A food desert is defined as "a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store," (USDA, ERS, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine how African-American residents of a rural food desert navigate their nutrition environment to obtain the foods they eat. Twenty-four in-depth interviews with 17 African-American men and seven African-American women were conducted in Alexander County and Pulaski County, Illinois. The interviews ascertained ways in which individuals navigate the nutrition environment. A quantitative assessment of the availability, price, and quality of African-American culturally-preferred dried legumes (beans), fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables was conducted with the customized Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey-Stores (NEMS-S) in 27 food venues (stores) (Glanz et al., 2007). The qualitative data was coded, categories were established, and themes were derived. The qualitative data analysis software, ATLAS.ti, 7.0 was used in the study. The quantitative data analyses were completed using SPSS 17.0 software (SPSS Inc, 2009). The availability and quality of food items were measured with a customized NEMS Scoring Sheet for Stores. The prices of food items were compared among the food venues (stores). Data obtained from interviews and food venues (stores) data were triangulated. Culturally-preferred foods remain a dietary staple. Fruit was often given as a snack to children. Changes in diet to address health problems were described as well as specific modifications to diet were made to traditionally southern and African-American food preparation. Family history and food practices that maintained the same flavors in childhood were important. Cultural traditions like gardening were also important. The respondents often settled for the convenience of food available in the area. The mean availability score was highest in the "Big Box Stores" and lowest in the gas stations-convenience stores-food marts. Prices were generally the lowest in the "Big Box Stores" and highest in the grocery stores. The "Big Box Stores" had the best quality food items. Coordinating shopping trips, carpooling, and gardening, community sharing, were ways challenges in the nutrition environment were managed. Limits of the nutrition environment were further managed through roadside markets, mobile sources, and pantries or give-a-ways. Health educators can better plan, implement, and administer culturally-appropriate interventions and strategies as well as strengthen social, environmental, and political factors that empower residents of the rural nutrition environment.

This dissertation examines interpretation of congregational traditions, present missional needs, and the role of the senior minister in presenting a vision for the future. This case study involves congregational self-appraisal, interpretation of data, goal setting, program and ministry development, lay leadership empowerment, and the importance of educational ministries in bringing about transformation. The findings of this study revealed that strategies for change take place through a combination of factors. Chief among these are trust, effective communication, agreed upon strategies for change, an understanding of conflict management, and the role of the senior minister in creating an atmosphere for change. The purpose of this study is to examine strategies for change in the life of an urban African-American, mainline denomination congregation. This study was prompted by the discovery of the lack of available information regarding the African-American church's struggle to respond to present and future missional needs. Chapter I outlines the purpose of the study and states the need for additional research particularly as it relates to the impact of tradition on decision making, the planning process for creating an environment for change, and the role of senior minister in presenting a vision for change. Chapter II discusses the current available literature on church growth, the Black Church, and the relationship of the African-American Church to the United Methodist Church. Chapter III examines the ministry issues that bring about the need for change. Congregational self-analysis is utilized to identify available options for change and the process of decision making is illustrated through a series of strategies for change. Chapter IV is a description of the process of implementation through several existing component elements and structures. The fifth and final chapter records the findings of the study. Among the key findings---the pastor as an agent for change must assume multiple roles: visionary, interpreter, enabler, spiritual guide, preacher, teacher, and umpire. The Council on Ministries must understand its role in the planning, organizing, coordinating, staffing and evaluation process. Finally, the policy-making body of the local church must be willing to implement the recommendations for change and transformation.

