Congregational and Mission Structures and How the Seventh-day Adventist Church Has Related to Them

Abstract

This dissertation suggests that the Christian Church has expanded most rapidly when the outreach and nurture functions of the Church have been organized and promoted by separate structures that relate to each other in three ways: (1) they are semi-autonomous in decision making, (2) they share a common purpose and objective, and (3) they have an agreed upon common reference point. This model for semi-autonomous congregational and mission structures is then supported by detailing the relationship between the Antioch Church and Paul's apostolic bands. Similar cases of semi-autonomy between the two structures in church history are then cited to further support the thesis. Part II of this dissertation details Seventh-day Adventist missions during three periods: (1) The Foreign Mission Board era, 1889-1903, (2) The Daniells/Spicer era, 1901- 1930, and (3) The present era, 1946-1980. The interrelationship of the congregational (nurture) structure and the mission (outreach) structure is examined for each period with weaknesses and strengths pointed out. Finally the present decline of Seventh-day Adventist missions is detailed, followed by specific suggestions to reverse the decline.