| This dissertation investigated the relationship between the practice of Christian spiritual disciplines among student ministers within the Southern Baptist Convention and effective student evangelism. Throughout the literature review, it is shown that Protestant churches throughout the United States have a long history of desiring to reach non-Christian students with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many books have been written discussing the essential characteristics that student ministries must have if they are going to reach lost students with the gospel and remain effective in a constantly changing culture. These characteristics, whether gleaned from student ministries noted for their effective evangelistic programs or derived from a particular philosophical or theological perspective, offer methods for others to guard against ineffectiveness. By correcting and doing away with erroneous practices and initiating new ones, it is argued, student ministries can become more effective at reaching students for Christ. However, while much attention is given to the evangelistic strategies and methodologies of student ministries, little attention is given to the personal lives of those leading the ministries themselves.;Student ministers must constantly proclaim the truth of the gospel to their people, but if their lives contradict their message by a lack of holiness, the message loses its appeal. Student ministers must strive to demonstrate the gospel to all people by the way they live their lives, which should be marked by grace, hope, and love. In other words, those ministers who proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ publicly must strive not to contradict that same message privately. In fact, it is of the utmost importance that student ministers reinforce the gospel message by gospel-centered living. They must live the gospel they proclaim. The foundation for the study rests in this truth.;The population for this study was delimited to student ministers who were currently serving in Southern Baptist churches across ten states throughout the Southeastern United States. This sampling included those serving in student ministry in any capacity, whether fulltime, part-time, or volunteer. The sample for the research was selected using the student ministry databases of ten Southern Baptist state conventions, thus delimiting the study to student ministers within those databases. The states contacted for assistance with this study were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Student ministers within the identified state convention databases were contacted via email to request his or her participation in the current study. A link inside the email directed them to the online survey for completion. A similar procedure was used with the student ministers of the top 100 Southern Baptist churches in student baptisms according to the 2013 Annual Church Profile. All participants maintained complete anonymity of responses when participating in the study and all surveys were kept strictly confidential. The data from the first group were then compared to results from the top 100 churches in student baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention to discover the relationship between the practice of Christian spiritual disciplines and effective student evangelism. |
