Date

9-2021

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Mary Lowe

Keywords

homelessness, Christian church pastors, Christian church ministry leaders, outreach ministries, trauma, homeless community resources

Disciplines

Christianity

Abstract

The Christian church pastor has a significant role in addressing homelessness within their communities. They must be willing to defeat this giant. This responsibility is further highlighted by the opportunity of outreach ministries within Christian churches working with community resources to identify the physical, financial, social, and emotional needs of the homeless. Understanding the pastoral leadership shapes and influences the Christian church is a critical component to comprehending how the church illustrates hope and the image of God to the homeless population. Many American individuals are faced with the debilitating stresses of homelessness without adequate emotional resources to address their issue. Homelessness is a way of life for those experiencing it and there are many contributors that either keep them in the difficult routine or challenges which make escaping the trauma nearly impossible (Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2014; 2013). This mixed-methods study will be used to measure the relationship between Christian church pastors or ministry leaders and homelessness as well as their awareness to include homelessness in their outreach ministries. By examining pastoral leaders’ leadership styles, homeless needs and trauma, and community resources to effectively navigate homelessness, this researcher seeks to identify useful data for further research studies.

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