Church membership

Robert J. Phillips D.Min.

This project will address the decline of the millennial generation’s church attendance within the 08033 zip code during the past decade. There are times a church can have the appearance of being a successful church, but the zeal of both the clergy and the respective congregation is slowly diminishing. The older generation continues to do their best to keep the ministry viable and alive to some degree, but at the same time, a younger generation, many times made up by millennials does not see the importance of the communal aspect of church other than what occurs on Sunday morning. It is becoming more obvious that that we are dealing with a generation of believers that are not like our parents or grandparents. Tradition appears not to be the millennials calling card. We will show that millennials love God, not just the church service that has stood for decades. Today’s church must provide opportunities for them to serve based upon their needs for church and commitment. The statistical data was gathered by the author of this thesis through several one-on-one discussions with the clergy of the five surveyed churches and with several millennial residents of the town of Haddonfield, New Jersey. Examples in the ministry of the apostle Paul were gathered from the MacDonald Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald and A Theology of the New Testament by George E. Ladd.

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.

Andy S. Manzano D.Min.

Many pastors and church leaders face the challenge of getting most of the congregants involved in some aspect of ministry. This thesis project focuses on the use of celebrative preaching as a homiletical design to address this challenge. It presents details of the project, the ministry context, the homiletical approach, plans, processes, survey responses, as well as the outcomes that ensued while seeking to resolve this issue. It also explores some of the factors that contribute to this predicament and provides relevant advice on how to address it. It is hoped that the information contained in this thesis can serve as a useful source to all who are interested in rectifying this dilemma.

Levi Santure Gardner

"The growth of churches is predicated upon the membership claiming the inheritance of baptism and living into the expectations of their initiation into Christ's holy church. The author analyzed the role of baptism in the life of a congregation where most do not remember or recall the moment of their baptism. In this evaluation, the author created tools for persons [in the United Methodist Church and other Christian traditions] to recommit to their baptism and the spiritual gifting that emerges from this practice. By so doing, the author intended to foster an environment of spiritual fruitfulness and congregational growth." -- Leaf [2].

Charles Winslow Fiske Jr.

"Developing a workable strategy for membership recruitment within the Duahzon United Methodist Church has been a problem since it became recognized as a full-fledged church within the Kakata-Farmington River District of the Liberia Annual Conference. Prior to the inception of this project, the members of this young congregation were complacent with the idea of staying within the walls of their edifice and expect members to come looking for the church, instead of the church's reaching out into the communities to win souls for Christ. However, as a result of mobilizing the congregation through sermons, seminars and teachings carried out during Bible studies and Sunday school sections, coupled with its aggressive small group outreach initiatives, the congregation has developed a new module for membership recruitment, using small groups and this is significantly impacting not only its membership growth; it is also beginning to be a major factor for spiritual growth and revivalism as it prepares members of the church to become faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ." -- Leaf [2].

Michael Butler

The purpose of this project was to enhance doctrinal preaching skills to increase congregational awareness of the doctrine of local church membership at First Baptist Church, Chickasha, Oklahoma. The project progressed through three phases: research, writing, and preaching. By researching the field of doctrinal preaching, the director identified a list of five best practices of doctrinal preaching. The director then employed these practices in writing a series of four sermons on the doctrine of local church membership. After writing the sermons, the director preached the sermon series at FBC. A pre-test and post-test assessment demonstrated the sermons increased awareness of the importance of the doctrine of local church membership among the project's participants.

Yong Eun Jung

The author carried out a six-week project regarding welcoming newcomers of Sung-eun Church and their settlement in the church. The first half of this thesis contains studies on the biblical hospitality based on researches of other theologists and suggests a theology of “Love Crossing Hospitality” the author came up with after the studies. In addition, the latter half of this thesis contains details regarding New Family Project, the six-week project regarding welcoming newcomers and their settlement. Conducting this project, the whole church has been prepared for welcoming upcoming newcomers and supporting their settlement in the church.

[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.]

Antony Barraclough D.Min.

This project researches the present-day Sunday church attendance patterns of committed Christians within the Sydney Anglican context. The project seeks to establish the veracity of anecdotal comments by pastors that the regular member of the church attends church either two in four to three in four Sundays a month. From there it seeks to determine the reasons this group of believers give for absenteeism and thereafter to respond biblically and pastorally to those reasons. A tool by the way of a short paper with the main findings of the project will be made available to laity and clergy alike to assist them in dealing with this issue.

Moore A Joshua

Local church membership is vital to spiritual growth as it allows believers to serve God, while developing community within the body of Christ. When the membership process is unclear, the local church suffers as fewer people engage in service. This leads to ministry fatigue among those serving in multiple roles. A system of assimilation was implemented to encourage non-members to join Driscoll Boulevard Baptist Church. Research indicated that a strategic process of assimilation would enhance the value of local church membership. This should improve the overall health of the church as more people engage in ministry moving forward.

Alfred N Young

The purpose of this project was to develop a strategy to assimilate guests and regular attendees into fully engaged members of Faith Bible Church, Covington, Louisiana. The project director conducted an analysis of the congregation. He explored existing assimilation models in order to determine best pratices and led the vision implementation team of Faith Bible Church to develop a strategy in order to assimilate guests and regular attendees into fully engaged members.