1. School of Postgraduate Studies : Projects, Theses and Dissertations

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Developing a peer counseling team for the Adventist Youth in Ongata Rongai District of Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Nairobi Station, Kenya
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2009-07) Gichuiri, John Macharia
The youth in Ongata Rongai Pastoral District are highly influenced by their peers to engage in negative activities which are self defeating and therefore a team of well trained youth peers counselors would change things round for the better. After the study from the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White and other writers and after the collection of data in the Pastoral District, the researcher developed a team of youth peer counselors who were trained to give and counsel to their fellow youth who constitute more than seventy five percent (75%) of the total church membership in the District. The team was well chosen from among the best leaders in the youth ministry in the seven churches in the Pastoral District. The training sessions began in January to June 2009. The team began with fourteen members but fifty percent (50%) succeeded in completing the entire course. The programme was a success in that we now have seven well trained young people who will be used to give their services to the youth in the Pastoral District and who will train others. Other youth in other church Districts will require this training to encourage more youth to participate in this noble mission.
A strategy for keeping leadership focused on Mission activities involving the laity at Sonke Seventh-day Adventist Church in Zimbabwe
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2009-07) Dube, Point Benson Mkombe
About seventy-five percent of the Sonke Seventh-day Adventist Church membership has not been actively involved in evangelistic activities because the leadership degenerated into performing operational duties at the expense of providing the strategic agenda of setting strategy, vision, culture, teams and allocation of resources. This resulted in a tense working relational atmosphere. Baptisms occurred only during camp meetings. The laity felt that they were not part of the greater whole of the church and that their desire to contribute to a larger purpose of their organization was thwarted. It was then imperative that attention be paid to them as fellow co-workers and colleagues in the same way that attention is paid to structures and statistics. The problem then necessitated the development of a program to include the majority of Sonke Seventh-day Adventist Church in evangelistic activities. The program was designed to mobilize, motivate and involve the church in the evangelistic activities.It was discovered that decision making was centralized and the leadership was task oriented at the expense of the laity’s needs. Relations among the leadership were strained. The leadership had obvious conflicts that hindered progress and muffled a conducive relational and working climate. The atmosphere was tense, hence the laity could not actively participate in evangelism. A careful analysis established that leadership had a vital role to create a church environment conducive to Christian development characterized by positive working relations and active membership participation. The Jethro leadership principle was recommended as in Exod 18:13-25. The leadership desisted from conflict and friction.
A Strategy for the Involvement of Staff members in the Character Development of Students at Bugema Adventist Secondary School, Uganda
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2009-08) Lwanga, Justine
Staff members at Bugema Adventist Secondary School need to be fully involved in the character development of the students in order to enhance the quality of the social learning experience of the students. In this study the researcher has looked at the importance of character development in the educational experience of students at this stage of their life and how it can be done from the context of the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White and Developmental Psychologists. On the local ground, the study looked into the reasons for limited staff members’ involvement and how they can get more involved in this aspect of the students’ life. The information from questionnaires that I administered showed that the staff members were aware of the need for their involvement, but they were reluctant to do so because they were not motivated, lacked the time and yet still lacked the skills to do so. Using information from the books read and the responses from the survey and interviews with the staff members, a strategy was designed for the staff involvement in character development of the students. The strategy targeted all of the staff members irrespective of job or position held in the school. The proposed strategy was directed at demystifying and emphasizing the importance of staff involvement in the character development of the students. The study findings show that the most effective way of getting involved in the character development of students is through an integrated approach. There are many opportunities in the school setting that can be used by the staff members to influence the character of students. From this study the most significant influence that staff members can have on their students is the example they show them in all aspects of their formal and informal interaction. Every staff member therefore should be cautious of their behavior so that they do not transmit the wrong message to the students. They also need to be helped to appreciate the strength of every moment they spend with the students out of class as a good opportunity for character development.