A myriad of issues face the rural and small membership A.M.E. churches, such as lack of long-range planning, high denominational assessments, recurring financial problems, inadequately trained pastors, frequent pastoral movement, and acceptance versus adoption, making survivorship difficult. Therefore, the EMPRO Model (i.e., The Empowerment Project) is an instrument that will positively impact the A.M.E. Church and its treatment of the rural and small membership churches. To be sure, the Empowerment Project is capable of delivering the necessary tools and skills (planning, budget preparation, polity, calendar preparation, church history, stewardship and tithing) to the leadership (clergy and laity) of rural and small membership churches which will enable them to perform at a much higher level. Succinctly, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate vehicle that enables the Empowerment Project to move forth. It was the invisible presence of the Holy Spirit that empowered the Fairfield A.M.E. Church to exhibit an outward resolve to keep hope alive. Empowerment is the enhanced ability to accomplish clearly identified goals and objectives. The procedure was to select five A.M.E. churches from the Atlanta/North Georgia Conference of the Sixth Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church to participate in the Empowerment Project. Each church fits the definition of either rural or small membership, or both. Four of the five churches selected were actually located in rural areas. The other church is located in the city of Atlanta. The churches selected have experienced similar struggles and difficulties. The findings of the study showed that the training seminar forum is a powerful tool for imparting information. Other results were: (1) The topics offered during the seminar sessions strengthened the participants' knowledge and understanding of the A.M.E. Church in general. (2) The information relating to budget preparation and church planning provided additional insights into how the congregation would better be able to meet its goals because of better planning. (3) The session relating to the need for the local church to develop a mission statement that clearly outlined what it saw as its own identifiable mission caused the participants to be better able to identify 'do-able' local goals and objectives. (4) The seminar sessions provided an opportunity for useful dialogue to be exchanged between the key officers of the church concerning the mission and purpose of the local church. (5) The seminars provided the 'how to' for all of the participants involved. (6) Pastors viewed the training as an enormous help to their local church ministry. A more informed pastorate and a more informed laity bring about a much higher level of local church performance, i.e., empowerment . When folks know what to do and how to do it, the overall functioning of the church is enhanced and, thus, empowered.

This dissertation, entitled 'Educating for Christian Discipleship: A Comparative Approach to Contextual Planning and Implementation,' examines the role and importance of Christian education in African-American churches. Included in the dissertation are results of a comparative study, which tested the transferability of the concept and strategies of Christian discipling from a mega-urban African-American congregation to a mid-size suburban African-American congregation. The study resulted in a model for Christian discipleship that includes various theological and practical methods for planning and implementing a Christian discipleship model in a church, Future implications and applications of the model in different church environments are also included. It is proposed that the theological and practical applications of the model may be useful not only in African-American churches, but also in any church that endeavors to make Christian discipleship their primary task.

In today's times, research and common knowledge have substantiated that pastors and clergy persons experience an alarming rate of divorce, substance abuse, and other related issues resulting in mental and emotional burn-outs. This rate can be attributed among clergy to many factors, and these factors may continue to rise unless effective corrective actions are taken to include pastoral care and counseling as an instructional component to the teaching and assessment process for new persons entering the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Ministry in Southwest Georgia. As a whole, empirical research has proven that clergy stress and burnout are multiphasic because of the spiritual and secular demands and expectations from others. The primary purpose of this project is to enhance the present Board of Examiner's process in southwest Georgia to include a pastoral care and counseling component in its teaching and assessment process for new persons entering the A.M.E. ministry because the current Board of Examiner's process does not include the benefits and use of Pastoral Care and Counseling in its seventeen week training program in the preparation of ministry to men and women for ministry. This project has created a Demographic, Pre and Post Test Survey of new persons entering the A.M.E. ministry in Southwest Georgia, developed a Teacher's Instructional and Lesson Plan which includes the history of Pastoral Care and Counseling, various Vignette Case Studies, and most importantly this project developed a method of approaching a parishioner/client in an attitude and modality of acceptance. The emphasis will be on the need to take care of oneself in the ministry and to recognize when there is a need to solicit professional help from a specialist. Plans, after this project, will also include a 'new persons' psychological assessment test for incoming ministers with a continued efforts to reduce or avert the ever-increasing rate of divorce, substance abuse, and mental and emotional burnout among clergy. The methods used in this project will be qualitative and quantitative in a case study format. This project did impact and produce the following results: (1) It did permit a pastoral care and counseling component in the teaching and assessment process for new persons entering the A.M.E. ministry. (2) The Bishop, the Dean, and the Board of Examiners realized the benefits of Pastoral Care and Counseling as an 'equipping tool' for persons entering the ministry and included it in their lesson plans for 2004. (3) New persons in ministry learned about Pastoral Care and Counseling and were more appreciative of a time for renewal, reflections. Lastly, they were instructed to be better prepared to identify the needs for more specialized professional help during their ministerial career in order to maintain a well-balanced mental healthiness.

