Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Bruno Raso

Second Advisor

Kleber D. Gonçalves

Abstract

Problem

In 2018, reports from the Adventist Church Management System of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Argentine Union revealed the following about the congregation: (a) 43% attended services, (b) 30% did not attend the year of their baptism and apostasy grew to 37%, and (c) 8% participated in mission work and 4% shared Bible studies. In this context, the church in Argentina aligned itself with the South American Division's discipleship program, focusing on promoting growth in Communion, Fellowship, and Mission. Therefore, it was decided to reinforce this experience for new disciples by starting with pre-baptismal preparation, and to update the "The Faith of Jesus" Bible study guide to incorporate these elements. Through a discipleship network, volunteer instructors would be trained to use it. For this reason, the need arose to evaluate how the development of the habits of Communion, Relationship, and Mission, with the exercises and adaptations included in the 2020 update of The Faith of Jesus, impacts the discipleship of new members of the Argentine Union, and which, in its implementation, will be presented by volunteer instructors integrated into a discipleship network.

Methodology

This research falls within the field of applied theology, specifically in the area of ministry, with a focus on discipleship. Drawing on Scripture, the writings of Ellen White, and relevant contextual literature, the study analyzed the Discipleship Program for Communion, Fellowship, and Mission, and examined elements to update the The Faith of Jesus curriculum. The program, implemented in five stages, began in February 2022 and concluded in December 2023. It included a discipleship network to facilitate training for department conference leaders, district pastors, and volunteer instructors, as well as ongoing support for the implementation of the updated The Faith of Jesus curriculum with new disciples. The evaluation was conducted using the narrative biographical method through interviews to analyze the new disciples' experiences in different stages of the Bible study. It was complemented by a survey to observe the participants' growth in Communion, Relationship, and Mission, and concluded with a focus group to consider commonalities among the seven areas at the close of the project.

Results

The survey conducted at the beginning and end of the implementation showed that participants grew in habits of Communion, Relationship, and Mission. The discipleship network prepared pastors and discipleship instructors, and this had a positive influence on the growth of new disciples. Interviews with new members and focus group discussions consistently highlighted that their faith in Christ was strengthened as they progressed through the study, and the spiritual exercises helped them develop habits of communion, relational connection, and sharing their faith. It was also observed that the additional time required for the program was offset by the greater maturity in faith and willingness to share their faith demonstrated by the new members, compared to those who had studied with former versions of the Bible study guide.

Conclusions

The project allowed us to evaluate the implementation of the updated The Faith of Jesus curriculum for discipleship in Communion, Fellowship, and Mission among new members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Argentine Union, by volunteer instructors integrated into a discipleship network. Considering the elements used to analyze the implementation, it was observed that: (a) the new members who studied The Faith of Jesus Updated and completed the discipleship exercises grew in habits of Communion, Relationship, and Mission; (b) the departmental members, pastors, and volunteer instructors integrated into the network strengthened their life experience, which contributed to the growth of the new disciples; and (c) the new members were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church, remain integrated into the church and relational groups, and became involved in the mission by teaching others with The Faith of Jesus Updated and bringing them to church.

Subject Area

Discipling (Christianity); Church management; Church work with new church members; New church members--Argentina; General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. South American Division. Argentina Union Conference; Argentina Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Download

Share

COinS