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

Bruce L. Bauer

Second Advisor

Boubakar Sanou

Abstract

Problem

Hope Channel International was created by the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the mission “to offer God’s good news for a better life today and for eternity through the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s wholistic understanding of the Bible” (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 2019–2020, 459). However, as many other evangelical media ministries in North America who are mainly “preaching to the choir,” creating their own “gospel ghettos” (Woods 2013, 22), Hope Channel’s audience mainly are the members of the Adventist Church. This compromises the scope of the existence of Hope Channel as a media brand. From the structural perspective, Hope Channel International is “an institution of the General Conference and has been authorized to be 3 the coordinating entity of the global television network of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 2019–2020, 459).

Method

The biblical concept of mission and principles of contextualization were studied, and respective literature was reviewed to create a training program on contextualization for the leaders of Hope Channel International. The strategy was to increase contextualized communication through media by mentoring Hope Channel International leaders.

Results

Even though the final outcome cannot be evaluated in such a short term, the feedback on the training was upbeat and had a beneficial effect on Hope Channel International’s long-term strategies. This project is ongoing, and more training modules are to be developed for the leaders of the global Hope Channel Network.

Conclusions

Executing its mandate, Hope Channel International must address the problem of missional effectiveness. Leadership training that started with the topics of mission and contextualization is a good beginning point to be developed in a full-scale program shaping the missional and strategic vision of the global Hope Channel network’s leaders.

Subject Area

Hope Channel; Seventh-day Adventists--Mission; Christianity and culture

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