Project report (D. Min.)--George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-106).

This dissertation seeks to enhance our understanding of the early American republic by providing a study of the home missions movement from 1787 to 1845. The home missions movement was a nationwide, multi-denominational religious movement, led by mission societies, and aimed at bringing the Protestant gospel to the various peoples of the states and territories. A history of this movement not only fills a gap in the historiography of early American religious history, but also enlightens our understanding of the broader socio-political world of the early republic. The founding years of the home missions movement, from 1787 to 1815, were led by Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Baptists. Despite interdenominational competition at home and diplomatic tension with Britain, Protestants tended to cooperate both interdenominationally and transatlantically in order to achieve broader, evangelical goals in their missions. Home missions societies also shed light on a third form of cooperation: cooperation between church and state. We can better understand the relationship between church and state in the early republic by rejecting the idea that these two entities functioned separately. Instead, they functioned within a complex system of cooperation, evidenced by consistent government subsidization of and participation in missions to both white settlers and Indians, as well as by a broad culture of cooperation with Protestant projects in American society. During the early antebellum period, the home missions movement underwent a significant transformation, from functioning as a nationwide group of loosely-affiliated societies, which focused on nearby peoples, to a highly-centralized affair, dominated by a handful of national mission societies, which focused on the salvation of the entire nation. The growing importance of the population of the Mississippi Valley and the national trend toward a more centralized government and economic system played the two key roles in this transformation. This centralization - religious, economic, and political - helped give rise to the antimission movement, a nationwide Protestant protest against mission societies. This movement sheds light on the religious and ideological underpinnings of antebellum sectionalism.

Thesis (Th. D.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-326).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89).

Thesis (Th. D.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-326).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89).

Thesis (D. Min.)--McCormick Theological Seminary, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-40).

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.

ABSTRACT IMPROVING THE LEVEL OF CARE FOR SOUTHERN BAPTIST INTERCULTURAL MISSIONARIES SERVING IN NORTH AMERICA Trent Isaac DeLoach, D.Miss. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013 Chair: Dr. J. D. Payne This dissertation explores the contemporary conditions and challenges of Southern Baptist cross-cultural missionaries serving in North America for the purpose of determining how Southern Baptists can improve the level of care for their domestic missionaries. The dissertation will be guided by three basic questions: How are the missionaries doing? What challenges are they facing? How can Southern Baptists better care for their needs? The spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial condition of the missionaries will receive special attention. An effort will be made to identify challenges that are unique to cross-cultural missionaries in the North American context. Finally, the data obtained from the missionaries will determine how Southern Baptists can improve the level of care for its domestic missionaries. Chapter 2 describes the significance of cross-cultural missions in North America. Research will be presented that reveals the growing gap between the diversity of North America and the diversity found within Southern Baptist churches. Chapter 3 presents the results from the qualitative research gained from the surveys, interviews, and site visits. Special attention is paid to the spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial condition of the missionaries. The missionaries' assessment of the care they are receiving from the Southern Baptist entities concludes the chapter. Chapter 4 provides a response and an interpretation of the data collected from the study. Strengths and weaknesses of Southern Baptist care for cross-cultural missionaries in North America are explored. Chapter 5 concludes the study by presenting a strategy to improve missionary care in North America among Southern Baptists. The strategy includes practical steps that can be taken to ensure Southern Baptists remain on the frontlines of engaging the nations in North America. Chapter 6 reviews the salient observations from the study and presents areas that need further research.