Equipping and training church members to return tithe regularly and faithfully: a case study of Tuloi Church District
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2009-08) Rotich, Job Kirwa
This study explored how tithe giving in Tuloi Church district affects the spiritual growth of the members and their attitude towards the worldwide mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It will further develop spiritual nourishment methods that can be used by lay-leaders to guide the members to faithfully return God’s tithe in accordance to the biblical principles. The study involved adults and youths, and was intended to help church members, leaders and administrators to provide appropriate strategies that will promote explosive stewardship. Many people who attend Seventh-day Adventist churches today do not return God’s tithe as biblically instructed. They neither have the biblical concept nor the attitude to give, and do not know why tithe should be returned to the church. Many who return tithe do not do it regularly, while others return it for different reasons. Yet others simply do not know how to utilize the available resources to earn a living and have partnership with God. It was on this basis that the researcher carried out an intensive research. This study used primary and secondary methods of collecting data. Data was analyzed manually and by use of frequency tables. This helped the researcher to come up with information, relevant and useful to the study. Further, the research results will trigger interest for further research in the stewardship field. The researcher strongly believes that the findings, the recommendations and final outcome will be used by the Seventh-day Adventist Church members, leaders and administrators to instill a holistic influence of tithe giving to advance the mission of the world church.
A strategy for retaining newly baptized members in Lake View and Ntcheu Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Central Malawi Conference
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2009-08) Botolo, Moffat Wonderson
The work of retaining newly baptized members plays an important role in accomplishing Christ’s great commission. Jesus pointed to Himself as the real keeper of the Lord’s flock, “I am a good shepherd; I know my sheep and My sheep know me. My sheep listen to my voice” (John 10: 14–27). This is a powerful pastoral imagery embodied with a caring and retaining spirit. It is a joint effort between Christ and the Christian leaders. The purpose of this study was to design and implement a strategy for retaining newly baptized members in Lakeview and Ntcheu Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Central Malawi Conference. The study established factors for the loss of members and identified ways for retaining newly baptized members. Among the factors were: spiritual factors, social factors, economic factors and health factors. An evangelistic program that took six months (22nd November 2008–May 2009) was conducted at Lakeview and Ntcheu Seventh-day Adventist Churches. As a result of this program, 30 people were baptized in Lakeview Seventh-day Adventist Church and 40 people were baptized in Ntcheu Seventh- day Adventist Church. Only 2 people from Lakeview and 4 from Ntcheu left the church, representing 6.25 % and 10% respectively. Other benefits of the program were more involvement of the newly baptized members in church activities and in discipling others, and a spirit of unity between the old and newly baptized members through the welcome banquets. The extended doctrinal classes on church heritage helped the newly baptized members in the two churches to be grounded in their faith.
A strategy for empowering the youth for leadership in the Seventh-day Adventist church in South Malawi Field, Malawi
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2012-11) Mthunzi, Eliezer Ernest
The study leading to empowerment of young people for leadership was pursued in South Malawi Field of Seventh-day Adventists where the majority of members in the Church are young people aged 12-30 years. It had been observed that young people are not meaningfully involved in the Church. They are, generally, excluded from leadership positions and older members of the Church seemed to monopolize leadership opportunities in the Seventh-day Adventist churches in South Malawi Field. A specific Church, Soche Seventh-day Adventist Church, was selected for study with a view to generalizing the findings to the whole territory of South Malawi Field. The researcher asked for 40 young people and 30 adults who were randomly selected to make up group that could be used for the study. By the time the process of study began, 35 young people aged 12 – 30 years and 25 adults over 30 years of age had committed themselves to continuing with the program when it was launched,implemented, and evaluated. What was of major concern as the study was embarked upon, was that although young people of Soche Seventh-day Adventist Church were highly receptive to the good news of the gospel, membership attrition rate among them was quite high. Many young people fell prey to many problems which affected many young people in the area. Closer observations indicated that young people were generally inactive in Church, and were denied leadership opportunities and positions in the church. Although the Church had been operating in this territory for more than 115 years it had been losing opportunities for helping young people develop and operate fully to their God-given potential. This study sought to change the situation in South Malawi Field by designing a program for developing youth leadership potential. Soche Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the largest churches in the city of Blantyre, and it was selected for pilot study. Following the establishment of a theoretical framework and description of the local situation, a strategy was formulated and applied to the local situation. In order to achieve the objectives of the research a questionnaire was prepared. Two groups of people were selected: 35 young people aged between 12-30 years and 25 adults aged between 31-50 years. Apart from the group there were those who participated in the interviews before and after the program had been implemented. The study started in 2006 and continued up to 2009. What came out clearly from the study was that many adults do not accept the young people to be empowered for leadership positions in the church. The majority felt that the youth may take over their leadership positions and yet they lack everything that is essential in leadership. The church appeared to have had little interest in training the youth for leadership. Nevertheless, after implementing a mentoring program for developing leadership potential for the youth, there was a change of attitude in favor of involving young people in all programs of the church, and systems were put in place to prepare the young people for leadership positions.
