Date
4-2021
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Micah S. Meek
Keywords
Generation, Evangelism, Vision, Millennials, Generation Z, Training
Disciplines
Christianity | Practical Theology | Religion
Recommended Citation
Jeremie, Michelle Naomi, "The Way We See Matters: Developing a New Theological Vision for Effective Cross-generational Evangelism" (2021). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2954.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2954
Abstract
Today, North American churches have great opportunities and face unique challenges in fulfilling their mandate to make disciples. This DMIN thesis discusses the issue of how to more effectively evangelize the Millennial generation and Generation Z in a postmodern context. The purpose of this thesis is to address the need for church leaders to utilize a specialized evangelism training program to equip Christians to evangelize to non-believers across generational lines. The focus of this project is to implement the Cross-generational Evangelism Training (C-GET) Program at a ministry that has a low representation of Millennials and Generation Z. This Program will endeavor to refine the members’ theological vision — the lens through which they see and engage with the world — by increasing their generational intelligence. The Program is comprised of three phases. In the first phase, Get Ready, participants will self-administer an entrance questionnaire assessing evangelistic views and practices. In the second stage, Get Set, participants attend eight evangelism teaching sessions. In the third stage, Go, participants firstly self-administer an exit questionnaire; secondly, engage in a four-week fieldwork assignment; and thirdly, self-administer a reflection questionnaire. Data collected from the questionnaires and the participant discussions is analyzed with the four-step process to increase generational intelligence outlined by Biggs and Lowenstein. Findings are presented, along with a discussion of the changes made and sustained during the three-month process. The analysis shows that the C-GET Program has successfully increased the participants’ level of generational intelligence, with participants reporting more confidence in cross-generational evangelism.
