Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Manuel Moral

Second Advisor

Ricardo Norton

Third Advisor

Ronald Rojas

Abstract

Problem

Finances have suffered a collapse in the world economy and this experience has reached the local Church, leading to a decrease in the operational resources needed to function effectively. The Adventist Church in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, has been a faithful tithing congregation; however not so with offerings, which have declined in the past few years. The Perth Amboy church, being a multicultural church, is made up of members mostly from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Peru, Mexico, and has representation from other countries in Central America and the Caribbean. Just as language is a barrier for the majority of church members, financial exigencies are also a barrier to their economy. As a result, church offerings steadily decline, restricting the operation and mission of the church.

Methodology

This research belongs to the area of Practical Theology with the aim to develop and operate a seminar to strengthen giving of offerings in the local Church. This research project led to the development of a four-part orientation seminar based on the study of the Bible and information from contemporary literature. The seminar was presented at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Perth Amboy, New Jersey in March 2022, under the title: "Giving in Offerings." Its purpose was to improve the level of biblical and practical understanding of the attendees, aiming to improve their fidelity in the offerings. The effectiveness of this seminar was evaluated based on the opinion of the participants on the different topics presented. The researcher began reviewing biblical and theological literature on giving, to instruct and encourage faithfulness in offerings among members of the church. Then he examined the main factors that encourage giving in current literature. After the review of the theological and contemporary literate on the subject was completed, the researcher focused on the profile of the local Church, which includes a brief history, statistics, and demographic information for the urban area of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Based on the results of the previous three sections, he developed, implemented, and evaluated the seminar.

Results

The results of the evaluation collected from the seminar includes the sum of the cumulative responses of all the seminar’s participants, who were surveyed voluntarily and anonymously. A total of 366 were collected and tabulated in six areas associated with the of the benefits of the “Giving in Local Offering” seminar. Of all respondents, only one left questions unanswered 0.27% and merely 0.54% of the participants disagreed totally with what was presented. Another 3.55% expressed a partial disagreement with the seminar. 14. 49% indicate in their answers that they partially agree. On the other hand, 81.15% express their positive opinion, fully agreeing with the above, making the resulting final evaluation percentages significantly comforting. The attendees asked questions at the end of the sessions to clarify their inquiries and share their opinions which were useful for similar, future economic situations in the Church. It resulted in an increase in offers as shown in table 16, leaving positive earnings in the first quarter of 2022, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

The results of the survey given to the participants express a valuable degree of learning and benefit obtained from the seminar “Giving in Offerings.” Attendees were very receptive to the presentations and discussed the issues openly, demonstrating the value of publicly addressing these issues. As a result, based on the study of fidelity in the return of offering, this seminar can be an excellent instrument that increases the necessary resources for the current Church and helps ensure that its operating capital is healthy. The importance of strengthening the act of giving was hereby demonstrated by the presentation of a seminar that responded to the needs of church members with the aim to prepare them to face problems that can harm the local church economy.

Subject Area

Church finance; Seventh-day Adventists--New Jersey--Perth Amboy--Finance; Christian giving; Christian stewardship; Perth Amboy Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church (Perth Amboy, N.J.)

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/786/

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