Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-74).

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-228).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-182).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-101).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-108).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-160).

Church discipline had an upswing in the 19th century in conjunction with the progression of the Free Church movement in Sweden. Harder and enhanced discipline was advocated, especially within the newly created Missionary joinder. This extended discipline also gives more space to explore and study, where demand has been made for a merger to see any differences in discipline, between the social layers of society. Few studies have been made that go into the depths of church discipline and social classification, not least within the Gävle Missionary Assembly.  The purpose of this study is to give an overview of the church discipline in the Gävle Missionary Assembly and map out the frequency and design over an 18-year period between 1879 to 1897. As part of the survey, a categorization of the disciplined members social status, gender, age and form of punishment has been compiled. This is done to answer the question of possible correlation between the church discipline and the wealth of its members; this has been done by combining methods used by social and disciplinary classification studies. The sources used to answer these questions were original church texts, ledgers, and protocol minutes. To help explain the relationships studied between the assembly and its members, Michel Foucault's theory of disciplinary power is used.  The result shows that younger women in the lower working class were the most represented in the discipline, followed by middle-aged men belonging to the working class. An extremely weak representation can be found in the higher social layers. There were only a few cases of discipline due to sin or the like. Most disciplined people in the higher layers left by their own choice. The study also shows that people belonging to the higher layers paid 17 times more in annual fees than the average payment of a working woman / man did. Women were also often indebted with residual contributions from previous years payments.  Based on the responses found, the data show that a link does exist; although underlying corrections and internal conflicts cannot be addressed in this study. Disciplinary dissemination of social layers does not correspond to the social classification of the congregation as a whole.

Churches around the world offer Adult Sunday classes as a forum for adult religious education. This time-honored approach to church-based adult education has encountered difficulties in recent times. For many churches, Adult Sunday School is standing at a crossroads. Where does it go from here? This study attempted to determine those factors that influence adults' decisions about whether or not to attend Adult Sunday School and what changes could be made to increase participation in the program. The context for this study on Adult Sunday School is Langley Evangelical Free Church located in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. This mid-sized church of approximately 600 people provided data upon which any conclusions were made. Surveys on Adult Sunday School were distributed to 365 adults and 195 surveys were returned. Respondents were given the opportunity to volunteer to participate in a discussion group to discuss the implications of the survey results. The results was that thirty-one people participated in six discussion groups. The discussion groups were instrumental in making sense of the data and recommending changes to increase participation in Adult Sunday School. The study asked participants to rate nine factors as to their influence in determining whether or not they would attend Adult Sunday School. The factors were ranked by respondents in the following order: spiritual growth, relevance, practicality, teaching style, sharing experiences, social contact, learning, intergenerational and external expectations. Other variables that were analyzed included age, marital status, family makeup, educational level and involvement in small group Bible studies. There were some significant differences in how members of some of the subgroups rated the factors. The study also looked at barriers to participation which were categorized as situational barriers, organizational barriers and personal barriers. The discussion groups concluded that three factors should be addressed to increase participation in Adult Sunday School at Langley Evangelical Free Church: content relevance, Sunday morning format and a more systematic structure. The results of this study provide valuable information for designing a blueprint for change at Langley Evangelical Free Church which may also be suggestive for other churches as they evaluate Adult Sunday School. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

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