ABSTRACT THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY MINISTRY ON CHURCH HEALTH IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCHES OF SOUTH LONDON by Stephen Hance The church in the United Kingdom has experienced a long period of decline and malaise in terms of cultural influence, numerical strength, and mobilization of its members. This period coincided with a time of retrenchment in the evangelical wing of the church particularly, in which mission came to be narrowly identified with proclamation evangelism at the expense of a broader and more holistic perspective. More recently a movement has emerged within the British church to live out a broader definition of the mission of God in the world, expressing mission in community ministry and service as well as other forms of evangelism. This research studied churches that are part of this movement in order to understand what the impact of this holistic mission practice is upon the health of a local church. First, it surveyed a cross-section of churches by means of a questionnaire. Second, it analyzed in more depth a smaller sample of churches that have embraced community ministry as part of a holistic approach to mission. It concluded that this approach has significant success in combating the symptoms of church malaise. DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY MINISTRY ON CHURCH HEALTH IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCHES OF SOUTH LONDON presented by Stephen Hance has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary May 7, 2009 Mentor Date May 7, 2009 Internal Reader Date May 7, 2009 Representative, Doctor of Ministry Program Date May 7, 2009 Executive Director Date THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY MINISTRY ON CHURCH HEALTH IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCHES OF SOUTH LONDON A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Stephen Hance May 2009 © 2009 Stephen Hance ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM.............................................................................................1 Purpose...................................................................................................................11 Research Questions................................................................................................11 Research Question #1 ................................................................................11 Research Question #2 ................................................................................11 Research Question #3 ................................................................................11 Definitions..............................................................................................................11 Community Ministry..................................................................................11 Church Health and Malaise........................................................................12 Ministry Intervention .............................................................................................15 Context...................................................................................................................15 Methodology..........................................................................................................17 Participants.................................................................................................17 Instrumentation ..........................................................................................17 Variables ....................................................................................................18 Data Collection ..........................................................................................18 Data Analysis.............................................................................................19 Generalizability..........................................................................................19 iii Theological Foundation .........................................................................................20 Overview................................................................................................................21 Conclusion .............................................................................................................21 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE.....................................................................................23 Introduction—A Tale of Three Churches..............................................................23 The Missio Dei: God’s Mission.............................................................................27 The Missio Dei in Scripture ...................................................................................29 The Nature of God’s Mission ................................................................................43 Mission as God’s Initiative ........................................................................43 Mission for the Whole World ....................................................................44 Mission for the Whole of Life ...................................................................46 Community Ministry and the UK Church—A Historical Overview.....................48 Community Ministry and the UK Church—The Contemporary Situation............59 A Question of Motivation—Why Churches Engage in Community Ministry ......66 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................68 Problem..................................................................................................................68 Purpose...................................................................................................................69 Research Questions................................................................................................69 Research Question #1 ................................................................................69 Research Question #2 ................................................................................69 Research Question #3 ................................................................................70 Population and Participants....................................................................................70 Design of the Study................................................................................................71 iv Instrumentation ..........................................................................................71 Pilot Test ....................................................................................................72 Variables ....................................................................................................73 Data Collection ......................................................................................................73 Data Analysis.........................................................................................................74 Ethical Procedures .................................................................................................75 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS...........................................................................................76 Problem and Purpose .............................................................................................76 Participants.............................................................................................................76 Research Question 1 ..............................................................................................82 Research Question 2 ..............................................................................................95 Research Question 3 ............................................................................................113 Parents and Toddlers................................................................................115 Elderly......................................................................................................118 Children and Youth..................................................................................120 Parents and Toddlers Plus Children and Youth.......................................123 Summary of Major Findings................................................................................125 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION....................................................................................127 Introduction..........................................................................................................127 The Local Church and Community Ministry.......................................................127 Community Ministry and Church Health ............................................................130 Community Ministry and Church Growth...........................................................132 Community Fruit..................................................................................................138 v The Groups Served by Community Ministry.......................................................140 Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................144