Baptist Churches/Congregational Churches

Teddy Wayne Sorrells Jr D.Min.

This project seeks to train decision counselors at Living Water Church in Gladewater, TX to counsel church attenders who have responded to a text-driven invitation issued at the end of a sermon. Chapter 1 presents the history and ministry context of Living Water Church and the goals of this project. Chapter 2 provides the biblical precepts that call for a response to every sermon preached and the necessary need to recruit and equip others to help during this time of response. Chapter 3 explains why and how text-driven sermons call for a response and presents a model for text-driven preachers to equip decisions counselors. Chapter 4 presents the project and its methodology. Chapter 5 will evaluate the results of the project through a complete analysis of the specific goals completed. This project will develop a pastor-led model using a text-driven invitation for the effective equipping of decision counselors.

Jamie M Smith

The purpose of this project was to equip selected parents with best practices to disciple children at Concord Baptist Church in Clermont, Georgia. The project director began by researching the field of discipling children and producing a comparative analysis to determine the best practices. He then produced a report of six best practices for discipling children in the home. Next, the project director developed curriculum to train parents how to use the best practices discovered and use the curriculum to teach a selected group of parents at the church with the best practices. Through the process, the project director increased his knowledge of discipleship practices in the home and in equipping families to lead their children spiritually. He also increased his knowledge and skill curriculum writing and classroom instruction. During the process, expert evaluators guided the director in development and implementation of the project.

Watkins Keith Pierce

The purpose of this project is to develop a revitalization strategy for the Clinton Baptist Association in East Tennessee. The project is derived from the strategic planning model. After conducting sufficient research, the project director will learn best practices in field revitalization. The project director will conduct a demographic study to verify the need of revitalizing the association. An internal demographic study will produce the facts and trends of the churches affiliated with the association. An external demographic study of the cities and communities of Anderson County, Tennessee, will be completed to increase awareness of community and generational needs and desires. The project director will assemble a strategic leadership team from the leaders of the associational churches. When assembled, the team will prepare and adopt a strategic planning process and develop a revitalization strategy. After the strategic planning process is created, the final step of the project will be a presentation of the proposed revitalization strategy to the messengers of the annual meeting, followed by the messengers’ vote on the proposal. The implementation of the revitalization strategy will begin in the project and will be completed after the approval of the project. The strategy implementation is outside the scope of the project.

Sidney C. Tortorice

The purpose of this project was to train selected adults from Jimmie Hale Rescue Mission, Birmingham, Alabama, in a strategy for coping with grief in relation to substance abuse. The project director sought to fulfill three goals for this project. First, to research the field of grief recovery in order to determine essential practices, he researched literature in grief recovery and evaluated essential grief recovery practices in rescue missions. The second goal was to identify the best model for grief recovery in substance abuse programs in selected rescue missions. He accomplished this goal by researching abuse programs in multiple North American rescue missions. The third goal was to design a grief recovery strategy for substance abuse residents at Jimmie Hale Rescue Mission by selecting team members and creating strategy sessions.

Nathaniel Jones Carroll

The purpose of this project was to develop a membership assimilation strategy for First Baptist Church, Haleyville, Alabama. The project director explored the field of survey development and analysis, resulting in the creation of a discovery survey. After analysis of the results, the survey provided a church profile of membership expectations.

The project director researched the field of membership assimilation resulting in a list of best practices from the annotated bibliography compiled. The project director researched the field of strategic planning producing an annotated bibliography and list of strategic planning producing an annotated bibliography and list of strategic processes discovered. The project director led a group of selected members through a chosen strategic process, discovered during the research phase.

The result of the strategic process was a membership assimilation strategy for First Baptist Church, Haleyville, Alabama. The project director presented the strategic plan to the deacon body of First Baptist Church, Haleyville, Alabama, for approval. Once approved by the deacon body, the strategic plan was presented to the membership of First Baptist Church, Haleyville, Alabama, for approval.

Justin Wade Phillips

The purpose of this project was to research virtual worship strategies in order to develop a strategic guide to transition virtual worshipers to in-person worship at Northcrest Baptist Church, Meridian, Mississippi. The project director used the research model found in the current Doctor of Ministry Handbook from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

This is a topic that has very little research on it currently as it is still a developing field of study in the church. It is, however, a field of study that has seen exponential growth because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most churches, including Northcrest, went live-stream only for several weeks during the initial COVID-19 shutdown of 2020. Therefore, despite the relative dearth of research, there is a great need for understanding.

