New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Mark Louis Johnson

The purpose of this project is to research racial reconciliation in the Southern Baptist Convention and develop a workshop for the parishioners of the Liberty Hill Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio. In 2011, Liberty Hill Baptist Church took a step toward racial reconciliation by joining the Southern Baptist Convention. Parishioners, some of whom migrated from the South, expressed concerns about joining "that racist organization." However, despite their concerns, Liberty Hill voted overwhelmingly to join the SBC. Buried in the pile of 1,145 resolutions from 1845 to 2017 are resolutions specifically impacting African Americans. These resolutions expand the narrative of Southern Baptist Convention life, culture, and faith and reveal God's redemptive power that has allowed the Southern Baptist Convention to evolve from an organization with a connection to slavery to one of the most diverse conventions in the United States.

Brandon Luke McKinney

The purpose of this project was to develop a revitalization strategy for First Baptist Church of New Smyrna Beach, Florida (FirstNSB). The project director obtained demographic data for a specific study area surrounding the church as well as a twenty-year profile for the church. Additionally, the project director surveyed selected leaders in the church. The community and church data helped the project director to determine trends in the community and the church. The project director also researched church revitalization resources in order to discover best practices for revitalization. A multigenerational team of twelve persons was selected from the church membership and the project director led this team through a process to develop a revitalization strategy. The revitalization strategy developed by the team was presented to the church leadership for approval. The strategy was approved unanimously by the church leadership.

Mark A Boyd

The purpose of this project was to develop an outreach strategy for First Baptist Church of Verdigris, Oklahoma (FBCV), in order to reach families with school age children. The project director led selected members of FBCV to develop a multifaceted family outreach strategy to reach families with school age children in the surrounding community. The project director explored different family models of ministry for evangelistic church growth and revitalization. Next, the project director collected and evaluated the demographic data in a one, three and five-mile radius along with the internal annual church profile date of FBCV. Then the project director interviewed pastors of growing churches that were similar in culture and size to FBCV prior to their breakout in reaching families with children. Finally, utilizing the resources gathered, the project director and the outreach strategy team met for six sessions and developed a multi-faceted family outreach strategy designed to reach families with school age children for FBCV. The project director presented the strategy to the church members of FBCV for acceptance who formally accepted the strategy in a special called business meeting on November 05, 2017.

Robert C Sipper

Seeking to reach a community with the gospel of Jesus Christ requires an intentional path for fostering lives of investment and passion. The purpose of this project was to develop a vision strategy for Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hillsborough, North Carolina. By studying the demographics of the community and the church, the project director hoped to see God working to bring believers together to formulate avision strategy. Concurrently, the project director studied and evaluated several models for developing a vision strategy, seeking to guide a leadership team to discover the unique makeup of the church and how an intentional strategy within the framework of a tailored model will guide the future of the church. Professionally, the project director sought to grow in his knowledge of vision strategies and ability to adapt avision strategy process to other venues. Additionally, the project director hoped to gain leadership skills that transcend the project for use inmultiple settings in the church and community. The project director planned to use various rubrics and evaluators to appraise the research, methodology, and concluding product. Ultimately, the project director desired to see ministry alignment across various programs and arenewed passion for community ministry.

Jeff Waters

The purpose of this project was to develop a church revitalization strategy for Broad Street Baptist Church (BSBC) in Hawkinsville, Georgia. A vision team made up of lay-leaders from BSBC was appointed. They examined demographic information of the church and the surrounding community. The informatoin included attendance data, financial data, and the demographic make-up and trends of the community. Next, the vision team assisted the project director by giving insight into an overall strategy for revitalization and setting goals to accomplish health and growth. The vision team presented the strategy to the church for approval.

Mark C Gainey

The purpose of this project was to develop a disciple-making strategy for Deerfood Baptist Church (DBC) in Trussville, Alabama. During the first phase of the project, the project director explored the demographics of DBC to assess the effectiveness of current disciple-making processes. In the second phase, the project director researched existing models of disciple-making to determine best practices. The third phase of the project involved the project director leading a strategy team to develop a disciple-making strategy for the church. The final phase of the project was to present the completed disciple-making strategy to DBC for approval.

Jody A Shaw

The purpose of this project is to develop an outreach strategy for millennials at Community Bible Church in Stockbridge, Georgia. The project director led selected staff members of Community Bible Church to develop a strategy of reaching millennials in Henry County, Georgia. The strategy planning team met for six sessions to develop a strategy that would be effective for the church. The project director informed the team on demographic data from Henry County, data about millennials discovered in research, outreach strategies, and strategy formation essentials. The project director then led the team to develop a multifaceted outreach strategy. After completion, the project director presented the finalized strategy to the executive leadership team of the church for approval and implementation.

Kyle E Routzahn

The scope of this project is to equip selected addiction-recovery ministry leaders in east Mississippi with group facilitation skills. The pastor of Union Baptist Church in Clarke County, Mississippi, is planning to launch Christian addiction-recovery ministries centered on weekday Celebrate Recovery [registered symbol] meetings. The ministries are collaborative works involving selected Chrsitians from Southern Baptist churches in the local Baptist associations. Phase two of these ministries include the addition of a rotating Friday night contemporary worship service at the same non-church locations where the weekday meetings will be held. Three goals are the foundation of this Doctor of Ministry equipping project. The first goal is to research addiction recovery in order to identify group facilitation skills. The second goal is to develop a curriculum to equip selected addiction-recovery ministry leaders in east Mississippi, in group facilitation skills. The third and final project goal is to equip selected addiction-recovery ministry leaders in east Mississippi, in group facilitation skills. The project director's primary purpose in implementing this project is for the world to see that Jesus Christ is alive and still setting captives free.

Keith L Atchley

The purpose of this project was to develop a community needs assessment of at-risk students in Fyffe High School in Fyffe, Alabama, for the purpose of making recommendations to Fyffe First Baptist Church (Fyffe FBC) on how to best minister to these students and their parents. Multiple forms of demographic data were considered in order to identify the age ranges, socio-economic status, and behaviors that contribute to students becoming at-risk. Interviews with local and state agencies along with local school officials were conducted to ascertain what forms of assistance are available to students and if any proactive interventions are in place to prevent students from slipping into the at-risk category. Research and surveys were conducted in order to discover and assess the age and grade level of students who can be most impacted by intervention and support strategies.

Eddie Mosley

The purpose of this project was to equip selected adults from LifePoint Church, Smyrna, Tennessee, with disciple-making skills for gendered-based groups. Equipping selected adults with disciple-making skills for gender-based groups will potentially address the need for multiplication of disciple groups. Making disciples through gender-based groups to know and understand scripture will strengthen the individuals in their pursuit to be more like Christl. Disciple-making will become a key practice to help LifePoint attendees grow spiritually and multiply disciples. The project director used an equipping model with three phases to accomplish this project. Phase one of the equipping model was to research several different models of disciple-making, including small groups, Sunday School, gender-based groups, and mentoring, in order to discover common skills used to produce disciples. Phase two consisted of the project director synthesizing the skills discovered in the research into a training course. Phase three was the training workshop with selected adults. The project evaluation confirmed the project equipped the selected adults with disciple-making skills needed for gender-based groups.