Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

1998

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Russell Staples

Second Advisor

Nancy J. Vyhmeister

Third Advisor

Ricardo Norton

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the biblical background of the Christian church and its mission, in order to better understand the implications for Adventist mission in the Baltic countries. This study is intended to equip ministerial students with basic knowledge and to stimulate further studies of the church and its mission. Implications are drawn from the findings of the investigation to stimulate the mission of the church in the Baltic Union Conference.

The first part of the dissertation deals with the origins, nature, and functions of the Christian church within a biblical and theological perspective. Consideration of the Old Testament origins leads into a study of some of the New Testament images of the church and their significance. This is followed by a consideration of the major ontological and functional models of the church and the significance of several of these for the Adventist church in the Baltic states.

The second part deals with the mission of the church within a biblical and historical perspective. A major part of this section is devoted to a presentation of the historical development of the Seventh-day Adventist church and the theological basis of its powerful sense of mission. A brief survey is given of the development of Adventist missions, the Adventist missionary message, and the status of the Adventist Church in the world today. Suggestions are made regarding the task remaining, and strategies and methods that may be relevant to the work of the church in the Baltic Conferences.

There are several ways to reach people in the Baltic countries, such as friendship evangelism, small Bible study groups, and others. However, the main concern for the Adventist church in the Baltic countries is to remain Christ-centered and loving, and to refocus from numbers to real people with real needs. The church as a community of faith, which worships together, may be one of the best methods to attract people to the Gospel.

Subject Area

Mission of the Church; Seventh-day Adventist--Balkan Peninsula

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/435/

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