The project director did a wide range of research on this topic to better understand those participating in worship both virtually and in-person at Northcrest. In doing so, he created a strategic guide for reaching those watching virtually at Northcrest that could serve as a tool for other churches to try to do the same.

Stephen Duwayne Bradley D.Min.

This project seeks to help Baptists better understand soteriology by using the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as a model to demonstrate how both Reformed and Arminian soteriological views can fit within the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, and to be clear where there is disagreement. It is not appropriate to label Southern Baptists as Calvinists, or Arminians, as historically they fall somewhere between the two persuasions. While there is significant agreement on numerous facets, Baptists vary on elements of soteriology, and thus training lay people to understand these differences will cause less confusion and mitigate unnecessary division.

Chapter 1 introduces the basis for the research project; the thesis of the project, the goals, and the methodology.

Chapter 2 introduces biblical and theological foundations for the doctrine of salvation. This chapter presents exegetical interpretations of relevant biblical passages and theological material.

Chapter 3 provides historical information regarding Reformed/Arminian debate within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Chapter 4 presents a recounting of the project including a 12-week study of the doctrine of salvation as presented by the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Chapter 5 provides a short conclusion for the project and offers additional observations, and testimonials from the participants of the 12-week course. Suggestions for further study are also included.

Thomas E Richter

This project asserts the thesis that preaching about the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers can help move the members of Cullman First Baptist Church in Cullman, AL, towards an every-member ministry model of ministry. The project consisted of a seven-week sermon series and a concurrent collaborative small group. The project director evaluated his project through comparing a pre-project questionnaire with a post-project questionnaire, through sermon feedback forms, and through small group interviews. The research indicates an 8.8% improvement in congregational knowledge and excitement in the areas of self-understanding and sense of vocation as part of God’s royal priesthood.

Akintoye Jeremiah Akintunde Rev. D.Ed.Min.

HELPING CHURCH MEMBERS UNDERSTAND AND BIBLICALLY RESPOND TO DEPRESSION
People often disregard the fact that the spiritual state of mind is greatly affected by what is happening in the physical. At times, depression results from exhaustion, anxiety, worry, and many bottled-up issues in people’s lives. People are depressed because they are unfulfilled in their careers, marital life, education, and plans. Unconfessed sin and wickedness of hearts can be the root cause of some depressive moods. When daily challenges become overwhelming and frustrating, people are spiritually drained and discouraged. What is needed for any individual struggling with a depressive mood is the Word of God through biblical counseling. Biblical counselors offer a compassionate heart and practical help through the biblical principles applied to the counselee’s life and situation.
Christians (church members) are not immune from depression because it is real and can be overcome and conquered through reliance on the Holy Spirit and appropriate biblical principles. Biblical counselors should always keep in mind a holistic perspective of human nature. God created human beings holistically – body, spirit, and soul. When one part suffers, every other part suffers with it. Psychology, philosophy, and psychoanalysis (or psychotherapy) are human theories and philosophies that can only last for a short time. The Word of God (Scripture) is authentic, inspired, inerrant, sufficient, and authoritative for counseling tasks and is superior to anything the world’s wisdom offers. The Scripture has the power to change life and turn around situations.
Regardless of the latest scientific discovery, research, and methodology, medical professionals still believe, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), that ‘mental disorders’ including depression fall into such “diagnostic criteria” with a collection of symptoms known as syndromes. A syndrome is simply a collection of symptoms that a person is experiencing.

Josiah Hoagland D.Min.

Throughout the United States, many Baptist churches have been following a recent trend of dropping “Baptist” from the church title. Research has shown that with the rise of post-denominationalism, there is a loss of identity in Baptist churches. This study explores the effects of dropping the name Baptist from a church’s title and its perceived impact on the theological identity of the church. This study includes a literature review analyzing the current body of literature on Baptist identity. Six Converge North Central Baptist churches were studied, three with a Baptist name and three without, using church surveys and interviews with church leaders to determine what theological differences exist between the two categories. The results of the study showed theological differences between the two categories; however, further research, including a quantitative analysis of Baptist churches spanning a broader region of the United States, would be helpful in determining catalysts for Baptist churches dropping the Baptist name.