Church development, New

Blake Cordaris Allen D.Min.

Replanting efforts fulfill God’s desire for spiritual flourishing and gospel advancement. The goal of church replanting is to go from dying to flourishing. There is no pleasure found in the closing of a church that bears the name of Christ. For this reason, dying churches need biblical solutions to address their current conditions. The purpose of this project was to develop a replanting strategy to equip Living Hope Dunbar Cave to reach the unchurched in Central Clarksville, Tennessee. Chapter 1 presents the history and ministry context of Living Hope Dunbar Cave and the goals of this project. Chapter 2 provides an exegesis of three passages of Scripture (Ezek. 37:1-6; Rev. 3:1–6; Acts 2:40–47) to show that replanting efforts fulfill God’s desire for spiritually flourishing churches and gospel advancement. Chapter 3 presents the practical reasons for church replanting, including biblical stewardship, encouragement, and community vibrancy through gospel advancement. Chapter 4 describes the details and descriptions of the project itself, recounting the project goals, content, and teaching methodology of the eight-week series. Chapter 5 evaluates the effectiveness of the project based on the completion of the project goals. Ultimately, this project intended to take the first step in equipping churches for church replanting.

Zane Buddy Brents

Houston, Texas, is a multi-ethnic city with a need for more multi-ethnic churches. As a result, Nations church Planting Network and Nations Church Houston have adopted a goal of starting multi-ethnic churches. This Doctor of Ministry Project aimed to research the field of multi-ethnic church planting to design a training e-manual for Nations Church Planting Network and Nations Church Houston.

This project was guided by the ministry research model as prescribed by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Research goals included understanding the main key components for multi-ethnic planting and skill development for learning how to design a manual. This research project has increased the director's knowledge of multi-ethnic church starts and his ability to write a functional 3-manual. In the end, the research goals shaped the project outcome of a multi-ethnic church planting e-manual.

Don G Huitink

This manual is written for pastors who are in new church starts, field secretaries, classes 'Church Planning and Development committees, and denominational staff who are in supportive roles for new church development.

Chapter One contains the biblical and theological basis for beginning new congregations.

Chapter Two is an historical overview of Reformed thought and practice regarding new church development.

Chapter Three focuses upon the structures needed to support, select, and supervise new fields.

Chapter Four examines the necessary procedures to select and support pastors for new church development. It is designed to assist those calling new church development pastors to prepare to call a pastor, know what to look for in a new church pastor, provide for pastors orientation, and provide ongoing support, training, and supervision.

Chapter Five outlines the basic issues and tasks in the first of four stages of development.

Chapter Six outlines the basic issues and tasks in the second of four stages o f development.

Chapter Seven out lines the basic issues and tasks in the third of four stages of development.

Chapter Eight outlines the fourth stage of development and its tasks.

The Appendix contains samples of a Reformed philosophy of ministry, funding application, advertising for a new congregation, an organizational chart, ministry group descriptions, leadership training suggestions, budget proposal, processes for selecting architects, builders, and other consultants, capital fund raising, and loan application forms and requirements.

Richard Russell Patterson

Launching a new church has been an expedition fraught with spiritual and psychological baggage; it' s not simply an act of compiling the right worship director and children' s ministries leader. An adequate understanding or at least appreciation of these spiritual and psychological issues is necessary to prevent damaging results for the pastor, congregation, and the world to which it intends to minister. However, with a proper appreciation of these issues, there exists the real possibility for developing a community of grace, hope, and healing in a world crying out for such a thing.

The issues presenting themselves include the role of narcissism in the development of the pastor and the congregation in our context. Particular attention should be given to the powerful weight this psychological phenomenon has on an institution such as the church in our culture. These issues go so far as to skew our right understanding of fundamental aspects of the church such as discipleship and evangelism.

Lastly, this issue of narcissism, left unrestrained and misunderstood, will ultimately affect that spiritual entity having authority over the church which comes to life at the intersection of a church and its Creator -- the angel of the congregation. Discerning God' s message to that angel has brought a sense of healing and empowerment to our community and a new sense of commitment to our collective call.

Ivis Costa Fernandes D.Min.

Many churches live in search of the new model of ecclesiastical functioning that will lead them to the proper care of the flock and to growth. Some varied from one model to the next, in an endless search. Others have been frustrated and are disappointed with the possibility of healthy growth. This is the reality of many churches regarding small group models. What will help churches to develop healthy small groups is a comprehensive understanding of the topic, from some essential perspectives.

The objective of the research was to identify criteria that would guide the Second Baptist Church of Macaé to build a new model of small group ministry suited to its reality and needs. The literature review pointed to six hypotheses of guiding criteria. From in-depth interviews with eight pastors and church leaders with strong small-group ministries, the hypotheses were confirmed.