An investigation of factors leading to divorce among the Seventh-day Adventist couples in Kabwe East mission district
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-07) Chuunga, Daniel
The Bible reveals that marriage was intended by God to be a lifetime relationship between husband and wife. Statistics from Kabwe East Mission District reveal that 19.3% divorces were recorded in 2006, while 23.5% divorces took place in 2007, and 26.8% divorces were recorded in 2008. The soaring divorce statistics cited above motivated the researcher to examine factors that lead to divorce. This study began by laying the foundational statement on marriage which is in Genesis 1 and 2 of the Hebrew Bible and repeated by Jesus and Paul in the New Testament. Selected Biblical narratives throughout the Bible, and comments from Ellen G. White and other writers show that marriage meant to be monogamous,heterosexual and life-long relationship between husband and wife. Moreover, this study also sought to get opinions from various stakeholders about themarriage and divorce situation in Kabwe East Mission District. Stakeholders had to indicate what they saw as causes of divorce and what could be done about them in order to minimize divorce. The general and specific findings from this study reveal the following: 1. Grossly inadequate theology of marriage as God designed it to be monogamous, heterosexual, and life-long commitment to the spouse. 2. Unawareness and inability to constructively deal with specific factors that lead to divorce like: adultery, in-law conflicts, neglect, financial dislocations, drunkenness, cross-cultural (tribal) unions, disparities in age, education and economic status, spouse abuse and cruelty, early marriages, witchcraft and lack of interpersonal communication skills. 3. General lack of understanding of relational dynamics in a culture which is changing fast and forcing people to move around seeking education and work to earn a living. The conclusion is that divorce can be minimized at Kabwe East Mission District if the married couples there and the whole church come up with appropriate strategies which are targeted at specific factors which undermine marriage. Such strategies need to be crafted and implemented without delay.
Challenges of change leadership in the central Malawi field of Seventh-day Adventist church: The case of Central Malawi Field dealings with Mlodza church
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-07) Matekenya, Dennis John Rabson
Between 2001 and 2003, the Central Malawi Field (CMF) of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church experienced some challenges with Mlodza Church concerning women preaching. Disagreements that followed between CMF and Mlodza Church prompted CMF to sever communication with Mlodza Church. A study was conducted in order to establish how the CMF handled the change process through personal interviews, review of archival document contents like minutes and letters of CMF and Mlodza Church and administering close-ended questionnaire to 100 respondents distributed equally between workers at CMF, Mlodza Church members, Lilongwe City pastors, church elders and women leaders. The data was analyzed using excel spreadsheet. The findings show that the CMF mishandled the change processes. It also revealed lack of change leadership skills on the part of CMF officers and that there was lack of effective change guidelines to assist the CMF in dealing with change processes. The LIFE change model was developed as a possible guideline for change leadership. The model has four components which form guidelines for change in the Church: learning, initiating, facilitating and entrenching. The study recommends that pastors and local leaders need to receive orientation in change management, that the training of pastors at Malawi Adventist University should include courses on leadership and change management to ensure that would-be pastors have knowledge of handling change processes in the church.
