Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2024

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

In the last few years, many of the members of the Hispanic Adventist Church in Georgetown, Delaware, had not learned of community service activities, especially those available in Philanthropic Ministry. The church community has many families with economic needs, which would benefit from a philanthropic program that would supply their basic alimentary needs. Such a program would also open doors for the church to share the Adventist message with the beneficiaries. This problem was directly observed by the author, in consultation with the pastor and the church leaders.

Methodology

This present project is based on creating a program to stimulate a philanthropic ministry in the Hispanic Adventist Church of Georgetown, Delaware. It is based on the theological reflections made over Biblical sections that support a philanthropic ministry. Furthermore, it includes declarations by Ellen G. White regarding the poor and needy. Further recommendations were reviewed from the literature regarding the topic of Philanthropic Ministry. These theological reflections and review of the literature led the author to design, implement, and evaluate a competency program. The seminars given constituted an essential element on which to measure the later results.

Results

The results of this program are summarized by the benefits in the following principal areas: Individual results, corporate results, and Professional results. The first represents the knowledge acquired by the participants. The second emphasizes the benefits to the Church as an institution and body of Christ called to serve the world in their needs and tribulations. The third refers to the professional growth of the author and her contribution to practical theology.

Conclusion

This implementation program for this Philanthropic Ministry concludes with the following positive outcomes, which contributed to the solution of the problem proposed in this thesis. The theological reflections were the Biblical foundation for the philanthropic ministry in the church. The review of the literature opened a dialogue with contemporary authors, to identify how to help and establish a successful model for Philanthropic Ministry. The Hispanic Adventist Church in Georgetown, Delaware, provided the place to implement this design and benefitted from the acquired competency of the volunteer participants. The author grew professionally throughout the implementation of this project. Furthermore, the author thanks God, the professors, and the evaluators, for the support given throughout this academic effort.

Subject Area

Social service--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists; Charity--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists; George Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church (Georgetown, Del.)

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