<p> In a child's life, the church has minimal time to make a maximum impact. The time children are in church must not be wasted, but should be spent in valuable and life changing ways. Stories have long been included in Christian education, but is the practice of telling stories something that is continued merely because "we've always done it this way," or is there merit in continuing their use? Story is a wildly popular theme in Christian education today and children love stories, but there is more to a story than mere amusement? Parents and Christian educators wrestle with questions such as "How do stories have lasting meaning and life changing influence on children's lives?" "How can stories be used to affect children's spiritual growth?" "What kinds of stories should be included?" These are important questions to consider as Christian educators set pedagogical goals and specific methodology is followed. </p><p> This research attempts to address these questions by investigating empirical, theoretical, and theological literature related to two domains: (a) what characterizes the spiritual life and development of children, and (b) how story can be used by Christian educators and parents to benefit the instruction and spiritual growth of children. Beginning with an analysis of the spiritual life of children, it will then be shown how story affects the whole person, rendering it a very powerful medium. Using Luke 10:27 as an organizing principle, story is analyzed as to how it affects the heart, the affective realm; the soul, the spiritual realm; strength, the behavioral realm; the mind, the cognitive realm; and loving neighbor as oneself, the social realm. These realms, together, comprise a faith that involves a totality of commitment. Recommendations are then made as to how parents and Christian educators can use the power of story to benefit the instruction and spiritual growth of children. The use of story can be a spark for children's spiritual growth and holds great potential benefit for the church and for the children who are a part of the community of faith. </p>

<p> This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.</p><p> This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis. </p><p> The quantitative data revealed that Catholic high school service program experience positively impacts participants' "beliefs" about the importance of service (65%), and the importance of four Catholic social teaching principles (73%). The qualitative data corroborates with the quantitative findings. However, participants lacked translating their beliefs in to action with only 42% reporting as "engaged" in service. Although a majority of participants (60%) reported as engaged in activities related to four CST principles, in reality only 25% are significantly engaged in service in the past 12 months. Catholic educators are invited to examine their service pedagogy and address factors that contribute to low level of service engagement. Further research is suggested to identify factors that would raise the level of service engagement in alumnae's young adult life.</p>

<p>This final project report set out to design a peer-led learning model that would assist pastors in building competencies and strengthening peer relationships among Presbyterian pastors in northern New Jersey. The project addressed a national trend that reveals an increasing number of pastors are leaving Christian ministry today because of inadequate support and their lack of varied and specialized skills to serve congregations. However, some of the most recent research by the U. S. Congregational Life Survey (US CLS Wave Two), the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) project, and the Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey confirmed pastors and their congregations benefit by pastors participating in peer learning. </p><p> Grounded in the theology that Christian ministry is nurtured by communities that embody and practice what they believe, and by theories that enduring learning takes place in association with others, this project drew from Presbyterian ecclesiology, the company of pastors (Calvin), a community of practice (Wenger), self-directed learning (Knowles), group theory (Johnsons), and the areas of learning pastors volunteered to lead. There were no attending costs and the monthly format was simple: pastors shared a meal and fellowship followed by worship and relevant teaching led by the pastors themselves. </p><p> Twenty-five pastors, representing one-fifth of the congregations in three regional bodies, attended one or more of the nine gatherings. A large part of the report concentrated on the more active twelve mature, highly stressed, and highly motivated pastors who represented different urban and suburban communities, genders, races, and sexual orientations. The report evaluated what facilitated and hindered this project's objectives. Its conclusion provided seven insights for pastors and seminarians, denominational agencies and regional body leaders, seminaries and foundations concerned about pastoral preparation for the rigors and challenges of congregational ministry. </p>

