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

Abraham Guerrero

Second Advisor

Ricardo Norton

Abstract

Problem

The author of this project perceived, during the more than 30 years she served in Children’s Ministry in various locations around the world, that Adventist parents (as well as Children’s Ministry teachers) generally want to pass on to their children and students the beliefs and values they themselves hold so dear. Even outside the church setting, the transmission of values has been touted as the hallmark of successful socialization (Danioni, 2024). However, the results are not always as desired in society, and even in the church. One study revealed in 2006 that 61 percent of young people around twenty years of age who were spiritually active during their teenage years became disengaged from their faith afterwards (Barna, 2006). Another group of researchers warned that forty to fifty percent of young people who are connected to a Christian youth group upon high school graduation will drop their faith in their college years (Powell, Griffin, & Crawford, 2011). A 2023 survey even revealed that parents in general place very little importance on their children growing up with religious beliefs similar to their own. Only one in three parents (35%) say it is extremely or very important to them that their children share their religious beliefs (Minkin & Horowitz, 2023). -- A training for parents and Children Ministries’ teachers in the Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventists regarding the transmission of beliefs and values to new generations has the potential to benefit the local field, and the results of the intervention could serve as a reference for other fields that may be experiencing similar realities.

Methodology

This research belongs to the area of applied theology, is descriptive in nature, and its purpose is the design, implementation, and evaluation of a training for Hispanic parents and teachers within the Children’s Ministry program in the Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventists regarding the transmission of beliefs and values. In order to accomplish such purpose, the author undertook a theological exploration of the topic, as well as a review of contemporary literature as it relates to the transmission of beliefs and values. An analysis of the local context provided the rest of the platform for the design, implementation, and evaluation of a training on the transmission of beliefs and values for Hispanic parents and teachers within the Children’s Ministry program in the Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The main tools that helped evaluate the results of the intervention were direct observation and participant surveys.

Results

The most direct outcome of this project was the successful implementation of a training for Hispanic parents and teachers within the Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Children’s Ministries on the transmission of beliefs and values. A total of fiftysix people registered for the training, and fifty-two (93%) of those who registered completed their classes. The final survey revealed that all fifty-two participants (100%) rated the topics as “relevant”, and “beneficial to me in regards to the transmission of beliefs and values”. In addition, fifty-one participants (98%) agreed that the presenter demonstrated knowledge of the seminar topics, and one participant (1.9%) partially agreed to that as well. Also, fifty-one people (98%) also said they would take a seminar like this again. Finally, thirty-one participants (69%) went out of their way to write a positive comment about their seminar experience, indicating that the training was received with a great deal of enthusiasm. Participants included representation from Maryland (ten churches), as well as Virginia (8 churches) and Washington, D.C. (two churches), for a total of twenty churches represented. In addition to those who formally registered, another fifteen people stayed during the presentations in order to observe and learn even though they were not registered, which evidences a high level of interest on the part of church members in this Conference.

Conclusions

The results of the implementation of this project confirm the usefulness of a training on the transmission of beliefs and values in the Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The results also indicate that such a project could be beneficial to other churches or regions that might be experiencing the need to reinforce the process for the transmission of beliefs and values from one generation to the next.

Subject Area

Parents--Hispanic Americans--Training of; Teachers--Hispanic Americans--Training of; Values--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists; General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. North American Division. Columbia Union Conference. Potomac Conference; Potomac Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

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