Full Title
Equipping Church Leaders for the Task of Instilling a Missional Mindset into Their Congregations
Author
Mark L Sadley D.Min.
Abstract
For various reasons, homogeneous Anglo churches in demographically changing communities frequently experience a severe decline in membership. Unless such congregations adopt a missional mindset that seeks to reach other ethnicities and socioeconomic groups, they will cease to exist. This project aims to create a strategy for pastors and church leaders to guide them as they seek to instill such a mindset into their congregations.
The first section of this project will briefly trace the church’s understanding of the Missio Dei over time. It will set forth the proper role of the church as a participant in God’s mission. It will also emphasize the responsibilities of church leadership concerning discipleship, stressing the critical need for assembling a team of discipled leaders before initiating significant change programs. A discussion of the applicability of McGavran’s homogeneous unit principle to the planning of missional outreach will conclude this section.
The following sections will examine the process of leading organizational change. After explaining the various reasons individuals resist change, the author will describe and compare the change leadership principles advanced by noted secular and Christian authorities. Principles common to each group will then be juxtaposed with the change leadership actions of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. The author will use the resultant listing as the basis for creating an effective strategy for instilling a missional mindset into congregations. That strategy will be the basis of a presentation to be used in training sessions targeted at church leaders. The dissertation will conclude with the creation of a presenter’s manual to be used in upcoming Equip to Serve leadership training workshops.
The first section of this project will briefly trace the church’s understanding of the Missio Dei over time. It will set forth the proper role of the church as a participant in God’s mission. It will also emphasize the responsibilities of church leadership concerning discipleship, stressing the critical need for assembling a team of discipled leaders before initiating significant change programs. A discussion of the applicability of McGavran’s homogeneous unit principle to the planning of missional outreach will conclude this section.
The following sections will examine the process of leading organizational change. After explaining the various reasons individuals resist change, the author will describe and compare the change leadership principles advanced by noted secular and Christian authorities. Principles common to each group will then be juxtaposed with the change leadership actions of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. The author will use the resultant listing as the basis for creating an effective strategy for instilling a missional mindset into congregations. That strategy will be the basis of a presentation to be used in training sessions targeted at church leaders. The dissertation will conclude with the creation of a presenter’s manual to be used in upcoming Equip to Serve leadership training workshops.
Subjects
Degree Granting Institution
Country
United States
Degree Granted
Doctor of Ministry
Major
North American Missiona
Type of Work
Dissertation
Advisor
Daniel Sanchez Ph.D.
Language
English
Date
2022
Number of Pages
237
Link to Full Text
Copyright Statement
Copyright is held by author. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.