A Study of the Duties of the Elders of Local Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Chile: a Needs Assessment
type: CreativeWork
description: Problem. Many Seventh-day Adventist churches in Chile, South America, do not have the assistance of a resident pastor, and most of the work in the church is done by volunteer lay leaders. The highest officer of the church is the elder, who usually has no training in leadership nor in theology. What is the work of the elder of the local church? How well is he performing his tasks? No specific study of this problem was found in the literature, and because the elders in Chile appeared to be eager and willing to be trained, this study was designed to investigate these questions and to offer recommendations to aid in the development of a curriculum for the training of elders based on their perceived needs. Method. Information about the duties of the elders was obtained by a study of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual. Twelve basic duties were identified, and for each one of them indicators were selected and standards established to measure the performance of the elders. Information about the elders was gathered by a questionnaire developed on the basis of the above-mentioned indicators and mailed to a representative randomly selected sample of 147 elders of the two conferences and one mission which comprise the Chile Union Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In spite of the distance from the re­ search population, the response rate was 88 percent. Data obtained included the frequency of task performance, level of agreement on a number of statements related to their duties, and self-evaluation of their perceived preparation to perform selected tasks. Findings. The answers the elders gave to the questions indicated that in a number of areas they felt reasonably well prepared to fulfill their duties. This may account for the measure of success they appear to have in their churches. In areas such as teaching adult Sabbath School classes, giving Bible studies, participating in different lay activities, helping members with counseling and advice, and in their con…
abstract: Problem. Many Seventh-day Adventist churches in Chile, South America, do not have the assistance of a resident pastor, and most of the work in the church is done by volunteer lay leaders. The highest officer of the church is the elder, who usually has no training in leadership nor in theology. What is the work of the elder of the local church? How well is he performing his tasks? No specific study of this problem was found in the literature, and because the elders in Chile appeared to be eager and willing to be trained, this study was designed to investigate these questions and to offer recommendations to aid in the development of a curriculum for the training of elders based on their perceived needs. Method. Information about the duties of the elders was obtained by a study of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual. Twelve basic duties were identified, and for each one of them indicators were selected and standards established to measure the performance of the elders. Information about the elders was gathered by a questionnaire developed on the basis of the above-mentioned indicators and mailed to a representative randomly selected sample of 147 elders of the two conferences and one mission which comprise the Chile Union Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In spite of the distance from the re­ search population, the response rate was 88 percent. Data obtained included the frequency of task performance, level of agreement on a number of statements related to their duties, and self-evaluation of their perceived preparation to perform selected tasks. Findings. The answers the elders gave to the questions indicated that in a number of areas they felt reasonably well prepared to fulfill their duties. This may account for the measure of success they appear to have in their churches. In areas such as teaching adult Sabbath School classes, giving Bible studies, participating in different lay activities, helping members with counseling and advice, and in their con…
author: Itin, Rolando A.
keywords: Christian Denominations and Sects, Latin American Languages and Societies, Religion
date published: 1979-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:54:11Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University