Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Richard Sylvester

Second Advisor

Jorge Mayer

Third Advisor

Emmanuel Takyi

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to explore the possibility of enhancing the friendship of certain married couples in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Madison, Tennessee Hispanic District. This project resource should add to the academic field of study by possibly helping pastors, family educators, and church family life leaders to consider using this project to help enrich the relationships of married couples. It will likely provide resource information for those doing projects or working with married couples.

Justification for the Project

There is a need to nurture the friendship of the married couples within the churches of the Madison Hispanic District. If these couples participated in an event with the intentional purpose of enhancing their friendship they might be able to build and maintain a stronger marital bond.

Methodology

Theological reflection was done by reviewing literature dealing with strengthening the marriage relationship. In addition, marriage enrichment seminars were studied. The three organized churches and a missionary group that form the Madison, Tennessee Hispanic District were to participate in the project. A set of questionnaires found in part one of the Sound Relationship House by the Gottman Institute was used as the study instrument. A seminar to strengthen friendship in marriage was developed. Before participating in the seminar the couples answered the questionnaires as a pre-test. The seminar was administered during a weekend spiritual retreat. Five follow-up sessions proceeded the retreat. After the follow-up sessions the same questionnaire was given again to the participants. The questionnaires were collected and the data analyzed. The results were analyzed to determine if the couples’ friendship had been enhanced and the impact, if any, that the seminar had on their marital relationships. This was an exploratory or heuristic study dealing with the friendship experienced in the marriage of the couples, therefore qualitative in nature.

Results

This study was relevant to my academic growth since it allowed me to develop my powers of investigation, enhanced the practice of analyzing data, improved my ability and capacity to develop seminars in the context of marriage, enriched my own relationship as a husband, and increased my skills to work with married couples.

Conclusion

The application of the seminar provided the participants with the knowledge and interaction to experience a deeper friendship in their relationships as couples. The evidence of a positive impact on the relationships of the participants was clear. This was based on the results reflected in the data analyzed and the evaluation of the seminar, done by that the participants.

Subject Area

Marriage--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists; Relationship quality; Married people; Madison, Tennessee Hispanic District of Seventh-day Adventists

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/302/

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