A programme to motivate global mission pioneers in Makoni District of the East Zimbabwe conference
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-07) Chaukura, Clifford
There had been no clearly defined strategy to motivate Global Mission Pioneers serving in Makoni District of the East Zimbabwe Conference. The resultant impact on evangelism has therefore been negative. Motivation of Global Mission Pioneers is an important program carried out in Makoni District of the East Zimbabwe Conference specifically to raise the self-esteem of the army of the Global Mission Pioneer workers within the District. The eight Global Mission Pioneers were given questionnaires as a way of collecting data to uncover and define each one’s expectations. Finally a program to effectively motivate them was designed and implemented (see appendix A).All the eight Global Mission Pioneers with their wives fully participated in the program which was done at Malwatte Holiday Resort, near Marondera Town. The evaluation indicated a great milestone in motivation and the raising of the self-esteem of all the Global Mission Pioneers concerned (see Appendix C). As a direct result of this motivational program, low self esteem and burn-out are no longer existent among these workers. The Global Mission Pioneers in Makoni District are happy and glad that their pastor and elders are now conscious of their basic plight and have put in place measures and strategies aimed at raising their self- esteem. This has seen marked improvements in soul winning and church planting endeavours.
A strategy to Revitalize literature evangelism in Kampala zone, Central Uganda Conference
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-07) Lubwama, Godfrey
Literature evangelism is a ministry established in the Seventh-day Adventist church right from the inception of this church by the church founders like James and Ellen G. White. It is the work which facilitated not only their survival but acted as a wedge for penetrating the gospel near and far places. Over 28 countries bear records of people who have received the gospel first through the spread of the printed pages by a literature evangelist. In Uganda, especially the Central region where Kampala, the capital city of the country is situated, literature evangelism started in the late 1960s but due to the ban of the church, which was instituted in 1978-1979, the work almost died out. Around early 1990s, literature evangelism was resurrected and a number of literature evangelists were recruited to join the ministry. In the early years of the 90s, the literature ministry had over 200 literature evangelists but in late 90s, the number of literature evangelists had dropped to less than 20. Currently the active literature evangelists are only 5 full time workers and 12 part-timers. This decline aroused the interest of the researcher to seek for the factors which have led to the decline in number and thereafter device a strategy for revitalizing the work. The researcher took samples by visiting some churches in Kampala zone and some institutions of higher learning to discover people’s attitudes towards this ministry and the responses were positive. It is the obligation of the leadership to recruit, train and deploy new literature evangelists in the field of distributing literature, evaluate and to motivate them. Once this work is revived, the church’s income shall increase due to increased sales from books as well as increased membership in the church resulting from conversions after reading these books.
Developing a strategy to revive teamwork spirit among leaders in Seventh-day Adventist church South Kenya Conference
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-07) Nyambane, Obed Nyamache
For a leader, teamwork spirit means blending together in unity, working together in harmony, laboring together with God in order to achieve the common set goal, that is the salvation of humanity. It is working together as brethren, consulting together, counseling with the ministers and responsible men, and above all, seek wisdom from above together. After a serious study of teamwork spirit, the researcher developed a strategy to revive teamwork spirit among leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Kenya Conference. A series of lessons on teamwork spirit were developed and training was done for both ministers and the church elders in various centers. The training exercise lasted for two years.After having gone through the lessons, the minsters and the elders resolved to work together as brethren and be in harmony with biblical principles on teamwork spirit. There is now improvement in church membership, tithe and offerings growth. The promotion on teamwork spirit done by the researcher has kindled in the hearts of the laity especially the church elders for the last two years. They prayed that the same spirit be generated not only in their hearts but also in the hearts of the entire leadership of the church in South Kenya Conference.