The purpose of the project was to encourage and increase the level of Christian Fellowship (Koinonia) and involvement in the Trinity African Episcopal Methodist Church, Atlanta. The church is situated in what was a transitional community. It is now approximately 98% black in the South West section of the city. The project consisted of five (5) consecutive weeks of student input. It involved 24 - 42 members, divided into three (3) groups. Group A, the control group, attended the worship services and took the questionnaire. Group B, the target group, attended the worship services, attended the input sessions, and took the questionnaire. Group C, the super target group, participated in all of the above activities, in addition to engaging in encounter sessions with the student. The worship services were the traditional order of worship of the A. M. E. Church with an emphasis on fellowship, i.e., the call to worship, the scriptures, the prayers, the hymns, and sermons. Five (5) sermons were preached focusing on the need for fellowship, what it is, and how it can be accomplished and maintained. The input sessions were weekly, one to one hour and a half (1-1.1/2) sessions consisting of study sessions, discussions, group interaction, prayers, and the sharing of a repast. The encounter sessions with the student consisted of frank dialogue between the student and participants in Group C. The overall hypothesis was that as a result of the worship and preaching services the participants would show an increase on all positive statements the questionnaire; and that Groups B and C would show more of a significant change than Group A, and Group C would show more of a significant change than either of the other two groups. While there was some positive movement by all of the groups, there was not enough of significant changes to merit any real attention. This does not mean that the project was a failure. For in the ensuing months following the project there was an increase in persons joining the congregation, expressed appreciation for the church by members who participated in the project, increased attendance at most of the church functions, and a much better enthusiasm regarding the local church and the Church in general. For this I am grateful to the Lord. The first-half of this final report consists of the writer's reflections on the Black Church as a unique religious institution; The calling to the Black church to address itself to the historical mission of the Black church and the mission of the Church; the writer's theory of ministry; and a survey of the meaning of Liberation and Koinonia from biblical, theological, and sociological perspectives. The second-half of the report focuses on the actual project involving the writer's understanding of liberation and Koinonia and an amalgamation of the two. Charts, graphs and tables have been inserted to aid the reader in ascertaining the mathematical breakdown of the growth-decline of the project participants. The final chapter focuses on the future aspects of the writer's ministry, goals for the church as well as for the writer.

The ministry of the class leader and a working class leader system are still very much needed in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This work attempts to show that the class leader system can still be a viable part of the A.M.E. Church, but it must be modified from its original form and shaped into a contemporary mechanism for ministry. The lack of training of the class leaders in Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, in Northampton County, North Carolina, proved to be the rule, rather than the exception. The church was thereby rendered ineffective in its ministry. This work seeks to find a practical way to equip the class leaders of the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church for effective ministry. The ministry project was an effort to address this issue by formulating and administering a training program for class leaders. The ministry project shows that positive results are practical and possible, but there must be a continuous program of training to equip class leaders for effective ministry.

This project that was designed to enhance the development of moral character of African-American children, ages nine to twelve (9-12). For purposes of this dissertation, moral development and character development are used interchangeably. A curriculum was developed for children and one for parents to assist them to help young people reach their potential in regard to moral character development. The underlying principles of the study were moral character, spiritual formation, and faith development. The major premise of the project was that if children feel good about themselves and feel a connection to God, then people will behave better, love themselves and God, and they will make better decisions to negotiate life. This pilot study was conducted at two urban churches. There was a total of 35 children participating in the study, and there were 38 parent participants. The training took place over a sixteen-week period. The results of the study indicate that there was a significant increase in self-esteem among the children. Additionally, findings from the behavioral scale demonstrated a significant positive change in behavior among children. There was also a significant improvement of the parents' level of contentment with their children.

This project dissertation, entitled 'Grief Management: Programming for Care in the Local Church', addresses the issue of grief that is caused by the death of a significant other. This work also includes information on the dynamics of grief; grief management resources from psychological, sociological, and theological perspectives. In addition, it gives an overview of the African American church as a resource for grief support. The dissertation provides a model for programming for grief management and grief support for the Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a discipleship training program at New Horizons Church of God in Christ. The model sought to develop this program with a view towards incorporating elements of the tradition of the Church of God in Christ along with Bible study and intercessory prayer. The project was composed of eight weekly sessions. The purpose of this project was to determine whether this style of training, in conjunction with traditional forms of spiritual formation already in place, would promote more committed church members. This project was developed out of the writer's personal concern for retaining new and oriented members. At the heart of this dissertation is the theory that spiritual transformation takes place as a result of intentional and, consistent Bible study and prayer in a small group setting in addition to the Holiness-Pentecostal discipleship uniquely appropriated through its traditions, worship style and community. The result of this study exposed an added dimension necessary to the process of transformation already present in the Pentecostal Church; that is the small group, in-depth study of the Word of God that promotes a hunger for scripture and therefore a hunger for God. The ultimate aim of this study was to find a way to develop commitment to one's faith in the context of the Church of God in Christ. This project was developed in response to a perceived lack of commitment and understanding of the nature and definition of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.