<p> The purpose of this research was to develop the components of a theory for retention of young people after their high school years by examining the factors that contribute to continued spiritual vitality in Assemblies of God (AG) post-high school young adults. Data was collected from a stratified sample of ninety-five young adults in the United States during their senior year of high school in 2011 and two years later in 2013. In line with research by the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI), continued spiritual vitality was operationalized by using the Religious Behavior Scale, the Religious Identity Scale, and the Risk Behavior Scale. The results identified nine elements from spiritual formation factors, social considerations, and high school youth group experiences that produced fourteen statistically significant correlations with higher levels of retention and spiritual vitality in the sample two years after leaving school. This research appears to suggest that it is the aggregated effect of intentional youth group experiences providing opportunity for the internalized guidance of the Holy Spirit, recognized as God's work, and not specific youth group programs or religious activities that have the potential to create a unique spiritual journey that would ensure spiritual vitality for the youth after they leave high school.</p>

<p> This mixed-methods study investigated the transformative learning that occurred in the alumni of the 22-lesson Christian discipleship process called the Immersion Experience by Aphesis Group Ministries. Quantitative data was collected from a survey sent out to the 850 alumni. Deep interviews were conducted with 16 participants who had the additional prerequisite of being raised in a religiously confused home of origin. The transformative learning was examined through the theoretical framework of Mezirow's transformative learning theory. An additional lens was resistance to change. Argyris and Schon's theory of action developed the concept of double-loop learning. Their theory was extended by Kegan and Lahey's immunity-to-change perspective. The final lens was a synthesis of Brown's development of wholehearted living, Bowlby's Attachment Theory, positive psychology, and virtue ethics. This has been summarized as living wholeheartedly with virtue. The Immersion Experience seeks to help professing Christians evaluate their inner lives and discern the discrepancies between their espoused Christian beliefs (what they say they believe) and their theories-in-use (what they actually live out) in the attempt to bring them into alignment. The intent is to help believers be able to practically live out their Christian commitment each day of their lives.</p>

<p> Some Christian churches approach the majority of their faith expression with a 'go to the community' dynamic, while other churches focus primarily on attracting the community to 'come to them.' The problem is that there is a growing population of religiously unaffiliated people in the United States for whom traditional forms of faith expression are not meaningful. A new way of thinking about communal faith expression is needed if the church seeks to reach people who are spiritually curious but not interested in the attractional church model. The journey towards organizational change, even for churches, often begins with a commitment to ongoing personal transformation. This study demonstrates how discipleship can serve as a catalyst for personal transformation in the Christian faith. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of the leaders of Mission City in regard to how they foster personal transformation in the participants of the Faith in Action (FIA) program. In-depth interviews and collecting documents were the two primary research strategies for this qualitative case study. Faith in Action leaders foster personal transformation in the program`s participants in a dynamic fashion through a process that is built on spiritual formation and connected to a learning process that results in organic growth patterns. The FIA process involves a personal transformation journey rooted in spiritual formation that connects participants with God so that God can bring the transformation that leads to missional living. God`s presence coupled with transformed perspectives enables participants to become catalysts who mobilize other Christians to become the functioning body of Christ in their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and third spaces to serve the poor, the marginalized, and those in need. This study indicates that fostering transformational discipleship will require church leaders to engage in a comprehensive overhaul of their current discipleship practices. This process will also require them to challenge their teaching and leadership assumptions, inventory their worldview, examine their leadership approaches, and create systems and structures that enable collaborative leadership. </p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide insight to the perspectives of leaders and individuals in authority within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles system of Catholic parochial schools regarding current models of governance, levels of authority, and decision-making processes. There is a lack of clearly-defined levels of decision-making authority from the bishops to the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools down to the individual schools. </p><p> The pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel shared their perspectives of current governance structures and elements of three emerging alternative governance models. Data were analyzed through a factor analysis of the survey items to explore the strength of the three categories of the governance models represented by the three groups of questions. Next, the descriptive statistics of the specific questions relating to each of the three governance models and community voice were compiled. A Cronbach's alpha was calculated for each group of questions to measure internal consistency. </p><p> In order to explore relationships between perceptions among the three independent variable groups (pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel), a Chi-square analysis was run for each of the questions on an ordinal scale. </p><p> The study showed significant differences in participant responses between the three groups surveyed. However, there was agreement that community voice must be incorporated into governance, but only in a consultative manner. There was also agreement that a strong governing presence at the central office would be beneficial.</p>