Recruitment and training of literature evangelists in Mpika Mission district, Zambia
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-07) Sipanje, Bostone
Mpika mission district had only 2 full time literature evangelists, compared with other smaller districts in North Zambia field which had more than 3. The district is the largest in Zambia. The aim of this research project is to gain an understanding of the challenge in the recruitment and training of more literature evangelists in Mpika district, and propose a model for removing the challenge. Out of multiple methods which could have been used in this research project program development, the major method which was used for data collection was making arrangements with the local elders of the 4 churches used as pilot churches for the district. The sample focus was 40 members from Central church, 40 members from Lwitikila church, 30 members from Chitulika and 30 members from Shangai church, a total of 140 members. According to the findings of the research project many methods of recruitment and training of literature evangelists were used, but many of them left a negative impact on the recruitment and training of literature evangelists in Mpika district. Church members, elders and other leaders developed a negative attitude towards the literature evangelism work. After implementing the research project development program, it was concluded that it was possible to recruit literature evangelists by using the local church board members. By December 31st 2012 at the end of the research project the number of literature evangelists increased from 2 to 14 evangelists. The interest was created in the literature ministry among elders, church members and other leaders.
The impact of Church Leadership crisis on youth employment creation
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08) Herimbololonanirina, Marc Arthur Ranala
The study determined the impact of leadership crisis on youth employment creation in Seventh-day Adventist Churches districts of Mahajanga town, Madagascar. The study employed the descriptive correlational method. The population and sample was made up of all church members in all the 37 Churches in the district. The sample was made up 11 churches randomly selected with a total membership of 1421 members. A sample percentage of 17.07 was adopted and hence 200 members were sampled. The instrument for the study was a structured questionnaire. After the administration of the questionnaire the data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation, correlation analysis, Levene’s Test, and t-test. Findings from the study revealed that, 67.3% of the respondents were young and 47.8% unemployed. The majority of respondents (52.3%) were male. In their perception, respondents agreed that there is no problem with the leadership of the church in terms of leadership orientation, communication and attitude but the problem lies in their approach. Leadership orientation has a significant correlation with all leadership crisis dimensions, but highly significantly related with communication. The study concluded that the church leadership crisis has an impact on youth employment creation. It was therefore recommended that the leadership of the church should face the problem of youth employment by adopting strategies and approaches that are appropriate and practical as well as prioritize youth employment training. The researcher finally recommends that an employment training project of 15 month be established within the youth club.
Regularity and procedure in Mafara District board meetings, East Zimbabwe Conference
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08) Muchoko, Kilson
There has been lack of consistency and procedures in the conducting of board meetings in Mafara District Churches in East Zimbabwe Conference. In most cases meetings are convened to deal with problems as they arise and do not cater for forward thinking. Due to the growth of the church, fostering success in the programs, conducting meetings regularly and procedurally is critical. Data was collected from church clerks, elders and board members using surveys, interviews and discussions. Literature was read and it helped to authenticate the practice. The Biblical and Spirit of Prophecy perspective motivated learning as it was interfaced with secular theories on leadership and meetings. Five key focus areas that reflect job descriptions of both clerks and elders were identified. An evaluation instrument relevant to East Zimbabwe Conference, and Mafara District in particular, was designed, pretested and made ready for application.Lastly an orientation and training process was recommended for the professional development of clerks, elders and board members at large in that they focus on procedures that are adhered to by professional officers as they conduct meetings.
