Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Vic Louis Arreola

Second Advisor

Jeanette Bryson

Third Advisor

Boubakar Sanou

Abstract

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist immigrants struggle to maintain Indonesian Adventist family worship practices in the process of assimilating to the United States culture. In particular, the family worship practices of the Rocky Mountain Indonesian Seventh-day Adventist Church have been adapted to fit the American environment and lifestyle. The practical family worship activities that were an essential component of the culture and identity of the people of Indonesian heritage are disappearing through exposure to new ideas and methods of worship. This lack of family worship in immigrant families must be addressed through cultural as well as theological perspectives.

Method

Couples, with at least one partner being an Indonesian immigrant, were invited to attend the pilot family worship seminars. Questionnaires on worship satisfaction were distributed before and after the seminars to members who were at least 16 years old. Analysis of the data allowed the researcher to determine the effectiveness of the seminars on encouraging the practice of family worship.

Results

Practical and theological reflections on family worship were formed based on biblical themes. Family worship was defined and examined, specifically in spiritual, historical, and cultural contexts. The topic of family worship was discussed in part through the lens of Indonesian Adventists who have immigrated to the United States. An oral evaluation survey was given to the 75 participants, The majority of comments were positive regarding the effectiveness of the .the presentations in strengthening their family worship activities and perspective on family worship. Sixty-five of the 75 participants also indicated that they have done, have started, and/or will continue conducting family worship services at home.

Conclusion

The goal of the seminar presentations was to assist attendees in making family worship more valuable and vibrant, even in their transition to a new life and culture. The presentation of family worship through the seminars motivated attendees to accept the holistic concept of family worship that transcends cultural boundaries. The seminar also led them to make family worship an important part of their children’s spiritual life and allowed them to use the practical methods for having family worship.

Subject Area

Families--Religious life; Indonesian Americans|xReligious life|zColorado; Rocky Mountain Indonesian Seventh-day Adventist Church (Aurora, Colo.)

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/386/

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