Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Steve Case

Second Advisor

Barry Gane

Third Advisor

John Matthews

Abstract

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist collegiate young adults are disengaging from the church in alarming numbers in North America today. In this context, the need arises for Adventist colleges and universities to be much more intentional about the relationships it forms with its students and the spiritual formation system it is promoting during these years.

Method

A comprehensive spiritual master plan, as well as an assessment process, was developed for Southern Adventist University in order to explore the perceived quality of campus spirituality and how it impacts the lives of students.

Results

In this study, students perceived the following three objectives to be Southern Adventist University’s strongest: 1) providing opportunities for students to be involved in serving the needs in the local, surrounding communities; 2) increasing student involvement in on-campus ministries; and 3) encouraging and equipping students to take personal responsibility for their spiritual lives.

Conversely, students perceived the following three objectives to be the university’s weakest: 1) increasing appreciation for and involvement in corporate worship; 2) equipping students for meaningful Bible study and prayer in their personal lives; and 3) offering students opportunities and training for witnessing to help them realize their role in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Conclusions

Jesus chose college-aged young adults as His primary strategy to reach the planet at the establishment of both the early Christian church, as well as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. If the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to powerfully cooperate with the first angel’s message, it needs the passionate wiring of young adults. Increasing spiritual needs and financial pressures in higher education call for closer accountability in making a spiritual difference in the lives of students. Establishing a spiritual master plan, identifying university spiritual objectives as well as a means to gather student spiritual perception feedback is vital to an intentional process of promoting student spiritual growth.

Subject Area

Students--Religious life; Students--Attitudes; Spiritual formation; Southern Adventist University

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/713

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