Community--Religious aspects

Ryan Nicholas Egli D.Min.

Missio Seminary moved from Hatfield Pennsylvania to Philadelphia in 2019. This project aims to contextualize that move from a rural and suburban setting to an urban setting for the staff, faculty, and Board of Trustees of the seminary. The author, who was previously employed at Missio Seminary, performed a training workshop, multiple interviews with key faculty and staff, and surveys to support the findings. The author concludes with multiple recommendations for the future of multicultural urban theological education as it applies to Missio Seminary in Philadelphia. While this project is specific to one medium-sized North American seminary, the steps and tools can be implemented in other situations, in education, and churches, and families, to successfully introduce and compassionately integrate people or institutions into a new urban home

Kip David Salser

The purpose of this project was to assess social needs of selected elementary students and their families in Longview, Texas, for First Baptist Church, Longview. Elementary schools involved in this project were The Bailey School in the Longview Independent School District as well as Birch Elementary and Parkway Elementary, both in the Pine Tree Independent School District. Utilizing the Community Assessment project model, the director undertook an assessment of the demographic data and community needs related to families with elementary students in Longview to establish the project’s foundation. Next, the director determined local resources available to meet identified needs of these Longview families with elementary students. At that juncture, the director explored and investigated regional models and methods of community needs-based ministry to families with elementary students to determine best practices. Finally, the intended results from this project were the identification and presentation of specific recommendations to the Church Coordination Council of First Baptist Church, Longview, by a Strategic Leadership Team, for the development of a community-needs ministry to selected elementary students and their families in Longview.

Jeffrey Dodd Garrett

The purpose of the project is to develop an emergency response strategy for Smiths Station Baptist Church, Smiths Station, Alabama. The project includes detailed research in the field of emergency response. The project director used internal demographics of the church and a special needs survey to identify needs pertinent to emergency response. Ge researched and ranked the area's available resources to produce a resource for a risk management assessment. The project director then explored the field of emergency response to develop an annotated bibliography and produce a report on best practices. A combination of individual and group pre-test, post-test, case studies, and role-plays directed the project director to the proper instruments for the emergency response strategy. Finally, he created and presented the finished strategy for feedback and implementation.

Carolyn Fenner Moss D.Min.

This Doctor of Ministry project explores the relationship between Christian community and new technologies in the context of a small, rural, family based Presbyterian congregation. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced technology usage to Slippery Rock Presbyterian Church. This paper describes the demographic, economic and historical context of the congregation. Then, it explores definitions of Christian community, with an emphasis on boundaries that shape Christian communities. It continues considering Old and New Testament Scriptures as they relate to community formation. Finally, the paper presents a project that examined the potential formation of Christian community using a devotional study presented on a Facebook group during Advent 2021.

Roy Rodríguez

This present research project carried out through the bibliographic modality and with a field research complement through the application of a research instrument called a questionnaire has as its essential purpose to make known the importance of the need to use social networks as an instrument of evangelization in this time of isolation and restrictions regarding personal social interactions. In the same way, to know the point of view of some ecclesiastical leaders concerning their points of view of the use of social networks as an instrument or transversal axis in the modalities of evangelization. Similarly, recognize that this research arises from the need that has led to isolation and social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations that being able to carry out cults and other ecclesiastical activities with the usual openings have brought with it. As a result of this effect, it was necessary to investigate the level of understanding in the management of technological tools and social networks by the leaders and ministers of the congregations and thus know for sure if there was a ministerial body in the congregations conditions to carry out a task of evangelization through social networks and thus reach the largest possible number of new generations, which are very active in the use of new technologies as their preferred means of communication.

Erin Moniz D.Min.

Christian emerging adults struggle in their relationships because they lack a robust theology of intimacy. This thesis examines and analyzes the problem by combining practical theology, generational studies, and a study of the culture of faith communities. Biblical support is offered by an exegetical examination of three Scripture passages that demonstrate the three intimacy motifs of family, sexuality/marriage, and friendship. Trinitarian and covenant theology reveal the theme of intimacy in the triune God and redemptive history. The doctrine of Union with Christ connects human and Divine intimacy through a Christological lens. An ethnographic study involving a focus group and sixteen interviews is analyzed in order to uncover the intersection of faith and intimate relationships in emerging adults. This thesis investigates the role of faith in the lives of emerging adult relationships and offers a biblical and theological theology of intimacy.

Sten-Erik Armitage D.Min.

The purpose of this applied research project is to evaluate the Community Foundations curriculum in the context of the local church as a potential means to address the problems that emerge in the church through the foundation of the unscriptural societal value of individualism and the subsequent epidemic of loneliness. The project seeks to determine the overall effectiveness of the curriculum in three key areas: grounding the community in understanding the significance of what it is to be “in Christ,” providing opportunities for small groups to cultivate a desire to both know and be known within the context of a trusted community, and finally to cultivate an environment wherein a burden of care is embraced and felt within said community.

The research centers on qualitative interviews with participants in the Beta launch of the Community Foundations curriculum. The Beta launch occurred between Spring 2018 and Fall 2019. Three hypotheses geared around the key areas addressed above are presented and evaluated through the content of the recorded interviews.

The research results indicate deeper and more sustainable relationships were cultivated through these small group experiences as well as a new appreciation for the value of shared story in the context of community.

Stacey Timothy Tafoya D.Min.

The question that arises is how spiritual communities can be affected by the many
distractions of the modern world. Churches are not immune to the lack of “the ability
simply to be alone with our thoughts.” In fact, it would seem that the church, whose text
is the Bible, must go further to break through the endless distractions of the day to hear
the voice of God in the scriptures.
the church began a journey with international refugees when
twenty-five children and adults from the nation of Burundi came to church on a Labor
Day weekend. This started a mini-influx of folks from various parts of the world. The
church has discovered a new sense of purpose and excitement as there are folks present in
worship from five continents. The worship of Epiphany is also both ancient and future,
focusing on the best of classical hymnology and contemporary worship within the
worship of the Book of Common Prayer. In addition, there is also an emphasis on the
Bible as the pastor and the church seek to be Christ-centered and evangelical as well as
sacramental.

Mi Sook Han D.Min.

This thesis-project focuses on fostering interreligious dialogue between the Korean Conference of Religions for Peace (KCRP), the most active interreligious dialogue organization in Korea, and Korean Muslim leaders who asked KCRP’s leadership to include Korean Islam as a member. This issue is still pending. The project seeks to develop interreligious dialogue between these two groups through an exploration in Focolare Spirituality, a spirituality of unity. Focolare Spirituality aims to promote universal fraternity and to achieve a more united world in which people respect and value diversity.
The project deals with four dialogues: dialogue with religious leaders who are related to this issue, Catholic Church’s teachings on interreligious dialogue, dialogue between religion and culture in Korean context, and dialogue with the Focolare spirituality in order to achieve the goal of mutual understanding and collaboration with Korean Muslims. This project concludes by offering a method from a spiritual perspective for a fruitful interfaith dialogue.

Young-wan Song

This paper defines the essential spirituality of a Christian and interprets spirituality necessary at the moment under a frame of relationship through a view of spirituality to recover relationships. recovery of relationship requires special (relational) spirituality, which must reach out to relationships with others by recovering full relationship with God through a life that pursues whole inhaling God’s spirit and seek for the image of God.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]