Date

12-19-2023

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Jacob Dunlow

Keywords

Human trafficking, pastors, responses, Maryland/Delaware Baptist Convention, SPSS, phenomenological study

Disciplines

Leadership Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to discover the knowledge of human trafficking of the pastors in the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware churches and their responses to this crime. The guiding theory was the words of Jesus in Exodus: Chapter 3 concerning slavery and the tribulations of Israelites. A questionnaire provided enlightenment regarding the levels of knowledge in the church communities, how pastors viewed it, the methods by which they received the information, and how they responded to it. This study reflected a gap in the knowledge of pastors in their congregations. The data were collected through emails and phone calls. Two-hundred-forty emails were sent, and 17 were returned, yielding 15 useful responses. The rest was completed through phone calls to pastors. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v 27.0) for the quantitative portion. A phenomenological design with an open-ended questionnaire was used for the qualitative study. The findings revealed that most pastor participants were aware of the problem of human trafficking, either by researching or seeing the local news. Still, they had not duly informed their congregants. The current study's main limitation was the lack of representative data from additional denominations and geographic areas. The findings and results were critical in forming recommendations for overseeing human trafficking and suggesting how further research should be completed. The study provides critical points that can show insights and make it helpful for leaders combating human trafficking.

Download

Share

COinS