Aids Patients At The Nyagiki Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Kenya, Job Ogoti Getange

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

During my pastoral experience at Nyagiki, I observed that although HIV/AIDS was a big threat in the church and society, many of the church leaders were not involved in addressing this crisis. There were no intentional church training programs to warn the members about its danger. The church did not make a budget of time or money to address this pandemic. The root problem that caused this situation was lack of health information literacy on HIV/AIDS to equip these leaders with knowledge and skills to deal with this crisis.

Method

The Doctor of Ministry Research Project was conducted at …

Strategy To Retain Second Generation Immigrants At The Bethlehem French Seventh-Day Adventist Church In New Jersey, Emile Duvivier

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Bethlehem French Seventh-day Adventist Church in East Orange, New Jersey, has been facing the challenges of any typical church located in urban environments in this post-millennial world. The church is confronted with member depletion in general, and the young people, in particular. The problem of retention has plagued our congregation in a manner that stagnated our exponential growth. A large percentage of the children who were born and raised in the church is leaving the Seventh-day Adventist faith after college. The Bethlehem French Seventh-day Adventist Church has not been exempted.

Method

To resolve the problem, I have put in …

Educating Young Adults In The Conejo Valley To Choose A Godly Spouse, Simon Liversidge

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Divorce rates and marital satisfaction rates are similar in both Christian and non-Christian young adults. Yet increases in church attendance, religious commitment and spirituality have been shown to make significant differences in divorce and marital satisfaction rates. However, many young adults have no framework to understand how to choose a potential spouse, or what factors or characteristics are most important in making such a choice. Almost all premarital education is aimed at young adults who have already chosen their spouse, but have no education aimed at understanding what matters most in making this choice.

Method

A weekend seminar was …

A Strategy To Reach Families With Children In Calgary, Alberta, Ghenadie Girleanu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

During the last decade, Calgary Central Church has not been intentionally involved in reaching families with children. They have done many different types of evangelism and community outreach programs but nothing to attract this specific segment of the population. With a large number of unreached families with children in the community, the need for a specific outreach project like this was obvious.

Method

A 12-week program to reach families with children was developed and implemented during 2016-2017. The approach of this project was to reach the parents by reaching their children first. For this purpose, Kids' Discipleship Club was …

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

Doctor of Ministry Projects

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 …

Facing The Challenge Of Mobile Technology: A Seminar On Strengthening Intimacy In Families At The Hendersonville Seventh-Day Adventist Church, David Nicholas Wright

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Problem

The new wave of smartphones and other forms of mobile technology presents an always available Internet connection that is hard for many families to manage. Without sufficient awareness of technology's subtle impact on relationships and without appropriate boundaries, many suffer loss of face-to-face interaction, communication and intimacy within their family circles.

The Method

The purpose of this project was to investigate whether a five-session educational seminar would create greater awareness and motivate changes in mobile technology usage that is seen as beneficial to parents and family.

The Results

Of the 11 families who committed to coming to the …

The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Preaching Discipleship Training Program For Church Members In The Knoxville First Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Marcus Alden Swearingen Bates

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Knoxville First Seventh-day Adventist Church has members endowed with the spiritual gift of speaking (preaching). However, no training program was available for these gifted members to develop and practice their preaching skills. The senior pastor, associate pastor, and guest speakers handled the preaching responsibilities, while these members were not edifying the congregation through the exercise of their preaching gift. The absence of a preaching training program also revealed a neglect of the pastoral responsibility to disciple members in the area of preaching. This project was an effort to train gifted members in the preaching craft for a potential …

Desarrollo E Implementacion De Un Programa De Administracion Para Pastores Distritales Con Multiples Iglesias En La Union Peruana Del Sur, Enzo Ronald Chávez Idrogo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The South Peruvian Union-Mission has seven fields and 227 district pastors. Every pastor serves an average of 11 local churches, and the financial reality of local fields makes it impossible to add more pastors. Although ministers meet the evangelistic goals of the local fields, some administrative deficiencies have become evident in areas such as planning, administrative meetings with the entire congregation, church board meetings, integral visitation program, church budget, discipline for erring members, etc. Besides the positive impact expected from this project in the South Peruvian Union, the lessons learned from the development and implementation of this project has …

Transforming The Lexington Seventh-Day Adventist Church Through Spirituality And Prayer, Pavel Goia

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Often in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as in many other Christian churches, while there is a lot of talk about transformation and growth, spiritual and numerical growth seems lacking. There is a tendency to try new programs and methods that may seem to lead to success or growth, yet many of those projects use the resources and energy of the church with no real lasting results. This often leads to frustration and lack of hope for real change. Growth in the first-century church and in other times throughout history was real, and such growth is still possible.

Method

At …

Desarrollo E Implementacion De Un Programa De Entrenamiento Para Predicadores Laicos En Las Iglesias Adventistas Del Distrito De Fort Washington, Nueva York, S. Yeury Ferreira

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The task of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a training program for lay preachers in the Seventh-day Adventist churches within the district of Fort Washington, New York, where the author of this document has served as pastor since 2014. Given that this missionary district comprises three churches (Fort Washington, Washington Avenue, and Luz y Esperanza), it is impossible for the pastor to always preach in every one of those congregations, Therefore, the preaching responsibility falls on the shoulders of church elders and other lay preachers. Pastoral observation indicates that, out of the 400 church members who …

Improving Family Satisfaction Through Conflict-Management Training For The Immanuel Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Toronto, Canada, Anthony M. Reid

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Immanuel Seventh-day Adventist Church is a multiracial congregation with members from over 35 countries, with approximately 200 families in regular attendance. Twenty percent of these families are interracial families, while 80% are a balanced mix of ethnic makeup. Reports from leaders and members, as well as pastoral observation, led us to the conclude that many families were affected by family squabbles and separation due to unresolved conflict. Consequently, there was a high level of stress and family dissatisfaction. This resulted in declining participation in ministry and mission.

