Browsing by Author "Yeboah, Timothy"

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    Spiritual Growth Program for Seventh-day Adventist Church Members in Accra, Ghana
    (Adventist University of Africa, 2016-06) Yeboah, Timothy
    Many church members describe their time in the church as a wilderness. Most of the Protestant and Charismatic churches do not provide spiritual growth programs for their members, thinking that such measures are not important or assuming that the Church is the place where spiritual growth takes place. Nonetheless, pastors and elders are expected to be spiritual leaders, and the pastor’s spirituality is considered by the laity as the highest priority in the church. This research showed that Church members consistently recognized their need for help to develop personal spirituality, yet do not have this need addressed because pastors are not well equipped and are uncertain about how to offer help for the spiritual life of the members. The purpose of this study was to develop a viable and effective spiritual growth program for the SDA Churches in Accra, implement this in a seminar and workshop, and evaluate its effectiveness. It is hoped that this spiritual growth program will help improve the spirituality of the members. Data were collected from more than 200 church members (6 nationalities) over a period of one year. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, field notes, interviews and focus groups show the impact of intentional learning experiences in the lives of the church members. These learning experiences were: two retreats, the learning about spiritual disciplines, small groups for witnessing and weekly accountability, and five hours of practicing spiritual disciplines. The retreats served as a means for members to understand themselves and others as well as to become open to God. They also helped members to learn about the spiritual disciplines through the workshops and the seminars presented. The various readings committed members to personal devotional and family devotional time and the need to study the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy books. The small groups brought benefits which included the desire for witnessing, accountability and encouragement. The impact of the members extended to their family and their communities. It was concluded that church members personally grew spiritually in different but beneficial ways and appreciated their life changing attitude, perceptions, and change of habits regarding the spiritual growth program.