Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [77]-82).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-157).

This dissertation explores how urbanization and immigration affect the worldview and cultural identity of immigrants. Chapter 1 introduces the dissertation and presents the research problem. The chapter also defines key terms, gives the author's background, sets limitations and delimitations, and overviews research methods employed in the writing of this dissertation. Chapter 2 provides a literature review, synthesis, and analysis of works in the fields of urban anthropology, orality studies, and church planting. Chapter 3 explores the relationship of immigration and cultural identity. The chapter discusses ways in which urban areas encourage or limit cultural production of residents and how immigrants respond to those pressures as they express their cultural identity. The chapter concludes with an analysis of three models of assimilation likely to be found in urban contexts. Chapter 4 presents the oral worldview, including the nature of oral cognition, oral community, and methods of oral communication. After describing primary oral cultures, the chapter discusses the introduction of literacy to an oral people and the effects of residual orality. Chapter 5 draws together research presented in chapters 2 through 4 and discusses a grounded approach for identifying and reaching ethnic groups in the city. The first section presents methods to conduct ethnographic research so church planters can understand the specific dynamics in their communities. The second section discusses issues germane to reaching ethnic groups in the city including mono or multi-ethnic church, orality issues, critical contextualization, strategies for ministering in the three assimilation models presented in chapter 3, and the need for church partnerships. Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation by summarizing key points from each chapter. The chapter also describes the application of the dissertation to urban settings outside of North America and discusses the need for further research on related topics beyond the scope of this dissertation.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bielefeld, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [417]-446).

Titles in English and German / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 2001. / Includes copies of the questionnaires in Korean. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-234).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 2003. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-181).

Consideration of the significance of religious institutions in the experience of immigrant settlement is, at best, marginalized in immigration and church history literature. The limited amount of research that has been carried out is limited in time frame and/or by its lack of consideration of the wider social service functions of the church. It is rarely recognized that for new immigrants, churches can function as critical access routes to the host society or as protective cultural communities. Churches provide stability in unfamiliar territory through the creation of a sense of community, a sense of place and an extended family of support. This research seeks to understand how the church has served the German ethnic and immigrant community; how the church has aided cultural preservation as well as immigrant integration; and finally, how some churches have re-defined themselves in the face of member 'assimilation,' generational changes and neighbourhood transition. For some churches, their mission has been extended beyond their original German ethnic community to local neighbourhood residents, predominantly of Asian origin. Unstructured interviews with over twenty-five church leaders from ten German ethnic churches in Vancouver suggest that for many immigrants, the church provided stability and acted as a centre of social networks through which, for example, employment and housing were found. However, the position of the church in maintaining culture is significantly more complex; often dependent upon various factors including church age and the histories of immigrant congregations. This research demonstrates that churches have significant but generally unrecognized impacts on the immigrant settlement experience and that ethnic churches can, but do not necessarily, play supportive roles in maintaining culture. Churches that have recognized the social changes impacting their congregations have found new models of mission to integrate new immigrant communities.

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Translated from Korean. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-208).

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-178).