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Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out
Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2005.
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University of Pretoria
2013
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| _version_ | 1867613529139314688 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Nel, Malan |
| author_browse | Nel, Malan |
| author_facet | Nel, Malan |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/23215 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:35.577Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/23215 Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out Nel, Malan declaisse@bellsouth.net DeClaisse-Walford, Stephen Gerald Congregation Congregation as hermeneutic Congregational studies Outreach ministry Community Congregational ethos Postmodernism Enlightenment project Atlanta Spirit + spirituality Statistical analysis Meaningful engagement Christendom + post-christendom Hermeneutic Holism + holistic ministry UCTD Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. The problem this study addresses is that the Christian church in the postmodern west is in a condition of zero growth and even decline. Conventional strategies intended to reverse this condition have tended to focus on improved implementation of traditional methodologies of church growth. Despite the application of such strategies the church continues to decline, indicating the urgent need for additional approaches. Practical theology suggests such an additional approach: greater engagement with the local community. Certain churches have been identified whose congregations, acting, it is believed, under the leadership of the Spirit, are engaging their immediate communities in a wide variety of ways often with the result that people touched by the church respond with a new or renewed interest in the Christian faith and in some instances join or rejoin the Christian family. The implication, and the hypothesis of the study, is that widespread application of the practices of such community-engaging congregations, called “holistic” congregations, might have a positive impact in terms of growth in the wider church community. To determine the validity of this implication a small-scale inductive, empirical, effect-to-cause study was undertaken. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods intended to identify the ethos of those churches that meet the developed criteria of “holistic” churches, as compared to a second group of “non-holistic” churches, the study addresses the question: Is it possible to discover the ethos of holistic churches with a view to reproducing that ethos in other churches? Analysis of the data gathered during the study identifies a number of specific characteristics shared by the holistic churches. In addition to suggesting strategies that may profitably be investigated and implemented by churches that wish to become, or become more, holistic in terms of their outreach ministry, the results also advocate the further study of holism as a possible key feature to the future of the Church. Practical Theology unrestricted 2013-09-06T14:46:59Z 2006-05-25 2013-09-06T14:46:59Z 2006-02-06 2005 2006-03-16 Thesis DeClaisse-Walford, S 2005, Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23215 > http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23215 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03162006-231337/ © 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Congregation Congregation as hermeneutic Congregational studies Outreach ministry Community Congregational ethos Postmodernism Enlightenment project Atlanta Spirit + spirituality Statistical analysis Meaningful engagement Christendom + post-christendom Hermeneutic Holism + holistic ministry UCTD Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| title | Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| title_full | Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| title_fullStr | Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| title_full_unstemmed | Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| title_short | Led by the Spirit? Discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| title_sort | led by the spirit discovering the ethos of congregations that reach out |
| topic | Congregation Congregation as hermeneutic Congregational studies Outreach ministry Community Congregational ethos Postmodernism Enlightenment project Atlanta Spirit + spirituality Statistical analysis Meaningful engagement Christendom + post-christendom Hermeneutic Holism + holistic ministry UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23215 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03162006-231337/ |