In response to the substantial amount of church revitalization necessary to cause a decrease in the 70% of churches in America that are declining, lead pastors carry a biblical responsibility to lead churches into growth and spiritual health. However, a substantial majority of revitalization education focuses on the practical methodology of implementing church renewal strategies. In contrast, this study examined educating on the psychological nature of the lead pastor in leading church revitalization.
This mixed-methods multiple case study explores how three U.S.-based Christian gap year programs cultivate holistic discipleship through Christian formation practices and strategies and how they express developmental objectives and outcomes. Drawing on Keith Krispin's Developmental Objectives and a holistic understanding of imago Dei, mapped onto Diane Chandler's seven Christian spiritual formation domains, this study identifies common practices (e.g., mentoring, field trips) and strategies (e.g., experiential learning), and evaluates developmental objectives (e.g., grounds decisions and actions in biblical principles) and outcomes (e.g., resource stewardship). Findings reveal prioritizing spiritual and relational development, with a decreased emphasis on physical health and wellness. This research fills a gap in Christian education by offering a foundational framework for designing and evaluating Christian gap year programs, with implications for enhancing holistic discipleship among young adults in the local church.
This study explores the impact of Christian summer camp experiences on family faith practices. It also seeks to identify practices that improve camps’ impact, focusing on practices related to partnership between camps, families, and churches. Using a longitudinal survey methodology, this study explored the lasting impacts of camp experiences on family faith practices and attempted to identify strategies that facilitated change. The results suggested that camps do impact many areas of family faith, but that impact is most evident when families are actively engaged with church.
