Date
8-24-2004
Department
Counseling Department
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Chair
Ronald Hawkins
Primary Subject Area
Education, Guidance and Counseling; Religion, Clergy; Religion, General
Recommended Citation
Burton, Debra K., "A Multidimensional Assessment of the Impact of a Spiritual Growth Campaign (40 Days of Purpose) on Individual Spiritual Development" (2004). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 165.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/165
Abstract
This study evaluated the impact that the 40 Days of Purpose had on personal spiritual development of the participants. The experimental group was comprised of 163 volunteers recruited from three different churches participating in the 40 Days of Purpose. Two of the churches, a Baptist and an Assembly of God are located in a small town in East Texas, while the remaining Baptist church is located in a metropolitan city in North Carolina. The control group consisted of 46 recruited volunteers from a Baptist church that was not participating in the 40 Days of Purpose. Spiritual growth was measured using multiple self-report surveys that addressed the basic components of spiritual maturity that were proposed as a part of the study. This study hypothesized that the pretest-posttest difference for the experimental group would be greater than the pretest-posttest differences for the control group. There were no statistically significant differences found between the experimental and control groups across time. Concomitant factors are identified and discussed and recommendations are made to continue the investigation of the 40 Days of Purpose with better control for extraneous variables.
