The relationship between intergenerational ministry practices and church health

The basic research question the researcher wanted to investigate was what, if any, is the relationship between intergenerational ministry characteristics and church health. Additional research questions sought to investigate the relationship between the study variables, as related to church context, worship preference and church size. Church context was broken down into rural, small town, suburban, and urban. Church worship style/preference was delineated as traditional, contemporary, and blended. Church size was quantified according to Sunday morning worship attendance as follows: small (1--100); medium (101--400), large (401--700); and mega (701+). Using these demographics, the researcher gathered additional information as to the relationships between intergenerational ministry characteristics and church health. Chapter one, after stating the research problem and concern, research questions, and delimitations, provided a procedural overview and research assumptions for this study.;In an effort to understand the dynamics of the study variables and to establish a foundation, the researcher conducted a literature review of church health and intergenerational ministry. Chapter two provided a biblical, theological framework developed through considering both church health and intergenerational ministry from the Old and New Testaments. From Scripture and the writing of the early church fathers, specific practices in the church were identified. Acts 2 was useful in identifying healthy church practices that were common across the epoch of church history and prevalent in modern writings of church health specialists. The practices of discipleship, evangelism, fellowship, and ministry were identified in intergenerational ministry settings. Also the themes of the church as family and church as the community of God were recognized as common to the early church and intergenerational ministry. Social learning theory and sociocultural learning theories were identified as a theoretical construct in line with intergenerational Christian education and faith formation. Additionally, generational theory was considered in light of the prevalence of studies and writings addressing generational diversity in our society. From this literature review, the ten intergenerational ministry characteristics considered in this study were linked with common practices and themes identified in Scripture, church practice, and modern literature.;Chapter three detailed the research methodology utilized in this study. A mixed methods research methodology, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods was used to investigate the relationship between intergenerational ministry and church health. The researcher submitted twenty characteristics of intergenerational ministry previously identified in a qualitative research study.;The sample populations selected for this study were the Georgia Baptist Convention and the South Carolina Baptist Convention, providing a combined network of 5,725 churches as the potential sample population. After delimiting the sample populations the researcher sent the survey tool to 3,117 pastors of local congregations in these Southern Baptist state conventions, receiving 366 usable surveys, comprising the actual sample population for the study. The previous five years of Annual Church Profile (ACP) statistical data of the churches associated with the 366 respondents was submitted to the Day formula to determine the health of the churches.;Chapter four provided the statistical analysis of the data gathered in this study. For the statistical procedure, the researcher submitted the data set to the Pearson r correlation coefficient calculation to examine the relationship between the dependent variable---church health, and the independent variable---intergenerational ministry characteristics. The Pearson r correlation coefficient calculation yielded a numerical score falling in the range of -1.0 and +1.0, indicating strength and direction of the correlation. From the calculation, the data indicated the range of correlational relationship from no relationship to a strong relationship as well as how the variables interacted with one another. A positive score indicated a direct relationship suggesting that the variables moved in the same directions. In other words as the scores of one variable increased, the score of the other variable also increased. Conversely, a negative score indicated an indirect/inverse relationship between the variables suggesting that the variables moved in opposite directions.;The data set comprised of the data from the IGMCS and the associated Day formula results were inputted into SPSS software to compute the Pearson r product moment correlation coefficient, with the associated probability score from the two-tailed test. Analyzing the Pearson r scores, the researcher was able to determine what, if any, the relationship between specific intergenerational ministry characteristics and church health. Additional information was determined using the research questions to further investigate the relationship between intergenerational ministry characteristics and church health. Specific intergenerational ministry characteristics associated with common church practices and themes were identified according to the direction and strength of their relationship with church health.;Chapter five presented the researcher's conclusions as to the statistical data analysis, highlighting any significant relationship between specific intergenerational ministry characteristics and church health as indicated by the Pearson r scores. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).