Evaluation of the Formal and Informal Curricula of the North American Division Evangelism Institute
type: CreativeWork
description: Purpose. The purpose of this study was to conduct a formal program evaluation of the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI). The goal of NADEI is to equip pastors and laity for ministry. It developed over 30 years, and has presented formal and informal educational programs during that time. This helped it emerge as an indispensable unit in the North American Division (NAD), Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (SDATS), and Andrews University (AU). However, the programs of NADEI had not been evaluated. Method. This study followed an Evaluative Case Study Design to evaluate the formal and informal programs of NADEI. Formal programs dealt with the courses that NADEI offered through the Seminary at Andrews University. Informal programs dealt with programs offered to church members and pastors of the NAD. The research design allowed the study of treatments, subjects, and programs in their naturalistic state. The design enabled the evaluator to complete a holistic, in-depth assessment of the program, with its complexities and human interplay to show the different perspectives of NADEI. Data were collected via structured interviews, focus-group interviews, surveys, document analysis, and observation. Church members, church leaders, pastors, students, administrators, and NADEI personnel were included in the study. Interviews and conversations were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using SPSS 17 and NVivo 8 software. Results. Results revealed that NADEI had one established and seven emerging informal programs. The established program, SEEDS Conference, started in 1996, has served to spearhead the church-planting movement in the NAD. There was total agreement among informants that the SEEDS Conference provided a spiritual atmosphere to nurture faith, practical church-planting techniques, and cutting-edge techniques for church planting. Three themes emerged related to the SEEDS Conferences: (a) learning: SEEDS Conferences provide opp…
abstract: Purpose. The purpose of this study was to conduct a formal program evaluation of the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI). The goal of NADEI is to equip pastors and laity for ministry. It developed over 30 years, and has presented formal and informal educational programs during that time. This helped it emerge as an indispensable unit in the North American Division (NAD), Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (SDATS), and Andrews University (AU). However, the programs of NADEI had not been evaluated. Method. This study followed an Evaluative Case Study Design to evaluate the formal and informal programs of NADEI. Formal programs dealt with the courses that NADEI offered through the Seminary at Andrews University. Informal programs dealt with programs offered to church members and pastors of the NAD. The research design allowed the study of treatments, subjects, and programs in their naturalistic state. The design enabled the evaluator to complete a holistic, in-depth assessment of the program, with its complexities and human interplay to show the different perspectives of NADEI. Data were collected via structured interviews, focus-group interviews, surveys, document analysis, and observation. Church members, church leaders, pastors, students, administrators, and NADEI personnel were included in the study. Interviews and conversations were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using SPSS 17 and NVivo 8 software. Results. Results revealed that NADEI had one established and seven emerging informal programs. The established program, SEEDS Conference, started in 1996, has served to spearhead the church-planting movement in the NAD. There was total agreement among informants that the SEEDS Conference provided a spiritual atmosphere to nurture faith, practical church-planting techniques, and cutting-edge techniques for church planting. Three themes emerged related to the SEEDS Conferences: (a) learning: SEEDS Conferences provide opp…
author: Joshua, Calvin Novaraj
keywords: Missions and World Christianity, Religion, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
date published: 2010-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:52:58Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University