Practical Theology Commons^™

Christian Discipleship Through Racial Justice And Reconciliation: A Lenten Reading Of The Hate U Give, Abigail Sham

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Christians are a people immersed in story—the story of God as it is revealed in Scripture and the story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that continues to redeem our personal and systemic stories. As our world is diseased with the story of white supremacy, this project seeks to locate Christian vocation in the performative art of storytelling that actively seeks to dismantle the violent narrative of racial difference through the practice of reading Scripture with a liberating hermeneutic. This curriculum (a Lenten devotional) allows participants to sit with two haunting stories over the course of the Lenten season—the story …

Cultural Tightness-Looseness: Its Nature And Missiological Applications, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The focus of much missionary work concerns sharing the gospel with others so that they may put their faith in Jesus Christ. However, members of some cultures are much more resistant to this than are members of other cultures. The concept of cultural tightness-looseness helps explain why some cultures are more closed to the gospel than are others. Tight cultures, in contrast to loose cultures, have strong social norms, violations of which are met with intense sanctions. Numerous recent studies reveal the antecedents, consequences, and the geographical distribution of cultural tightness-looseness. There are important missiological implications at the societal level, …

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: Winter 2019, Amanda W. Benckhuysen, Matthew Cooke, Mariano Avila, Margaret Mwenda

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

3 - God's Plan by Jul Medenblik

4 - Making Immigration Our Problem by Amanda W. Benckhuysen

8 - Trauma, Forced Migration, and the Role of the Church by Matthew Cooke

12 - Latino/ A Evangelical Immigrants in West Michigan by Mariano Avila

16 - Informing, Equipping, and Connecting African Immigrants in Grand Rapids, Michigan

19 - Loving Your Neighbor

22 - Faculty News

22 - New Faces

23 - Other News

24 - Year in Review

A Fresh Look At Summer Camp Ministry, Erik Vandenburgh

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Youth Evangelism In A Digital Culture, Milton Marquez

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

The Strength Of Weak Ties, Angelo Grasso

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Event Evangelism Vs. Missional Living, Ronald R. Pickell

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Sharing Christ In Our Classrooms, Theodore N. Levterov

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Resourcing Our Youth For Evangelism, Ron Whitehead

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Transforming Institutional Culture, Scott R. Ward

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Pcm: Evangelism In A Pluralistic World, Israel Ramos

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Adventist Millennials’ Perceptions Of Traditional Evangelism, Alan Parker, Emily Charvat

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Conclusion And Recommendations, S. Joseph Kidder, Gerardo Oudri

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

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 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 …

A Pediatric Spiritual Care Training Model Utilizing Volunteers At Children's Hospital In New Orleans, Louisiana, Allen L. Mitchell

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Children's Hospital—New Orleans is a regional medical center for children with a 247-bed capacity. The hospital is growing in size and scope. However, the number of quality spiritual care providers has not kept up with the growing needs of the institution. As a medical center continues to grow, more spiritual care providers are needed to meet the demand of our increasing patient population. Financial resources are limited and budgets do not favor hiring additional full-time staff chaplains.

Method

A spiritual care training manual was developed to increase the number of trained volunteers to provide spiritual care coverage. A 12-hour …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A Cosmopolitan Theology For Creating An Urban Missional Small Group To Reach Postmodern Generations In The City Of Lacombe, Alberta, Lyle Milton Notice

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many youths within the Canadian city of Lacombe, Alberta, are having difficulty finding traditional church attractive, engaging, relevant, and meaningful. Because of the prevalent postmodern mindset of youth in the community, thoughts toward church, religious gatherings, and organized religion are pessimistic and skeptical. Research has pointed out that faith-based community initiatives have been either lacking or ineffective in addressing the disengagement and disillusionment being demonstrated by postmodern millennials.

Method

The purpose of this study was to see if an urban missional small group made up of 10 to 15 youth would have a positive social spiritual impact on their …

Developing Awareness Of Special Needs As Relating To Autism Spectrum Disorders In The All Nations Seventh-Day Adventist Church And Creating A Strategy For Outreach To Affected Families, Shaun Brooks

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

According to recent statistics, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects about 1 in 59 children each year, and over the past decade, there has been a two-fold increase in ASD diagnoses in children. Another study points out that 80% of marriages that have a child with autism will end in divorce due to stress and other factors. If the local rate of ASD reflects that of the national rate, there is an opportunity for the Atlanta All Nations Church to provide ministry to both church and community families affected. As it stood, there was not a significant awareness about Autism …

Improving Marital Satisfaction: An Enrichment Program For Couples In The Huntington, New York Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Eddly B. Benoit

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

One of the first and most sacred institutions established by God at creation was the institution of marriage. It is God who placed in man the desire to leave his father and mother, that he might be joined to his wife, with the objective of becoming one flesh. This perfect union ordained by God has proven elusive in many marriages. When I started my pastorate at the Huntington Seventh-day Adventist Church, I observed that many of the married couples were having difficulties communicating effectively and resolving conflict. I noticed that some of them lacked the behavioral skills and resources …

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 …

Servant Leadership Development Model For Staff At The University Of The Southern Caribbean, Lloyd Eric Jacott

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Concerns have been raised by students regarding the unsatisfactory nature of customer service from administrative departments within the University of the Southern Caribbean such as Finance and Admissions. An investigation into this matter, using a focus group design was conducted by Brent Marshall for his Master's Thesis (2013) through the School of Business. However, prior to this an exit report of graduating students was conducted by the Department of quality assurance (2012). The findings of these two investigations provide the basis for implementing the servant leadership development model for staff at the Admissions, Records and Recruitment Departments of the …

Equipping Adventist Community Services Directors As Leaders For The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Sung Kun Kwon

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Adventist Community Services (ACS) broad scope of services increasingly demanded competent leadership that was not always readily found in local churches. For this reason, ACS leadership began to plan an advanced leadership development program for the ACS personnel, pastors, and church members at the union, conference, local levels, and worldwide. Up to that time leadership development programs within ACS tended to be haphazard and inconsistent. While there were several conferences that provided local leadership development for ACS leaders, there was no centralized leadership development program. To effectively lead the organizations that served the various communities, it was necessary …

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 …

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 …