Date of Award

3-2023

Document Type

Project Portfolio

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Sunggu Yang, PhD

Second Advisor

Gregg Borror, DMin

Third Advisor

Leonard I. Sweet, PhD

Abstract

This two-part project is in response to the NPO that Christian leaders struggle to understand how to address complex, ever changing-socioeconomic needs and, if solved, the church would thrive and better address needs in the community. The research for this project confirmed that Christians and church communities increasingly encounter socioeconomic challenges in their efforts to serve their neighbors. Undergraduate students at a Christian university were found to be passionate about addressing these challenges which they also witness in their respective communities. These students also reported low levels of awareness of best practices in economic development and advocacy and policy. The author is the chair and full-time faculty for the School of Global Studies at Northwest University (NU), a Christian institution, which houses an existing master’s degree in International Community Development (ICD). The first part of this project is a new master’s degree in Community Economic Development (CED) created for the School of Global Studies. The new degree includes legacy classes from the ICD program, several classes that have been adapted from that program to be relevant for a CED context, and two new cornerstone classes in Economic Development and Advocacy and Policy for Development. The CED program will launch its first cohort in May 2023. The second part of this project is an outline and first chapter for a book titled Money and Peacemaking. When completed and published, this book can serve as a required reading for the Economic Development class in the new degree program.

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