The opinion of the employees of the South Katanga Field on Vegetarian diet
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08-02) Lwambo, Daniel Mukeya
Currently there are different trends both in preaching and practicing aspects regarding the diet that Seventh-day Adventists believers should adopt. The first trend stresses that vegetarian diet is the ideal for a healthy human being and those who believe in this feel guilty when they consume flesh. The second trend seems to minimize this concern of vegetarianism. So those adopting this option feel free to eat meat without any sense of guilt. Still there are others who are neutral. For them it is just optional according to anybody’s readiness and fitness to such a life style. So there seems to be two extremes in the church. For most Adventists believers, the confusion issues from Ellen G. White’s statements saying that church employees and their families remunerated with the tithe of church organization should not consume meat.Based on such strong statements, many SDA believers are in confusion regarding meat eating. As a result there are many questions around this vegetarian diet. Is it a sin to consume meat? On what basis should be vegetarianism be encouraged? Is it on biblical health and animal rights? This research made a study among the SDA employees in the South Katanga Field in the DRC. It was discovered that most of employees in this area are not ready to apply a vegetarian diet. This attitude may be due to their ignorance of the relevance of vegetarian diet on our health. The research shows that even though the Bible or Ellen White have never stated that eating meat is a sin, nevertheless it is obvious that vegetarian diet is the ideal diet given by God. This diet was given initially to our first parents, then after the fall God did not allow to eat meat until the flood and this seems to be for a temporary time. Finally it is obvious that on the new earth animals shall be respected because human kinds and animals shall be playing together enjoying life. Why not start breathing and experiencing the joy of the new earth while living on this earth? This project has suggested a program which could be implemented in South Katanga to train employees on the vegetarian diet. An evaluation is also provided starting the time of training until a period of 18 months for those who will adhere to the principle of this lifestyle. A positive result is expected for the families which will implement vegetarian principles provided by this work.
A strategy of nurturing new members in Bamburi Great News Seventh-day Adventist Church, Kenya Coast Field
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08-02) Ombuoro, Khamala Eliab
For a pastor/leader, biblical discipleship means training and equipping people to become responsible Christians who follow Jesus and share the gospel with others. In the Bamburi Great News Church, which is Bamburi District of Kenya Coast Field in Kenya, the names of most of those attending services were not on the Church register, while the registered members were not attending Church program. The study investigated the reasons behind this and made recommendations for effective nurturing of Church members. Quantitative data was collected through the use of questionnaires administered on 200 members, only 148 out of these were returned. In addition, 12 people were interviewed for collection of useful qualitative information. Data analysis indicated a mere average level of new membership nurturing in the Church, with 60% of respondents agreeing to know a member who left the Church for a lack of good nurturing. The study also discovered a low level of involvement of Church members in Church programs.All those interviewed face to face agreed that the Sabbath School Discussion Groups should be used for monitoring of members and those absent should be subsequently followed up. About 75% of those interviewed also suggested the allocation of special mentors to new members, taking sex and age into consideration. In addition, 50% of the interviewees suggested home-based fellowship at mid-week, for those living within the same proximity; this will increase the participation of all members in mid-week prayer meetings. The study concluded that improved participation of all members in Church activities, which will encourage and result in increased Church members, may be achieved if members commit themselves to the Lords’ work.
Equipping the local church leadership to involve membership in mission focused activities of the Amakhandeni Seventh-day Adventist church
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08-02) Tshuma, Lulama
Emakhandeni Seventh-day Adventist Church was experiencing the problem of low involvement of membership in evangelistic activities that lead to the accomplishment of its mission. Despite this, it seems there was no intentional member focused mobilization strategy that had been developed to address the issue. After reviewing literature on membership mobilization towards involvement in evangelistic activities and after having scrutinized questionnaires that were completed by the surveyed group, the researcher embarked on an intervention program to alleviate the problem of low involvement of membership in mission focused evangelistic activities at Emakhandeni Church. The program was done in one year and nine months beginning from May 2011. It was a leadership development program which aimed at equipping local church leadership to mobilize church members to get involved in mission focused activities of the Emakhandeni Seventh-day Adventist church. The researcher developed and implemented this program in the church. A year after the intervention program had been developed and implemented, the church realized an accelerated rate of involvement in evangelistic activities that saw 243 baptized at the end of 2012 as compared to 124 that were baptized in 2011. This meant an increase of membership from 711 to 1078.
