Date
3-2022
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Thomas G. Spotts
Keywords
Church Growth, Mentor, Pastor, Church Body
Disciplines
Practical Theology | Religion
Recommended Citation
Kincaid, Gregory Alan, "Increasing Church Growth Potential through Education and Implementation of the Biblically Defined Roles of the Pastor and the Body of Christ" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3449.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3449
Abstract
This action research project focuses on church growth. It posits that if a congregation is taught and implements the biblical roles of the pastor and the church Body, then the church should grow quantitatively and qualitatively. To test this assumption, the roles of the pastor and that of the Body were delineated, taught, and practiced throughout a year-long study. Emphasis was placed on how God equipped every member of the Body to perform ministry within the church and outreach from the church. To reinforce the differences in the roles, study participants were required to actively participate in life groups with other believers for encouragement to serve in a ministry and to mentor a “younger” believer in the faith. Throughout the project, the researcher administered a series of surveys to the participants and facilitated focus groups to capture the changes in the participants as they moved forward. Although this project was completed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (an excurses on the changes forced on the research plan due to COVID-19 is contained in Chapter 3), growth occurred.
