Equipping Aspiring Elders for Ministry Effectiveness at Harvest Bible Chapel, Miami, Florida

Abstract

ABSTRACT

EQUIPPING ASPIRING ELDERS FOR MINISTRY EFFECTIVENESS AT HARVEST BIBLE CHAPEL, MIAMI, FLORIDA

Jason Michael Fevig, D.Min.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Danny R. Bowen

This project examines the relationship between an individual’s biblical understanding of spiritual leadership and the individual’s character, biblical convictions, and competency for ministry in the local church. Chapter 1 defines the historical, contextual, and practical issues facing spiritual leaders at Harvest Bible Chapel, Miami, Florida. Chapter 2 presents the biblical and theological basis for male spiritual leadership and shows how the New Testament clearly establishes the spiritual qualities of men aspiring to church leadership. Chapter 3 presents the theoretical and practical issues related to spiritual leadership in the church and shows that God’s plan for leading the church requires a man to lead spiritually through his biblical convictions, his character, and through his ministry competency. Chapters 4 and 5 provide the results, analysis, and conclusions of this project. During this ten-week project, the spiritual maturity of the ten men in the congregation who aspired to church eldership were assessed, trained, and equipped. The goal was to explain the office of overseer and show how elders are to be spiritual leaders, which was measured by a pre and post-test survey and an evaluation rubric before and after the treatment phase.