Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Enrique Ribero

Second Advisor

Ricardo Norton

Abstract

Problem

The Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church of Milwaukie (IASDM) demonstrates the need for a spiritual revival among its members. An initial diagnosis, conducted with the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) by Lynn Underwood, shows reduced levels in core aspects of spiritual life. For example, in response to the item "During worship, or at other times when connecting with God, I feel joy which lifts me out of my daily concerns”, only 23.6% of participants indicate experiencing this sensation every day, and just 7.8% report feeling it several times a day. In the item "I find comfort in my religion or spirituality", only 42.1% report experiencing this daily, and in "In general, how close do you feel to God?”, only 18.5% feel "as close as possible." These results suggest that the practice of prayer needs to be strengthened to foster spiritual revival. Although the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) does not directly measure fasting, biblical teaching and contemporary literature present it alongside prayer as an essential discipline for deepening spiritual life. For this reason, the seminar on prayer and fasting is designed as an integral intervention, grounded in empirical evidence, theological principles, and contemporary literature on spiritual revival. Consequently, the following research question is posed: How do prayer and fasting impact the spiritual revival of IASDM members in 2025?

Methodology

To fulfill the purpose of this project, a quantitative study is developed on the impact of a seminar on prayer and fasting on the spiritual revival of the IASDM. The theoretical basis comes from biblical literature, the writings of Ellen G. White, and contemporary sources. A nine-week theoretical and practical seminar is designed and implemented, combining biblical teaching and modern literature with group prayer activities and guided fasting, with a focus on promoting measurable changes in the spiritual experience of the participants. The impact of the seminar is evaluated using the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) by Lynn Underwood, applied as a pretest and posttest with a nine-week interval. The data is statistically analyzed and presented in tables and graphs to determine the observable changes in the spiritual revival of the members, recognizing that these reflect immediate spiritual experiences.

Results

The seminar produced significant pre–post changes in most of the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale DSES items (χ² and McNemar tests, p< .05), with a shift of responses toward higher frequency/intensity categories (more “every day”/“many times”) in items 1–12 and 14. In items 13 and 15, χ² was not globally significant, but McNemar indicated paired improvements toward higher levels. The synthesis of means (items 1–15) showed a decrease from 2.9 to 1.9 (≈–34.5%), consistent with greater spiritual experience (descending coding = better), while item 16 (closeness to God) increased from 2.7 to 3.4 (≈+25.9%). Both the Student’s t test and the Wilcoxon test confirmed highly significant differences between pretest and posttest, and the effect size was considerable (Cohen’s d = 4.47). The boxplots showed a decline in both the mean and median, as well as lower dispersion in the posttest, reflecting consistent changes. Overall, the findings support the effectiveness of the prayer and fasting seminar in promoting spiritual revival in the congregation.

Conclusion

The results of implementing this project confirm what has been highlighted in the analysis of the Bible, Ellen G. White's writings, and contemporary literature regarding the importance of prayer and fasting as means of spiritual revival. The statistical evidence obtained in this study demonstrates that a structured seminar on these disciplines can produce highly positive outcomes in the spiritual life of the Church, as evidenced by the experience of the Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church of Milwaukie.

Subject Area

Prayer; Fasting; Revivals--Oregon; Milwaukie Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church (Milwaukie, Ore.)

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