Virginia

Jeffrey M. Luchun

The purpose of this project in ministry report was to develop a strategic plan for St. Andrew's United Methodist Church (SAUMC) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to reach millennials in their surroundings community through the implementation of these methodologies and the developed strategic plan. During the past decade, at SAUMC, the need to reach the next generation has reached a critical point. The community around the church holds multiple mosaic identities which identifies which were utilized in developing the strategy to reach this narrowed demographic. Current literature on the topic and strategic planning assist in identifying key methodologies St. Andrew's can implement. The millennial generation desires a church that reflects ancient aspects while blending contemporary distinctiveness. This change in ministry thinking, style, and context provides the church with the perfect opportunity to evolve. This project identifies strategies utilized by churches that are successfully reaching the largest and most unchurched population in the United States. These strategies inform the future planning of SAUMC as it seeks to reach millennials in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Jonathan A Ytterock

Christian congregations today live under the reign of the ascended Lord Jesus, who has been exalted to right hand of God the Father, lives to intercede for us, pours out his Spirit, and promises to return. Yet the reality of Jesus’ ascension is often dramatically undercelebrated, distorted, or dismissed. When this happens, congregations not only lose a key part of the Biblical witness, but also a key way of understanding their identity, calling, and hope. If the church today relates to Jesus as the ascended Lord, pastors and Christian leaders should be asking, what are the implications of the ascension for leading congregations to participate in the mission of God? In response to that question, this project places the doctrine and story of Jesus’ ascension in conversation with pastoral ethnography and the organizational theories of sensemaking and innovation as defined by Karl Weick and Clayton Christensen. Through this conversation, and by focusing particularly on the congregation of Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church, I propose that the reality of the ascension – particularly Jesus’ incarnate exaltation, his intercession and gifting of the Spirit, and his promised return – gives small to average-sized mainline congregations stability in the present and resources to act and improvise hopefully into the future as they participate faithfully and contextually in the mission of God.

Richard Paul Grendahl D.Min.

This study presented modern scientific theories along with Christian theological concepts to lead young people to a deeper understanding of their Christian faith. The project consists of four lessons covering The Big Bang Theory and Creation, Evolution and the Image of God, Centering Prayer, and World-Class Scientists who are devout Christians. The participants were surveyed before the lessons began; after the lessons were completed, as well as a month later to determine the effectiveness of the lessons. An evaluation of the project with recommendations for future use is included. A PowerPoint presentation for this project is included in the Appendix.

Caitlin Thomas Deyerle D.Min.

With a goal of developing a new practice of mission to address the disconnect between a congregation and its surrounding community and engage the historical and ongoing limitations of mission practices, this project sought to engage the skills of pastoral care to create a relational focused practice of holy listening. A five-week Lenten Listening program was developed to cultivate this practice and use it to create a deeper partnership with local educators. The evaluation methods used were a survey of the congregational participants before and after the program, and in-person interviews with the educators following the program. The project addresses racial and socioeconomic differences between church and community as a primary barrier to mission partnership.

Temaki Carr D.Min.

The Legacy of Hope stares into the future, a future that seems riddled with change and transition, and ponders how best to serve a transforming community. Mt. Hope Baptist Church is a historically African American church nestled in a moderately rural Virginia community, which is in the midst of an enormous population, socioeconomic, and demographic transition. How will this community transition impact Mt. Hope? The purpose of the research was to determine what effect, if any, a relational meeting campaign and two multicultural, multiracial Christian education classes would have on incorporating multicultural, nonblack attendees into the life of Mt. Hope Baptist Church. The research determined that the threshold to incorporate multicultural, nonblack attendees into the life of Mt. Hope Baptist church has been traversed. The formal and informal relational meeting campaign with key leaders and nonblack worship attendees as well as two Christian education classes influenced the five measurement protocols towards a propensity of acceptance to multicultural ministry.

Emma J. Valentine

This project addresses the need for the Northern Virginia Baptist Association to become a resource center on mental illness to assist its congregations. The researcher did a qualitative review of literature on the impact of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia; facilitated focus groups and interviews with professionals from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and religion, as well as lay people; and examined a case study of a family with a mentally ill son. Results of the study suggest that pastors and leaders can work collaboratively within the Association to provide a user-friendly resource center for those seeking help with mental health issues.

[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.]

Wesley Brian Jamison D.Min.

Progressive churches continue to struggle with retaining youth, who often seen little merit in the church's traditions and rituals. These spiritual practices are essential to nurturing the strength and vision necessary to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. This project offers a model for integrating these practices into the regular activities of youth ministry as a way of reconnecting them to the struggle for justice. It was tested by adding the observance of the daily offices of prayer to a youth mission trip and examining the views of participants concerning prayer and its connection to justice before, during, and after the trip. Noticeable changes were measured during and after the trip, indicating that youth came to see spiritual practices are more important to the work of justice. These findings suggest that the church would do well to look to its own history of monasticism as a model for youth ministry in the post-Christian era.

Victor R Gómez

No abstract.

Jeffrey W Meyer

This project involved designing a systematized and flexible church planting tool for maximum church planting effectiveness. The Church Planting Location and Model Guide was developed for demonstrating linkages between the church planter, the focus area, and the church model. New and veteran church planters throughout Virginia field-tested the tool by gathering demographic and psychographic information. Each resulting data profile was analyzed to confirm that the selected church model matched the church planter and his mission field context. The resulting readiness tool guides planters in church planting preparation as they choose a church model that maximizes Gospel contextualization and cultural relevance.