An investigation of critical issues in strategy implementation in Chitungwiza West district in East Zimbabwe conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08-02) Muzira, Joshua
The study sought to investigate critical issues in strategy implementation in Chitungwiza West District of East Zimbabwe Conference of the Seventh –day Adventist church. It was observed that church programs were being planned but without proper implementation thus causing the church to achieve less goals than set. The failure to implement programs as planned has impacted negatively on the mission of the church at large. The data for the study was collected through structured a questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire was administered to 25 respondents from five purposively selected organized churches in the District. The respondents comprised of church elders, church treasurer, church clerk, Sabbath school superintendent and personal ministries leader. The researcher personally administered the questionnaire as well as conducted interviews in the selected churches.The data collected was analyzed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). The descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, mean and standard deviation were employed, while responses from the interviews were analyzed using the descriptive interpretive method. Findings of the study were that all the churches in the District have strategic plans which were either short term plans or long term plans and that level of involvement, commitment and participation of church board members was found to be very good and good respectively in the perception of the respondents. Church board members are solely involved in strategic planning sessions as well as its implementation. The level of financial ability of the local churches was found to be poor as church budgets were the major source of finance. Respondents were of the opinion that the allocation of manpower is being done correctly while financing of strategic plans was not correctly done. Interviewees however revealed that the buy-in of church members into the program is very crucial for successful implementation. Based on the findings a program was developed for the training of Church Board members on strategic plan formulation, implementation and evaluation.
Conflict management in Seventh-day Adventist boarding schools in East Zimbabwe Conference
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08-02) Musara, Godfrey
The research dealt with the causes of conflict in Adventist boarding schools in East Zimbabwe Conference and how it could be managed. The data for the study were collected through a structured questionnaire on the causes of conflicts and conflict resolution methods as well as an interview schedule. The questionnaire which was of the five point Likert scale of Always to Never was used for data collection. The questionnaire was both face and content validated and a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.783 was obtained following a pilot study. The questionnaire was administered to 75 respondents made up of administrators and staff. The data collected were analyzed quantitative and the qualitative methods. The questionnaire was analysed using the quantitative method. The data collected were coded and analysed using the descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages. Graphical representation of data such as pie chart and bar graphs were also used. The descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used. The results were presented in tables and graphs. The study revealed that poor communication, leadership style and poor conditions of work were often causes of conflict in Adventist boarding schools while the conflict resolution methods often used were consultations and dialogue. As a way of addressing the problem, a fellowship program was carried out in one of the boarding schools. After the seminar presentation an evaluation form was issued out to assess the effectiveness of the program and the responses indicated that such a seminar on conflict management in Seventh-day Adventist boarding schools would reduce conflicts. Based on the findings it was recommended that workshops and seminars on conflict management be conducted periodically for administrators and staff in Seventh-day Adventist institutions.
The application of the Leadership of Nehemiah in the rehabilitation of the mother Church to improve the performance of the Marovoay District
(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2013-08-02) Rabenarivo, Jim Hervé
For a district pastor, the mission is to make his district more spiritually powerful. This is possible if the district manages to find the priority problem and then finds its resolution which will involves the resolution of all the other problems. It was a qualitative study at the Marovoay district level (Indian Ocean Union Missions), including the elders, members and non-Adventists. The study felt that the priority problem is the out datedness of the mother Church. The most relevant strategy to cure it is the extension and the rehabilitation of this Church with the participation of all the churches and all the members of the Marovoay district without waiting for assistance come from outside. Once established the project will run for 8 months with 6 months of preparation and 2 months of actual work of rehabilitation. One applied the leadership principles of Nehemiah. A study on evaluation will be conducted, comparing the spirituality of the members before and after the rehabilitation. Before starting the project, only 30% of the church members were satisfied with the worship. Four months later, the satisfaction of project significantly rose to 70% on the statistics. The impact could not be measured due to shortness of time; however from the direct results obtained the church elders justified the increase in tithe. Meanwhile, the non Adventist members were astonished and this caused them to become Seventh-day Adventist church members.

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