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

James J. North, Jr.

Second Advisor

Walter Douglas

Third Advisor

Richard Davidson

Abstract

Many times pastors in their ministry face the task of leading their congregations through a church-building project. Often with little to no formal preparation for such a task, pastors and congregations experience challenges and pressures not anticipated. Sometimes the magnitude and extent of these challenges and pressures produce an adverse effect on the morale and spiritual conditions of the pastor and congregation. Since the emphasis in the Adventist Church in Bermuda is on evangelism and mission, one can expect that there will be an ongoing need for church buildings. The development of this strategy for guiding the pastor and congregation through a building project has come about by documenting some of the crucial processes, pressures, and decisions from personal experiences of three church-building projects. In addition to my own experiences, other sources were utilized which allowed me to draw on the experiences and thoughts of others who have been involved in church projects.

This study is, therefore, designed to bring together in one document a complete strategy setting out guidelines and church and government policies for church-building projects in Bermuda Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. At the same time it provides an opportunity for pastors with no formal church-building preparation the opportunity to orientate themselves and their congregations should they have need to engage in a building project. With such orientation both pastors and congregations will be in a better position to anticipate the challenges and pressures that will normally take place as a result of their engagement in such a building project. It is further anticipated that this strategy will minimize potential problem areas, such as financing the project, involvement of the congregation in decision making, and constructing a building to reflect the church’s theology and religious practices. A seminar on this strategy was recently presented to a group of church members who formed a new congregation and church family. Their response is included as a part of this strategy. They indicated that they felt more prepared for establishing a new congregation and building a church home after the seminar.

Subject Area

Seventh-day Adventist church buildings--Bermuda; Seventh-day Adventists--Bermuda

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/614

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