Equipping Elders and Deacons from the Gethsemane French Seventh-day Adventist Church for

206 Pages·2017·3.26 MB·English

Andrews University
Digital Commons @ Andrews University
Project Documents Graduate Research
2014
Equipping Elders and Deacons from the
Gethsemane French Seventh-day Adventist
Church for Effective Visitation in Healthcare
Settings
Brian Ladiny
Andrews University
This research is a product of the graduate program inDoctor of Ministry DMinat Andrews University.Find
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Recommended Citation
Ladiny, Brian, "Equipping Elders and Deacons from the Gethsemane French Seventh-day Adventist Church for Effective Visitation in
Healthcare Settings" (2014).Project Documents. 69.
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/69
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ABSTRACT

EQUIPPING ELDERS AND DEACONS FROM THE GETHSEMANE FRENCH
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH FOR EFFECTIVE
VISITATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

by

Brian Ladiny

Adviser: Siroj Sorajjakool
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Project Document

Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Title: EQUIPPING ELDERS AND DEACONS FROM THE GETHSEMANE
FRENCH SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH FOR EFFECTIVE
VISITATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

Name of researcher: Brian Ladiny
Name and degree of faculty adviser: Siroj Sorajjakool, PhD
Date completed: April 2014

The Problem
Gethsemane French Seventh-day Adventist Church with a total membership of 1,200
serves a large diverse urban community in Brooklyn, New York. Church elders and
deacons have little or no training on visiting the sick. No previous efforts to equip church
elders and deacons for effective visitation in the healthcare setting have been attempted in
order to re-affirm their mission to serve and visit those who are sick. This project aims to
increase and enhance the knowledge of lay leaders to effectively visit the sick in the
healthcare setting.
The Method

Three training sessions on visiting the sick in the healthcare setting were
conducted and implemented at Gethsemane Church in Brooklyn, NY during the month of
May 2011. The training sessions provided theological foundations, theoretical analysis
and clinical skills on visiting the sick in healthcare settings. Instruments such as pre-
session and post-session interview questionnaires, pastoral verbatim reports and
evaluation forms were collected and analyzed.

The Results

Three elders, two deacons and three deaconesses were trained. All of them agreed
to apply these visiting skills during their personal visitation in the healthcare setting.
They all endorsed that a trained lay visitation team would be very beneficial for the
Church. Eighty five percent of the participants felt very comfortable sharing visiting tips
with other elders and deacons. Ninety percent of the participants wished for and felt that
more time should have been spent during the training sessions on exploring the art of
visiting non-Adventist patients.

Conclusions

Training lay leaders for effective visitation of Adventist and non-Christian
patients in healthcare settings demonstrates positive impact on church growth. This
finding suggests that implementation of this project to other local churches in Greater
New York Conference would help church members to establish a friendship ministry of
compassion and care to non-Adventist patients. This project, however, acknowledges
directions for further research, recommendations, and reflections on equipping church
leaders for effective visitation in healthcare settings.
Andrews University

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

EQUIPPING ELDERS AND DEACONS FROM THE GETHSEMANE FRENCH
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH FOR EFFECTIVE
VISITATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

A Project Document
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry

by

Brian Ladiny

April 2014
EQUIPPING ELDERS AND DEACONS FROM THE GETHSEMANE FRENCH
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH FOR EFFECTIVE
VISITATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

A project document
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Ministry

by
Brian Ladiny

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:

_______________________________ ____________________________________
Adviser, Director, DMin Program
Siroj Sorajjakool Skip Bell

_______________________________ ____________________________________
Mario Ceballos Dean, SDA Theological Seminary
Jiří Moskala

_______________________________ ____________________________________
Roger Dudley Date approved
©Copyright by Brian Ladiny 2014
All Rights Reserved
DEDICATION
This project is first and most of all dedicated to God, my Father and Educator who has
sustained me throughout this journey. I would like to express sincere thanks and gratitude
to my God-given wife, Esther Jocelyn-Ladiny, who has during the course of this project
uplifted my spirit for excellence and undergone different circumstances of life with me
from our engagement, marriage, and birth of our newly born son, Bradley Elie Ladiny.
Also, special thanks to my proud parents, Wibain and Marie Ladiny for their support
through fervent prayers and motivation. Overall, to God be all the glory and honor.

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