Date of Award

3-1-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Practical Theology

First Advisor

William Thompson

Scripture References in this Resource

Acts 20:28; Genesis 2:18; Genesis 1:31; Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:8–9; Genesis 3:16; Genesis 3:17–19; Genesis 4:8; Genesis .4:12–16; Genesis 6:5; Genesis 6:8; 13; Genesis 27:1–40; Genesis 37:12–36; Romans 5:10–11; Romans 5:1–2; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1; John 17:11; Matthew 28:18–20; 1 John 4:10–12; Acts 2:42; Ecclesiastes 4:9–10; 1 Timothy 4:14; Romans 12:4–5; Acts 2:44; Galatians 6:1–2; 1 Corinthians 12:12–31; Acts 2:46–47

Abstract

Doel, Michele, M. “Building a Bridge to Community: Creating Belonging by Intentionally Incorporating Christians into the Life of the Congregation.” Master’s thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2020. 86 pp.

How simple is it for a new member to become incorporated into the life of your church? There is a creational need for all humans to have a sense of belonging to God and to those around them. This human need for relationships and community means that congregations should be experts at involving people and building up their relationships with one another. This thesis builds off the author’s experience as an intern at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Columbus, Indiana. It discusses programs that help people assimilate and that build a sense of belonging in community. It then considers the disconnect that causes many people to miss out on programs and leads to inactivity. It lastly fills this gap by discussing methods that congregations can apply to build bridges to community producing programs in order to aid their members in building community and finding a sense of belonging among the congregation.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Download

Share

COinS