Moving Seventh-day Adventist Churches Beyond the Two Hundred Barrier

235 Pages·2017·8.49 MB·English

by  David Ripley

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Dissertation Projects DMin Graduate Research
2000
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David Ripley
Andrews University
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Ripley, David, "Moving Seventh-day Adventist Churches Beyond the Two Hundred Barrier" (2000).
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ABSTRACT
MOVING SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCHES
BEYOND THE TWO HUNDRED BARRIER
by
David P. Ripley
Adviser: Ricardo Norton
* HITE LIBRARY
ANDREWS UNIVERSITY
BERRIEN SPRINGS. MI 49104
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ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Dissertation
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Title: MOVING SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCHES BEYOND THE TWO
HUNDRED BARRIER
Name of researcher: David P. Ripley
Name and degree of faculty adviser: Ricardo Norton. D.Min.
Date completed: April 2000
Problem
Seventh-day Adventist churches have found themselves largely unable to grow
beyond the 200-in-attendance barrier. Book membership may continue to increase, yet
attendance plateaus. Outside of the institutional setting, there are very few Anglo
Adventist churches that have grown beyond the barrier.
Method
The pastors of ten churches that were chiefly Anglo, 300-400 in attendance, and
not in an institutional setting were surveyed. Ten churches with less than 220 in
attendance and having a book membership of at least 350 were also surveyed. These
were compared, looking for features that would make a difference.
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Results
Differences do occur between the two groups. The areas that showed the greatest
differences were in visioning, staffing, worship style, evangelism, and small groups.
These findings were applied to the Northwest Houston Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The results were that it grew through the 200 barrier.
Conclusions
If an Adventist church wishes to move through the 200 barrier, it must become a
different kind of organization. Prayerful pastoral leadership is vital. Clear vision is
critical. It must staff itself for growth. Evangelism should be more relational. Worship
styles will tend to be more contemporary. The definition of small groups must be
widened.
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