Date

5-22-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Chair

Arlynne Perley

Keywords

Black women, COGIC, leadership, resilience, ministry

Disciplines

Educational Leadership

Abstract

This phenomenological study explored the perceived experiences of Black women in the Church of God In Christ (COGIC), who hold senior leadership missionary roles, and the power of resilience they appear to possess. Previous studies (Starr-Parker, 2012) regarding women in the COGIC discuss barriers for women in leadership; however, there is a gap in the literature that explores the perceived tenacity of women who hold senior leadership missionary roles. The researcher did not aim to criticize the Church of God In Christ doctrine but to examine the perceived experiences of Black women in that church who hold senior leadership missionary roles and the power of resilience they appear to possess. Black women from the eastern part of the country who belong to COGIC were selected to describe their experiences by responding to three questions: What, if any, factors enhanced your decision to accept the call into senior leadership missionary roles as a female of the COGIC? What, if any, are the experiences that influence the resilience of women in senior leadership missionary roles to remain in leadership in COGIC? What experiences could be perceived as self-hindering for women in senior leadership missionary roles in ministry in the COGIC? This study was fortified by the researcher analyzing collected data through the thematic lens of women made in God’s Image, Complementarian versus Egalitarian theory, and gender inequity in COGIC.

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