Renewing the Motivation of the Devonshire Seventh-day Adventist Church to Become a Missional Community Through the Biblical Alignment of the Church\u27s Spirituality, Passion, and Ministries

Abstract

Problem. Churches experiencing plateau or even decline often arrive at that stage in their life cycle because they are no longer fulfilling the great commission. They have lost their spiritual vitality, vision, and a purpose for mission. The challenge is renewing in this context a vision for growth and a commitment to ministry to the lost. This project details how this challenge was responded to at the Devonshire Seventh-day Adventist Church. Method. Identifying that the church was in the plateau stage of its life cycle was fundamental to approaching the problem. A theological foundation was established as a first step for communicating to the church a vision for growth and mission. A three stage process was developed and implemented. This was done concurrently with a series of spiritual formation experiences throughout the period of implementation. Result. The project involved the use of an evaluation instrument. The data from this suggested the transformation process at the Devonshire Seventh-day Adventist Church had repositioned the church for growth and with continued equipping of the laity would result in a greater commitment to mission. Conclusion. Transforming a church into a missional community involves both a spiritual and structural renewal. This is not a project to be implemented as a one-time experience. This is instead a process that must be nurtured and maintained over the long term in order to make permanent the transformation experience