Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Noel Brathwaite

Second Advisor

Charles Drake

Third Advisor

Larry Brown

Abstract

Problem

The Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist church desired to reach its community but did not have a strategic plan on how to do so. The lack of a strategic plan hindered the effectiveness of the church in making an impact in its neighborhood and left the members with a sense that they were not making a difference in their community. Initial observations done through formal talks with church leaders suggested that health ministry was a focus where their church had a strength and was a means by which to reach the neighborhood.

Method

The methods used were to develop a team that analyzed data from a recent community health needs assessment, planned and implemented a health ministry initiative that targeted the local community, then tracked and evaluated the initiative whose aim was to support the church’s overall mission in the neighborhood so that individuals could also be made aware of the ministry the church provided to them. -

Results

Findings from the project were a list of new ideas regarding how to reach the local community; a record of community needs; a plan to prioritize and meet selected needs; a change in the health profile of participants engaged in the 8-week health series; and an increase in new members to the church.

Conclusion

The evidence showed that a strategic plan assisted the health ministry in developing a new identity and giving the church a missional direction for its community. Utilization of this ministry gift gave the church a renewed emphasis in its community outreach. The church realized it had a strength in the area of health evangelism. We can therefore conclude that the church did make an important contribution in the area of health evangelism; and that other churches can use this plan to make a similar impact in their communities.

Subject Area

Missions, Medical--Florida--Tallahassee; Church work--Florida--Seventh-day Adventists; Evangelistic work--Florida--Seventh-day Adventists; Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tallahassee, Fla.)

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/719/

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