<p> This doctoral project is a pilot study to assess the effectiveness of a church discipleship co-op designed to convey a biblical worldview to middle and high school students enrolled in charter homeschooling in Southern California. Research by the Nehemiah Institute indicated that 90% of Christian families in the United States send their children to forms of education that are not likely to produce a biblical worldview. Research by The Barna Group, LifeWay Research, and The National Study of Youth and Religion indicated that the vast majority of church-attending children transition into adulthood without a biblical worldview and disengage from church and Christianity as adults. Research by America's Research Group, Probe Ministries, and the Nehemiah Institute indicated that educational experiences in middle and high school determine the worldview of most children raised in Christian homes.</p><p> To address this problem some Christian families and churches are turning to public charter schools, as the fastest growing form of education in California and many other states. However, constitutional and state law restrictions forbid charter schools from presenting a biblical worldview in classes or curricula. The participants in this project combined church and family resources to provide supplemental educational experiences to convey a biblical worldview to middle and high school students while they received a public school education by enrolling in charter homeschool.</p>

<p> This study examined the perceived value of academic support service types for post-secondary students with learning disabilities in the Christian higher education milieu. Grounded in a model of service utilization (Pescosolido, 1992), the research methodology applied in this study addressed the following research question: What is the perceived value of academic service types to provide support for individuals with learning disabilities from the perspective of post-secondary student participants, specifically at accredited institutions of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)? Results reported student perceptions of the value of academic service types&mdash;both personally utilized and theoretically rated. The results of online survey responses, representative of eligible individuals selected by a criterion sampling protocol (N = 116) from 17 colleges and universities, indicated that the categories of accommodations perceived most valuable by students who utilize intervention services were those that were relationally implemented. Student respondents as an aggregate reported personally utilizing all categories of the 16 academic service types set forth by the researcher. Assistive technology was the only category found not to be statistically significant when value rated by survey respondents. Conclusions related to the three qualitative thematic findings emergent from the open-ended survey questions are reported. These qualitative themes include a focus on relational connectedness, the importance of self-understanding, and an expressed concern with the attitudinal perceptions of academic service program offerings. The conclusions of this study are purposed to assist program directors, researchers, and other practitioners in implementing academic services for post-secondary students with learning disabilities.</p>

<p> A common plea in missions is the need to train pastors and church leaders for the rapidly multiplying churches in the Majority World, resulting in numerous formal and nonformal theological education training programs. In spite of these efforts, many rural churches remain without pastors. </p><p> Using appreciative inquiry and participatory action-reflection research methods, together with 49 participants consisting of church elders and representatives of women, youth, illiterate members, and church ministers from 6 churches in the Northwest Region of the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church, this study examines the factors limiting rural churches from having their desired pastor, describes the ideal minister desired by rural churches, and initiates a training program to train the type of pastors the stakeholders desire. </p><p> The study reveals that rural churches struggle to have pastors because their most desired individuals migrate to urban centers, high numbers of non-wage-earning youth as members limit the economic capabilities of rural churches, and inflexible theological education programs do not take into account or seek to address economic constraints, community education standards, or the size of rural churches. </p><p> The study reveals that rural churches situated in communities that place a high value upon Western-styled education and high levels of certification desire an educated pastor trained through formal theological education using literate communication techniques. This emphasis upon certification frequently results in rural churches selecting individuals to become pastors who do not embody the rural churches' ideal personality or spirituality character traits, commitment to ministry, or age. After receiving theological training, these educated young ministers frequently seek salaries considered inappropriate or not available in rural communities, resulting in their migration out of the rural community to seek higher wages or better educational opportunities, leaving rural churches without trained pastors. </p><p> To fulfill their desire for pastors who embody the characteristics honored in rural communities and who will remain in the rural communities, rural churches must train bivocational semiliterate pastors using nonformal theological education training approaches that combine oral and literate communication techniques.</p>