Developing A Strategic Plan For Transforming The Ways In Which An African American Church Ministers In A Multi-Ethnic Context

K.  Edward Copeland

Etd

Developing A Strategic Plan For Transforming The Ways In Which An African American Church Ministers In A Multi-Ethnic Context

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

K. Edward Copeland. Developing A Strategic Plan For Transforming The Ways In Which An African American Church Ministers In A Multi-ethnic Context. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/91764337-4e3b-4269-a4d3-a599389c9763?locale=en.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

K. E. Copeland. Developing A Strategic Plan For Transforming The Ways In Which An African American Church Ministers In A Multi-Ethnic Context. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/91764337-4e3b-4269-a4d3-a599389c9763?locale=en

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

K. Edward Copeland. Developing A Strategic Plan For Transforming The Ways In Which An African American Church Ministers In A Multi-Ethnic Context. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/91764337-4e3b-4269-a4d3-a599389c9763?locale=en.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

K. Edward Copeland

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In Copyright

Abstract

This Doctor of Ministry project created a strategic plan to transform the way a historically African-American church named New Zion Baptist Church in Rockford, Illinois, does ministry in a multi-ethnic context. This project report detailed the process by which that strategic plan was formulated, evaluated, and designed to be implemented.The project report began by providing the biblical and theological foundations for ethnic diversity within God's worshipping community. The project report also examined the current literature on multi-ethnic congregations and the contextual dynamics of African-American church history that impact ministry praxis.The project was divided into a research phase and a synthesis phase. The research phase was designed to understand the current and projected demographics of the region and to ascertain the church's capacity and willingness for intercultural hospitality in light of the surrounding community's burgeoning immigrant Latino population. The synthesis phase of the project analyzed and interpreted the data and developed and evaluated a strategic plan with the help of the church leadership, membership, and ministry partners.The project report concluded with a summary of the internal and external challenges New Zion must face in order to implement the strategic plan and the implications of this project for the local church and the church at large. Two insights gained from this project include that local Latinos viewed their cultural connection to Catholicism as a more significant barrier to interacting with an African-American congregation than doctrine or worship praxis and that biblical hospitality is essential to bridging ethnic and cultural divides.

Year