Date

4-7-2026

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

John Peterson

Keywords

church leadership, discipleship, leadership development, leadership succession, mentoring, Pauline discipleship, spiritual formation

Disciplines

Leadership Studies | Practical Theology

Abstract

This action research project addresses the lack of empowered, biblically qualified leaders at Pinecrest Baptist Church in Portsmouth, VA, where discipleship has often been treated as complete with conversion, baptism, and initial ministry involvement, rather than as a process that produces future leaders within the congregation. The project proposed that a mentor-based discipleship succession process, modeled on Pauline discipleship, could help current leaders shift from a maintenance mindset to a culture of multiplication and leadership development. Using an action research design, the study implemented a twelve-week mentor-discipleship succession curriculum that guided participants through four phases of leadership development: calling that comes with conversion, equipping leaders, empowering leaders, and leaving a kingdom legacy through multiplication. Participants included lay leaders serving as mentors and selected mentees who demonstrated biblical qualifications and leadership potential. Data was collected through pre-, reflective, and post-intervention Likert-scale assessments, spiritual gift inventories, and qualitative analysis of homework and narrative reflections from interviews. Results indicated measurable growth in assurance of calling, confidence in leadership, mentor readiness, relational trust, and biblical leadership among mentors and mentees. The intervention resulted in the placement of mentees in specific leadership roles within PBC, establishing a foundation for a sustainable leadership pipeline. These findings support the thesis that a Pauline-modeled mentor curriculum can foster spiritual formation and leadership succession and prove a model for other congregations facing similar challenges.

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