Date

12-16-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Page Matthew Brooks

Keywords

Grief, Problem of Evil, Religious Problem of Evil, Goodness of God, Sovereignty of God

Disciplines

Practical Theology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Christian fellowships should have grief ministries. The problem is the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church lacks a clear and practical intervention to support adult congregants coping with grief. The purpose of this DMIN action research project was to equip adult congregants of the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church through a biblically designed grief curriculum that provided training and encouragement to improve quality of life. This DMIN action research project applied qualitative and quantitative methods that included a pre-grief curriculum interview, a pre-grief curriculum survey, a post-grief curriculum focus group, and test assessments (pre-grief curriculum, mid-grief curriculum, and post-grief curriculum) for analysis. The grief intervention consisted of a sample of ten congregants of the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church. Five lessons were taught over five weeks. Each session consisted of three hours of discussion. A focus group convened a week after the grief intervention. This study demonstrated that a biblically based grief curriculum that incorporates the latest behavioral science research could have a positive impact on mourners attending the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church. This study affirmed that a consistent grief intervention could assist mourners to comprehend the sovereignty and goodness of God during bereavement. This grief intervention helped grievers to resolve the Religious Problem of Evil.

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