Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Stanley E. Patterson

Second Advisor

Jonathan Musvosvi

Third Advisor

David Penno

Abstract

Problem

Some Seventh-day Adventist Church members in Chiremba West District, Harare, East Zimbabwe Conference, complained that 1, the district pastor, was not ministering to them effectively. The district has a total of seven organized churches and a membership of 5.135 (E.Z.C. Church Membership Record Book, 2008). Despite the high membership, members' expectations are that I attend all family or church programs. The purpose of the project was to discover the professional role for the pastor in a multi-church district, and also to uncover the expectations that church members have of their pastor in a multi-church district. Defining those expectations enables the pastor to understand how he can minister most effectively to the district.

Method

Seventh-day Adventists in Chiremba West District 18-70 years of age were put into focus groups of seven to ten individuals, and questionnaires were administered to them as a way of collecting data (see appendices A-T). The research method used was descriptive qualitative. The research was approved by the Institutional Review Board (Protocol number 08-089). A balance of men and women, educational achievement, and age was more or less maintained in the sample.

Results

Church board members, elders, and the church members in Chiremba West District joined and participated in different ministries that were introduced by the district pastor. Priesthood of all believers was seen and experienced in Chiremba West District. Bum out is now the thing of the past to the district pastor.

Conclusions

The church members in Chiremba West District are happy that their pastor is spending more time in church administration, training church members for ministry, and visitations. Of those who were interviewed, more than 50% agreed that the pastor's role is to empower and engage his church members in ministry consistent with the gifts given them by the Holy Spirit.

Subject Area

Clergy--Office; Seventh-day Adventists--Clergy; Clergy--Zimbabwe; East Zimbabwe Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; Church work--Zimbabwe

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/667

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