The research concludes with a proposal of procedure for the implementation of the ministry in the church, as well as suggestions of themes for future studies, which can help in the deepening of practical questions of the research.

Kang Won Lee

"The Korean diaspora church in the United States served as an important cultural base for Korean immigrants over the first part of the twentieth century, but many second and third-generation Koreans left in the "Silent Exodus." Evangelism to this group of young adults is critical for the future of the Korean diaspora church. I examine a new model of planting church through the success of San Francisco Bay Area's "Embrace Church," a church led by and oriented toward second-generation Korean Americans. The success of this church in the deeply "unchurched" area of Oakland suggests a promising model for future mission directions." -- Leaf [2].

Matthew G. Johnson

"New church starts in the United Methodist Church experience failure at a surprisingly high rate. The author spoke with six United Methodist Church planters to learn about the ways they experienced fruitfulness in ministry even as their projects were not deemed successful. Many of these stories have not been previously told and the author found it meaningful and important to share the stories of the important work that these planters accomplished. Using the information gathered from these stories, the author makes suggestions as to how church planting in the United Methodist Church might change to offer greater support and success to those people who are attempting to start new churches." -- Leaf [2].

James Troy Stewart

The project's purpose was to develop and associational replanter assessment guide for the North American Mission Board (NAMB). The project model for this project was the ministry research model. First, the project director explored the field of church replanting to determine a list of the essential church replanter characteristics. Second, the project director researched a selection of church planter assessment processes to provide a report on best practices. Third, the project director designed a replanter pre-assessment process for online development. Fourth, the project director developed a replanter assessment guide for NAMB to provide local associations and state conventions. Finally, the project director presented the pre-assessment design and assessment guide to the NAMB Replant team for approval. The project sought to increase the NAMB Replant team's impact to equip local Southern Baptist Associations to identify, assess, and develop church replanters in an effort to replant healthier churches in the future.

Braden E. Taylor D.Min.

This Doctor of Ministry project examines the explosive growth of the Hispanic community in the United States and presents a handbook for planting Hispanic American churches in the southeastern U.S. We analyze the need and demonstrate the Biblical basis for planting churches among Hispanic Americans in this country.
We trace the history of what God has been doing among Hispanic Americans in North America, investigating the history of Latino Protestantism in the U.S. We consider the remarkable growth of Hispanic Evangelicals in this country, taking note of the marked influence of Pentecostal and Charismatic forms of Christianity. We study the demographics and great diversity of the U.S. Hispanic community, examine Hispanic cultural values, and consider challenges faced by this community and the U.S. Hispanic church.
We investigate a wide range of models for planting churches among Hispanic Americans, taking into account whether they are Spanish or English proficient. We investigate Hispanic church planting done by Latino, multicultural and Anglo churches, and examine Hispanic church models in Birmingham, Alabama and other cities. We also consider church models developed in response to demographic changes in the United States.
Finally, in our handbook for planting Hispanic American churches in the southeastern United States, we present fourteen practical steps to begin a Hispanic American congregation in our area. By following the steps laid out in this handbook, any group of believers, church, church planter or presbytery will have a better understanding of how to go about reaching Hispanics with the Gospel and gathering them into a new congregation of believers who love and serve the Lord together.

Alma Lee Langley-Ward D.Min.

The main purpose of this research was to study the validity of using liturgical drama as a vital tool of expression to help make Scripture come alive for the application and transformation of lives, first of the researcher’s local congregation and eventually of other churches. The researcher wrote and directed a play based on Luke 1:26-35 using members of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church as actors and crew. The entire church was a participant of this research as the play was done during a Sunday morning worship service as part of the liturgy. The mixed-method approach presented the most viable pathway for this study and the researcher surveyed a cross-section of the congregation both as actors and audience members. The essential elements considered in using this method involved selecting the Scripture passage; observing the participants during rehearsals to determine their level of understanding of their roles and the motivation for their actions; and administering a survey to measure and analyze the effectiveness of the play in increasing biblical knowledge and inspiring transformation that would produce daily scriptural application. For a more objective case study, the researcher chose those members who presented with a limited understanding of Scripture and were interested in learning through their participation in the play. Rehearsals ran once a week for six weeks with additional rehearsals during the final week. The focus of the observation was on the conduct of the cast from week to week. The researcher assessed each cast member for transformation and changes in behavioral patterns. The findings suggest that using liturgical drama as a model for teaching the Word of God can be an effective teaching tool. The researcher claims that there is still hope of liturgical drama being a key part of the liturgy and worship