Date

10-16-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Brandon L. Pugh

Keywords

Ministry, Expository, Spiritual Growth, Anxiety, Union, Covenant

Disciplines

Christianity

Abstract

This action research project addresses spiritual growth anxiety within BrandofMan Ministries by helping members better understand their covenant union with Christ. The goal was to use this understanding to promote grace-based spiritual growth through positional righteousness. The project involved analyzing existing literature and integrating theological and theoretical concepts to develop a teaching method that effectively addresses anxiety linked to spiritual development. The project measured the participants’ prior knowledge and application of spiritual growth through a covenant union with Christ and how a systematic curriculum on the topic could be used to enhance their knowledge, improve application, and reduce anxiety. Sixteen volunteers were provided with identical questions and participated in three qualitative and quantitative data collection methods: pre- and post-intervention interviews, questionnaires, and surveys. The volunteers then engaged in a ten-week curriculum with eight teaching sessions covering themes including biblical anxiety, biblical foundations of spiritual growth, covenant theology, union in Christ, the ‘God-in-You’ principle of sanctification, monergism, law and gospel, and sovereign rest. At the end of the curriculum, the participants were provided with the same interviews, questionnaires, and surveys to measure their growth in knowledge and application of the topic. The collected data was analyzed to determine if the curriculum addressed spiritual growth anxiety through a believer’s covenant union with Christ. The research found that the curriculum was effective, supported by significant growth in qualitative data and objective results.

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