Methodist Churches

Thelma Herrera Flores

The purpose of this research is to develop a United Methodist ministry with Hispanic migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, also known as Campesinos, in the United States of America. The Campesinos encounter numerous struggles that go beyond the poverty of living standards, food, and education. This study will address a specific problem within the communities of Campesinos. Namely, the lack of spiritual leadership and guidance by clergy and laypersons within the church.

My methodology includes the development of an educational program that will enable churches to understand the plight of the Campesinos through bible study, testimonials, watching selected portions of videos, singing, and sharing fellowship Campesino meals. All with the purpose of stirring the church’s heart to action and leading them to a hands-on ministry with the migrant agricultural farm workers.

It is my hope that the United Methodist Church will reach out to the Campesinos to help them discover that Christ is walking next to them in the crop rows and drinking with them from the irrigation ditches. I believe in the beauty manifested through God’s love. The same love that can allow us to see that we are all the same. We all need Jesus.

Terrell M. Shoffner

It was on May 24, 1738 that John Wesley, a priest in the Church of England, went into a religious meeting in Aldersgate Street and had a heart warming experience that transformed his own life and inaugurated a great religious awakening among the English speaking peoples. Wesley belongs not only to the Methodist churches, but the Holy Catholic Church of which all Protestants are members and are indebted to him for the powerful influence of his wonderful personality. And undoubtedly the Roman Catholic Church has been influenced by the movement, but there will be little time to deal with this fact, except in a general way. It is the object of this essay to trace the contributions of this magnificent beacon light down through the centuries. Our endeavor may be logically divided into two parts. After giving a brief account of his life through his conversion experience, we shall concentrate our interest on Wesley’s influence during his earthly pilgrimage. In the second division we shall follow his influence from the time of his death up to the present time. Some of the materials present may seem to the reader to be irrelevant to the subject, but on closer examination he will see that it all tends to culminate in a better understanding of the influence that the founder of Methodism has had in the development of Christianity.

Rodney E. Miller

The project uses a narrative method to explore the nature of gentleness with its biblical and theological roots. It reflects on the way the harsh history of the anthracite area has shaped the attitudes and actions of members of the United Methodist Churches in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. In this respect special reference is made to the coal mines, the Molly Maguires, institutional violence, ethnic diversity, poverty, the railroads, economic depression, and local church history. Using a case study method, the project reflects upon the practice of a gentle style of ministry in various pastoral settings and its contribution toward overcoming obstacles to health and healing in these congregations. These settings include situations of resistance, distrust, and abuse of power. Boundary-setting and encounters with the demonic are also discussed.

The main thesis of the project is gentleness creates a supportive, gracious and sacred space in which individuals as well as congregations can feel free and safe enough to let down their protective defenses and receive the healing and health which God offers. In the sacred space created by gentleness, God is at work to heal and to enable individuals and congregations to discern their power to overcome abuse in non-abusive ways. Gentleness, as gracious respect, enables people to change their attitudes and behavior to one another, God, and the community. This gentle leadership style has the potential to heal not only church congregations but also communities and nations.

Richard L. Schenck

Approaching the subject of Christian Ethics by looking at "life" as a comprehensive whole, this dissertation presented three criteria for a Christian ethic of life: (a) A whole life mission embraces life as a comprehensive whole. This holistic mission is an adequate ethic for local church outreach to the whole person in society. (b) A whole life ethic of the local church embodies the compassion of Christ. (c) A whole life ethic is consistent, as a local church engages itself in sanctity of life as well as quality of life issues.

These criteria are the guiding principles of this project and are utilized in this assessment and development of an ethic of life for the local Wesleyan Church. This whole life ethic addresses issues along the whole spectrum of life from conception to death. That spectrum confronts such sanctity of life issues as abortion, capital punishment and modern warfare, as well as quality of life issues such as economic poverty and despair.

This project calls for an introduction and integration of a "consistent ethic-of-life mission" into the social outreach ministry of a local church. Integrating this mission into a local church means that the project was involved in an introductory attempt to insert a new social mission agenda into the present mission of that church. The strategy introduced an educational approach that would lead to the establishment of a social outreach ministry, through the use of a primer that was pilot-tested in three symposiums. The symposiums were conducted at three Wesleyan Churches in the Indiana Central District: Crawfordsville Sonlight Wesleyan Church, Indianapolis Shelby Street Wesleyan Church, and the Tipton Trinity Wesleyan Church.

