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The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between learning organization strategies and spiritual maturity in the church as exemplified in participation in home-based small groups. While several studies have found evidence of learning organization strategies in a variety of venues, few have examined the application to a church environment. This study surveyed churches within the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) that reported average weekly attendance of 200 or more during the 2008 calendar year. Senior Pastors from 68 FGBC churches were asked to complete an on-line survey and recruit two other individuals from the church (Other Respondents) to also complete the survey. In total, 30 churches returned complete responses (representing 30 Senior Pastors and 60 Other Respondents). The independent variables in the study were the seven strategies of a learning organization, as measured by the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), and the aggregate score. The spiritual maturity dependent variables were the percentage of individuals participating in home-based small groups and the annual spiritual maturity rate. Parametric correlation analysis and ANOVA methods were performed to evaluate the relationships between the independent and dependent variables for both the combined group (Senior Pastor and Other Respondents) and each group independently. No discernable relationships were found for the combined group. However, the discovery of a moderate or large difference in the learning organization aggregate score between the Senior Pastor and the Other Respondents at the majority of the churches led to a separate phase of analysis that found evidence of a few statistically significant relationships. This study adds to the research applying learning organization strategies to the church by focusing on spiritual maturity as the church growth variable and expanding the target audience beyond the Senior Pastor.
Advisor: | Freemyer, James |
Commitee: | Batson, Ted, Whitesel, Bob |
School: | Indiana Wesleyan University |
Department: | Organizational Leadership |
School Location: | United States -- Indiana |
Source: | DAI-A 72/11, Dissertation Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Religion, Organizational behavior |
Keywords: | Church growth, Home-based groups, Organization learning, Spiritual maturity |
Publication Number: | 3466605 |
ISBN: | 978-1-124-80116-2 |