Methods

A 10-hour conflict-management education-training program was developed and implemented. The …

A Strategy For Empowering Parents In Family Discipleship At The Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Hubert A. Wilkie

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Although the Bible clearly calls parents to train their children in the faith and pass on faith to the next generation (Deut 6:4-9; Eph 6:4), few parents at the Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church seem to be involved actively in their children's spiritual development. As a result, the way God designed the family to function is being inadvertently abandoned. This apparent lack of faith and values transmission has resulted in a very high attrition rate among our youth, who are usually disengaged by age 15 and leave the church by age 25. This perceived crisis over the dropout rate has …

Servant Leadership: A Study About Organizational Health, Leadership Styles And Practices In Missao Bahia Sudoeste Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The Possible Relation Between The Ministerial Areas Low Engagement Level In The Small Groups Program, Osmar Borges Lima

Master's Theses

Problem

Due to the low engagement of the pastors of Missão Bahia Sudoeste (MBSo) in the Small Groups program as compared to other field within the União Leste Brasileira (ULB) it was decided to investigate the organizational health, the leadership practices and styles, as well as the job satisfaction on the part of the MBSo’s pastors.

Method

The study was conducted among 52 pastors who represented the three levels of leadership designated by the OLA research instrument (Top Leadership, Management and Work Force) which analyses the perception of the participants six key areas of leadership, as well as six levels …

A Collaborative Leadership Strategy To Develop A Missional Focus At The Anderson Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Murray L. Miller

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The problem addressed in this project was the lack of missional focus at the Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church. Four symptoms were correlated to this problem. First, from 2010 to 2013 the Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church witnessed a slight decline in tithe and a drop in mission offerings. Second, conference archive data from 2003 to 2013 showed that the membership had remained steady while attendance had gradually been in decline. Third, though no formal surveys were available at the initiation of this project, anecdotal evidence from the conference to the local level showed varying opinions concerning the focus of the …

Ministering To Youth And Young Adults Through A Sports Initiative In The Normandie Avenue Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Michael S. Jenkins Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Normandie Avenue Seventh-day Adventist church is centrally located among other nearby Seventh-day Adventist churches in south Los Angeles, California. The presence of youth and young adults in worship services has diminished. Ministry participation among this group at Normandie has also diminished. Adventist and non-Adventist youth and young adults are not being attracted to the church or its ministries. Youth and young adults who do attend worship service and or participate in ministries do not have a strong relationship with the pastor or other spiritual figures. A 2008 study shows the median age of Adventist congregations is 51 while …

The Christian Debate On Same-Sex Marriage And Taylor’S Immanent And Transcendent Goods: Lessons From Adventist Approaches, David J. Hamstra

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Arguments made for and against affirming same-sex marriage in Christian communities rely on typical moral background preconceptions about immanent and transcendent goods identified by Charles Taylor in A Secular Age. Arguments made only in terms of marriage’s immanent goods have the potential to diminish the plausibility of a uniquely Adventist way of imagining the transcendent good: apocalyptic consciousness focused on the imminent-immanent restoration of Eden by Jesus Christ following the second coming. Comparing marriage to divergent sets of Sabbath-keeping practices—those that provide benefits exclusive to this world and those that aim at goods beyond this world—foregrounds the availability of …

Japanese Baptismal Vows, Bruce L. Bauer

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Initiation ceremonies are important in most cultures; however, they need to be carried out in culturally sensitive ways. The changes suggested above did not change in any way the purpose or content of the baptismal day. The only thing that was changed was a strong emphasis on groupness. The missiological implication from this case study is that one size does not fit all situations. There is more than one way to do most church ceremonies, so church leaders need to be encouraged to rethink what they do and do everything in culturally sensitive ways."

Men Of Valor: A Study Of Following Christ's Example Of Discipleship With Five Key Men In The Local Church, Bradley D. Cassell Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church is a diverse congregation with over 40 countries represented in its membership of nearly 600. There had been a steady increase of attendance and membership through transfers and conversion for several years. One of the biggest challenges that we faced at Tampa First was the discipleship of men. I have perceived in my 23 years of ministry that when the father is growing spiritually, the family unit had a greater tendency to grow with him, and the children were much more likely to stay connected to God and the church. It was imperative …

A Strategy To Increase Cross-Cultural Preaching Ministry Among Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In Southern Alabama, Dejuan Knight

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Southern Alabama's Seventh-day Adventist churches are mostly segregated across ethnic lines. Furthermore, most of the church pastors are of the same ethnic group as their members. One of the main reasons for the continued fears among laity, pastors, and conference administrators towards pastoral leadership from other cultures stems from the widespread idea that cross-cultural pastors cannot present their sermons in the cultural preaching style and with the content desired by the congregation.

Method

A project was designed and instituted in Dothan, AL between the two Seventh-day Adventist churches in the city. The Dothan First Seventh-day Adventist Church is a …

Development And Implementation Of A Ministry Program To Reconnect Former Adventists Within The Waitara Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Roger Govender

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The membership data from the Waitara Church revealed a gain of 1.33% in baptisms and professions of faith. However, attendance data collected indicated that the weekly attendance numbers in the Waitara Church, within the Greater Sydney on any given Sabbath; did not add up to the numbers found on the local church membership roll. This disparity in membership numbers raised questions regarding the whereabouts of those who do not attend church any longer but continue to claim to be Seventh-day Adventists, this is a member retention problem that needs attention.

Method

Reconnecting ministry strategy was developed in order to …