Baptist Churches/Congregational Churches

Layton Grant Bamburg

The purpose of this project was to develop a revitalization strategy for Victory Baptist Church, Monroe, Louisiana. An internal demographic study of Victory Baptist Church provided revitalization data for Victory Baptist Church. The project director conducted research in the field of church revitalization to determine the most effective practices. The project director selected a strategy team to help develop a revitalization strategy. Once the strategy team developed a revitalization strategy, I presented the strategy to the staff and deacon body of Victory Baptist Church, Monroe, Louisiana, for
consideration.

I then utilized evaluation methods, which include, expert evaluators for the internal demographics, the most effective practices of revitalization, and the developed revitalization strategy. A pretest and posttest were used to evaluate the revitalization strategy team’s knowledge of revitalization. I, along with the revitalization strategy team, presented the strategy to the members of Victory Baptist Church, Monroe, Louisiana, for approval.

Curtis Alston

The purpose of this project was to enhance the project director’s doctrinal
preaching skills to increase congregational awareness of soteriology at the First Baptist
Church of Greensboro, Florida. I utilized the preaching skills enhancement model, and
the sermon series focused on soteriology from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the
Galatians. The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Galatians that believers must be aware of
their beliefs so as not to be easily misled by false doctrine. The same concern will be
presented in this project addressing the biblical understanding of salvation at FBC
Greensboro and the need for understanding salvation so as not to be easily misled,
manipulated, or misinformed on the doctrine.

The project developed through diligent research into doctrinal preaching best
practices and the doctrine of soteriology as found in Galatians. To ensure validity of the
project, a doctrinal sermon expert evaluated the doctrinal sermon form and delivery
effectiveness, and doctrinal content was evaluated by an expert theologian. The
congregation provided feedback for each sermon as well. The evaluative results were
analyzed and developed into a report that reflected the success of the project goals.

Russell Hart D.Min.

This Doctor of Ministry Project researched six pastors in Western North Carolina to see how they balance administrative duties and evangelistic efforts to produce a healthy church. The project began from my experience of pastoring three churches in the area and experiencing the struggles firsthand. It then looked into the Scriptures to understand the historical accounts and theology of administration and evangelism to comprehend the responsibilities of pastors. Further research was conducted from literature to evaluate what others say about the subject and if they have discovered this problem.

The data was collected through qualitative research of interviews with six pastors. The interviews were conducted with ten questions to discover how they balance administrative duties and evangelistic efforts as a pastor. The interviews were analyzed and synthesized from their experiences, theology, and literary viewpoints for the conclusions.

The research results showed a problem among pastors who have administrative demands on them because of the expectation of the congregation or the lack of others willing to take responsibility. The research also showed that evangelism efforts fail to reach the community because of the heavy administrative load of the pastor. The final results show, pastors that do have a balance, revamped or updated how administration is done, to simplify it for both him and the congregation. The process of updating the administration did require time for trust to build between the pastor and the congregation. The results prove a significant need for pastors and churches to work together to simplify the administration and intentionally reach the community with the gospel to produce a healthy church.

Edward Bruce Carruthers D.Min.

Abstract
In its nearly two-hundred-year existence in the city, First Baptist Church has seen the best and worst of life in Montreal. Still, the current congregation shows no signs of giving up our corporate goal to be "A House of Prayer to All Nations." This portfolio reflects my evolution as pastor of this vital community and the church itself, especially during my time at Tyndale.
As challenging as the ministry is in general, it takes on another dimension of difficulty when the congregation to whom we minister is gone. The question that loomed large over my pastorate was how I could continue ministering to people in such an event. COVID-19 left us searching for alternate ways to minister to congregational needs despite restrictions on interpersonal contact. We partly addressed this ministry through online services, but many members could not avail themselves of this resource, being unable to access computers or the internet. Government-enforced church closures complicated the issue, as did some individuals fearing the risk of exposure by physically attending the church when open. The threefold foci of this research concentrated on how best to preach to an absent congregation, encourage them in prayer, and maintain a sense of communal fellowship despite enforced separation. The research project documents how we addressed these problems through regular telephone and mail contact to alleviate the isolation members experienced. This outreach included the distribution of printed sermons and prayer requests. We reassured members they were loved and cared for while reminding them of the congregational unity and community of those sharing their struggles. The project had some success, constrained mainly by its eight-week duration. However, we learned valuable lessons and continue using the process we developed, ensuring regular contact without overlooking any of our members.

