Date of Award

4-2022

Document Type

Project Portfolio

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Jeney Park-Hearn, PhD

Second Advisor

Holley Clough, DMin

Third Advisor

Ken Van Vliet, DMin

Abstract

The Project was developed in response to the following NPO (specifically opportunity): In a disorientating culture, forming disciples in the way of Christ needs a relational, experiential model that enlarges their capacity to integrate Bible, Spirit, self and context. A key insight emerging from research was millennial Christians’ sense of being outmaneuvered by a rapidly changing culture. This left them feeling stranded with insufficient way-markers towards flourishing, fruitful lives as followers of Jesus in their context. Research also identified a yearning for a discipleship model that was relationally rich, holistic and experiential in its approach, and which responded directly to everyday challenges shaped by the culture. My ministry context is two-fold: I am a Senior Mission Associate with the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity and I co-chair the Board of a local church. Both contexts are committed to whole-life discipleship, recognizing that if the Church does not disciple God’s people, the culture surely will. The Project is a discipleship model to help UK Christians navigate life with Jesus amidst the formative cultural forces of today’s rapidly changing world. Titled “The SatNav Series”, the model offers blueprints for short discipleship journeys, each exploring a particular topic or challenge influenced by contemporary UK culture. The journeys have three stages: Orientation, Pits Stops and Re-orientation. The journey format, a blend of in-person intensives wrapped around three shorter digital sessions, addresses the whole person, body, heart, mind and spirit. The content strategy integrates four strands: engaging the Bible, creating space for the Spirit, provoking self-reflection, and connecting with context - both societal culture and the specific life and work contexts of the journey cohort. Developed for millennial Christians, the model can be executed in the local church in a way that is simple, sustainable and scalable, thus enriching its discipleship eco-system overall.

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