Equipping Adventist Community Services Directors as Leaders for the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Authors:   ,   Andrews University, Kwon Sung 
Published: June 2023

Problem The Adventist Community Services (ACS) broad scope of services increasingly demanded competent leadership that was not always readily found in local churches. For this reason, ACS leadership began to plan an advanced leadership development program for the ACS personnel, pastors, and church members at the union, conference, local levels, and worldwide. Up to that time leadership development programs within ACS tended to be haphazard and inconsistent. While there were several conferences that provided local leadership development for ACS leaders, there was no centralized leadership development program. To effectively lead the organizations that served the various communities, it was necessary to stay equipped with specific leadership skills and knowledge. Statement of the Task The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of leadership development by examining the individual performance growth as perceived by those completing the Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program (CS UM CP) of the Adventist Community Service (ACS) organization in North America. The Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program defines its learning outcomes as enhanced leadership skills, improved knowledge and positive changes in attitude. Participants’ growth was evaluated by asking, (a) Were there any significant changes in the participants' leadership attitudes? (b) Were there any significant changes in the participants’ leadership knowledge? and (c) Were there any significant changes in the participants' leadership skills? Method The project was focused on evaluating the effectiveness of the Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program at Adventist Learning Community platform. To measure the relationship between the stated learning outcomes of the Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program and the actual learning outcomes. The first stage, the table of specification was distributed to experts in related fields (see Appendix A) for their assessment of how well the items measured the content areas. The experts were asked to check the items they felt represented the areas of content, and then asked to provide percentages showing how well they felt each area of content was measured. Items were used that received a rating at least 80% (marked by two out of the three judges). Learning outcomes were defined as changes in attitude, improved knowledge, and increased leadership skills. The second stage, pre-experimental survey design was used to structure for this study to assess the relationship of the Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program (CS UM CP) and participants’ performance improvement in attitude, knowledge, and skills, before and after the CS UM CP leadership development program. The third stage, an email request was sent out to all CS UM CP participate. As of December 11, 2018, 175 participants have completed the online certification program; and 82 participants have completed the online survey. It indicates that out of 175 people 46.84 % of them have participated in the study; for the study, online survey tool was developed via SurveyMonkey (see Appendix B). Results The participants who have completed the online program and have participated in the survey, several results showed there were changes in leadership attitude, improved leadership knowledge, and increased in leadership skills immediately after taking the program. This study demonstrated that Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program (CS UM CP) participants are willing and able to become better leaders when they are provided with the proper tools and instruction aimed at changing attitudes, improving knowledge, and increasing skills. Conclusions The study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of leadership development by examining the individual’s performance growth within organizations as perceived by those completing the curriculum of the Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program. Their growth was evaluated by their responses to significant changes in their leadership attitudes, knowledge and leadership skills. This study clearly noted that Adventist Community Services leaders educated and equipped through the Community Services and Urban Ministry Certification Program will make an impact upon the organizations and the communities they serve. Most importantly, the quality of ACS programs will be enhanced beyond the scope of the various ACS ministries.