Douglas Pigg

The purpose of this project was to equip members of Firsts Baptist Church, Naples, Florida, with the necessary skills to be an effective decision counselor. The author used the Quipping Program Model comprised of four lessons. Lesson one explained the role and work of the Holy Spirit from John's Gospel. Lesson two explained the decision of salvation. Lesson three explained the decision of sanctification. Lesson four guided the counselors through practical application. The project resulted in the members of First Baptist Church, Naples, Florida, effectively enhancing the decision counseling ministry of the church.

This abstract was created prior to the change in the word count for RIM abstracts

Nicholas T. Wilbur

The purpose of this project is to develop a relational evangelism strategy to reach millennials of Cumming Baptist Church, Cumming, Georgia. The project director led selected members of Cumming Baptist Church to develop a multifaceted relational evangelism strategy that will minister effectively to the millennial population of Forsyth County, Georgia.

The strategy formation team met for six sessions to develop the strategy for the church. The project director instructed the team on demographic data from Forsyth County, information on millennials found through research, best relational evangelism practices, the biblical rationale for relational evangelism, and strategy formation technique. With this knowledge, the strategy formation team, led by the project director, developed a multifaceted relational evangelism strategy. Once completed, the strategy was presented by the project director to the pastoral staff, outreach ministry team, and deacons of CBC for approval and implementation.

Robert James Fontell Jr. D.Min.

Statistics indicate that thousands of churches have experienced decline to such an extent that without intervention, these churches will reach the death stage in the life cycle of the church. However, churches do not have to experience the final stages of the life cycle of the church because they possess the potential for renewed growth. Pastors can learn the skill of leading a church through revitalization.

This project will examine principles that bring life and transformation to the local church through biblical research on church health, the study of the life cycle of a church, common biblical behaviors of healthy churches, and their impact on declining churches. It will seek to explain the evangelistic efforts that addressed the decline experienced by Calvary Christian Church (CCC), Northeast Philadelphia, PA, and brought the beginnings of revitalization. The biblical research describes the development of an evangelism strategy that will change the culture of the church to rediscover its mission and foster a healthy state.

O. Henry Powell Young IV

The purpose of the project is to equip next generation ministers at Cross Church, in Northwest Arkansas, with strategic evangelism implementation skills. The student did so by exploring the fields of evangelism and strategy implementation in next generation ministries. The project included the design and execution of a curriculum workshop which will be used to train next generation ministers at Cross Church, Northwest Arkansas, in strategic evangelism implementation skills. Research regarding the trends of salvations and baptism rates in the Southern Baptist Convention from 2010 to present. Existing strategic evangelism tools were presented along with new material designed by the project director. The project resulted in the development of a next generation evangelism strategy workshop and the equipping of next generation ministers at Cross Church, Northwest Arkansas.

Jeremy Ryan Williams

The aim of the project was to enhance the project director’s skills in expository preaching from Old Testament historical narrative at Black Creek Baptist Church, Collinsville, Alabama. The proposed project follows the preaching-skills enhancement model. The project director researched the field of expository preaching for best practices. An expert in the field of expository preaching evaluated the best practices. Based on best practices, the project director developed a series of sermons for evaluation by an expert in the field of preaching and an expert in the Old Testament before they are delivered. After feedback, the project director delivered the developed sermons to the Black Creek Baptist Church congregation. Selected congregants provided input to the project director through listening guides. An expert in expository preaching evaluated the sermons through a video presentation. In the end, a final evaluation took place by the project director to determine the level of enhancement in the preaching skills in the field of expository preaching from historical narrative portions of Scripture.

Stephen Bradley Watson

The purpose of the project was to equip selected adults of Marion First Baptist church, Marion, Arkansas with essential team-based assimilation skills. Upon completing research of team-based assimilation practices and skills, the project director developed four equipping sessions. The project director held the four equipping sessions with selected adults from First Baptist Church, Marion, Arkansas. Participants learned about selected team-based assimilation skills and how to put selected skills into practice when interacting with guests, regular attendees, and members of Marion First Baptist Church, Marion, Arkansas. Participants discovered the importance of welcoming interactions with guests in order to increase guest retention and assimilate guests and regular attendees into the membership and ministry of Marion First Baptist Church, Marion, Arkansas.