Kathy Harvey Nelson

This project will explore the significance of the spiritual lives of small church pastors. It is my goal to examine their spiritual lives by looking at the way they influence their congregations to live as followers of Christ. In addition, it is my contention that by engaging a deep practice of spiritual discipline a pastor's call is clarified and guided by the Holy Spirit into ways that produce a type of living that I am calling "connectional spirituality." To do this the project utilizes a review of relevant literature and past trends of thought, interviews with fifteen small church pastors serving the Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church and my personal experience as a small church pastor and spiritual director of small church pastors. This study finds that pastors who engage regularly in spiritual practices find themselves leading their congregation to act as a type of mission outpost in their community. Through the interviews, I discovered that the more engaged a pastor was with spiritual practices; the more likely they were to lead in ways that lifted up those in the community surrounding the church as the ones God calls them to serve. This seems to be one very significant way in which small churches can be revitalized and become passionate, vital communities of Christ. Through this, I was led to explore the importance of being a missional church and the ways that this type of connectional spirituality grows from both spiritual practice and being formed in the image of Christ, leading pastors and churches to embody connectedness in their community.

Tracy Mooney

Small-to-medium sized United Methodist churches often struggle with adapting to new technology. Unfortunately, this problem has now become a large obstacle which must be overcome by each individual congregation while trying to spread the message of Jesus Christ. While congregations could be evangelizing through technology, the lack of enthusiasm and/or resources in many congregations has stifled the voice of the Methodist church in the digital world, slowing the dissemination of their message of God’s grace and love. Seeking guidance from the growth of Methodism through John and Charles Wesley’s leadership, the research proposes a plan for small-to-medium sized churches to evangelize online. The project studies the benefits of creating Audio, Communication, and Technology (ACT) Teams, enabling a new generation of leaders and bringing them together with other United Methodist congregations to share and then implement technology resources. With ACT Teams, United Methodist churches can develop itinerant leaders that “go out” digitally to build relationships with people who may not be able or be willing to enter a physical church building. The project also explores the ways leaders can use video to create an atmosphere for viewers to have a transformational experience with God. The hope is that by following the Wesleyan example of evangelism, The United Methodist Church may break through the digital noise to connect to those in a new way.

Jonette Gay

This project is an exploration of the tension between the extremes of order and novelty to determine how one should decide to act in church polity or personal ethics. In a world caught in an either/or mindset, maybe the answer is not simply both/and, but holding the two together intact and in tension. Using order and novelty as a lens, this project will review the church polity in the Book of Discipline in the United Methodist Church and compare two other denominations heavily weighted in order or novelty: The Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ. [This is the complete original abstract from the author.]

Ho Yeong Lee

The purpose of this project is to awaken the members of Augusta Korean Methodist Church about the dangers of the religious pluralism by using the Book of Judges in expository preaching. So the project director researched and studied the theory and practical side of this subject. By using the enhanced and studies expository preaching, the project director came up with sermons that reflected the church members present situations and the reality.

The expository sermons tried to awaken the Augusta church members, who are living in the post-modernism world and the religious pluralism. Also emphasized about the dangers of the post-modernism generation by helping the Augusta church members that they need to trust the absolute authority of God and that the Word of God should be the center of their life. In order to achieve this goal, the project director used the Old Testament Book of Judges as the background of the messages. This went on for 8 weeks, for the project director to emphasize to the church members and it was very intentional.

Chin Sul Chang

This project aimed to develop a senior ministry strategy for Atlanta Bethany United Methodist Church. Driven by low birth rate, worldwide population aging is expected to accelerate in the future. Churches are also faced with a crisis in which the number of children and the younger generation going to church is falling and growth stalled. Strengthening the senior ministry, which is demanded by the world we live in today, is a mission Churches must take upon themselves and a way to change this crisis into an opportunity. The project director first conducted extensive research on materials related to senior ministry and based on vigorously researched theories, set specific directions for the senior ministry of a church to take. Then, through research and analysis of the unique environment of Atlanta Bethany United Methodist Church, the project director carried out the process of developing an effective senior ministry strategy.

The strategy was developed through a process of establishing a strategy development team within the Church and, through four meetings, building common understanding and gathering opinions, and conducting surveys. The finalized strategy was presented to the Church’s official committee and received approval. The outcomes of each state were sent three times to outside specialists, and the strategy was completed after making revisions based on their assessments. In this process, it was assessed that the ministerial goal of developing a senior ministry strategy as well as personal career development goal of enhancing knowledge of senior ministry and improving strategy development skills were sufficiently achieved. It is hoped that the developed senior ministry strategy is effectively practiced at Atlanta Bethany United Methodist Church and provides much help the Church and its congregation.

Eric Pugh

In the United Methodist Church, the preaching of the deacon is an underdeveloped voice that should be included among all the other preaching voices in the church. The preaching voice of the deacon is grounded in their call to compassion, justice, reconciliation, and restoration, and is informed by biblical and historical contexts that affirm and confirm the value and necessity of such preaching. Naming and claiming the voice of the deacon as preacher requires deacons to understand themselves, their call to ministry, and the relevance and importance of their voice that calls attention to the need for justice in action as valid and necessary in our world today. The voice of the United Methodist deacon as preacher is a necessary voice in the local church and beyond for the advancement of social justice. This project thesis rests on the belief that for the United Methodist deacon, claiming their voice as preacher helps them more fully fulfill their call to ministry and live into their baptismal and ordination vows.