Date

6-26-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Michael Grayston

Keywords

Christian Education, Planning, Leadership, Organizational Integrity

Disciplines

Educational Leadership

Abstract

In this dissertation, the author discussed the lessons learned regarding building and administering Christian discipleship programs for adolescents. The discussion involved three institutions influenced by the work of the Reverend George Whitefield, all of which have recently faced challenges related to forced organizational transformation or renewal for sustained growth and service. At Bethesda Academy, founded by Whitefield in 1740 as an orphanage, the need for transformation arose from the decreased necessity for the academy to continue providing that service, prompting Bethesda to seek a new purpose. In the case of Christ Church Anglican, founded in 1733, where Whitefield served as rector, the secession from The Episcopal Church necessitated a new identity and direction. For the Whitefield Center, a ministry of Christ Church, the open-ended nature of its mission to serve and support Christian ministries in the Thomas Square Neighborhood required ongoing growth and renewal to meet the area’s needs. Part of that need involved educating children to enhance the standard of living in the area. The author applied a praxis he developed for Bethesda Academy as a model for creation and implementation in pilot form for Urban Hope, a ministry supported by the Whitefield Center. Lessons learned emphasized what constituted an authentic Christian praxis, a model to obtain the details necessary for effective ministry planning, and the insights gained from comparing and contrasting the antecedents, transactions, outputs, and outcomes of the two projects.

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