Implementing a Prison Ministry as an Active Factor to Refresh the Spiritual Life at the Salem

210 Pages·2017·1.72 MB·English

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Dissertation Projects DMin Graduate Research
2013
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Florin Liga
Andrews University
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Liga, Florin, "Implementing a Prison Ministry as an Active Factor to Refresh the Spiritual Life at the Salem
Seventh-day Adventist Church" (2013). Dissertation Projects DMin. 72.
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/72
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ABSTRACT
IMPLEMENTING A PRISON MINISTRY AS AN ACTIVE FACTOR
TO REFRESH THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AT THE SALEM
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
by
Florin Liga
Adviser: Erich Baumgartner
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Project Document
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Title: IMPLEMENTING A PRISON MINISTRY AS AN ACTIVE FACTOR TO
REFRESH THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AT THE SALEM SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTIST CHURCH
Name of researcher: Florin Liga
Name and degree of faculty adviser: Erich Baumgartner, Ph.D.
Date completed: February 2013
Problem
With a history of almost 70 years of Adventist presence in Marion County,
Illinois, the church had gradually shifted from a church growth focus to a survival focus.
The Adventist traditions had been kept faithfully, but the people in the church suffered
because their witnessing didn’t impact their community and neighborhood anymore.
While they were ready for new outreach tools they were hesitant to try such a new
approach that challenged the status quo and ultimately created a demand for spiritual
renewal in their personal and church life. Prison ministry to a population group the
church had previously not ministered to was introduced as an avenue to break out of this
pattern of self-absorption.
Method
The task of this project is to describe the prison ministry strategy we employed to
inspire and motivate members and non-members attending our church as an active factor
of refreshing their spiritual life. The theological foundation along with a literature review
provided the framework for developing and implementing a prison ministry to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salem, Illinois. In addition, four training sessions were
developed for the church leaders interested in implementing the prison ministry strategy
in their own context. Finally, the impact of this ministry on member involvement and its
influence on the congregation were evaluated.
Results
The10 participants who accepted to be part of the implementation training for
prison ministry were very positive about their experience. The perceived impact of the
jail and prison ministry in the Salem Adventist Church was assessed with a survey given
to a group of 12 members who volunteered to participate in the survey. These 12 included
five members who did not participate in the jail and prison ministry project. The survey
assessed the spiritual satisfaction of the church members, based on two essential
Christian values: evangelism and community outreach.
Overall the evaluation showed a clear difference in the level of satisfaction
members reported in their spiritual life when participating in jail and prison ministry
compared with those who did not participate. Direct involvement seemed to improve or
keep the level of spiritual satisfaction high. This spiritual satisfaction score not only
reported personal growth, but also extended a beneficial influence into the entire local
church. Thus the implemented ministry reported in this study can be considered as the
catalyst for the refreshing of the spiritual life of the church.
Conclusions
Prison ministry can be a successful way to lead a church beyond its crippling
focus on self to practical engagement in a world disabled by dysfunction. This ministry
results in transformed lives. Prisoners residing in correctional facilities today touched and
transformed by the power of God experienced through this ministry returned to their
families as role models, to the church as a gift to the Body of Christ, and to the
community as evidence of the love, power, and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Although I need to emphasize that prison ministry is not for everybody and not
for every church, I am confident that the present model can be a source of inspiration for
many churches. A jail and prison ministry can empower any pastor, educator, or lay
leader to do effective ministry. Prison life provides a ready-made context in which the
story of our salvation fits well and is often welcomed by those seeking for a change in
their lives.
For this reason I recommend to the Seventh-day Adventist church and its leaders,
from the local to the national level, to support and encourage every initiative of believers
for starting a jail and prison ministry in their local churches. Rediscovering evangelistic
success and finding fulfillment in outreach will provide vision and empowerment in
mission to any church who experienced failure in the past. In this way I sincerely hope
that this project will make a cherished contribution to the church I love and to its
members preparing themselves and the world for the second coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
IMPLEMENTING A PRISON MINISTRY AS AN ACTIVE FACTOR
TO REFRESH THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AT THE SALEM
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
A Project Document
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry
by
Florin Liga
February 2013
IMPLEMENTING A PRISON MINISTRY AS AN ACTIVE FACTOR
TO REFRESH THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AT THE SALEM
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
A project document
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Ministry
by
Florin Liga
APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:
________________________________ ______________________________
Adviser, Director, DMin Program
Erich Baumgartner Skip Bell
________________________________ ______________________________
Romulus Chelbegean Dean, SDA Theological Seminary
Denis Fortin
________________________________ ______________________________
Walt A. Williams Date approved
© Copyright by Florin Liga 2013
All Rights Reserved
To my father, Enoh, who was imprisoned for 4 years by the Romanian
Communist Government for his faithfulness to the Christian
values. By his model, I was encouraged to stand up
for mistreated and oppressed people neglected
or abandoned by their family, friends,
church and the entire society.
&
To my gracious wife, Livia,
and children, Michael and Joseph, who
sacrificed many days and hours apart which
would have otherwise been spent together, but who along
with me, long to see a better world impacted by our loving ministry.
iii