This research project explores how awareness and participation in Christian spiritual disciplines increased among adults involved in Sunday school revitalization at Temple Baptist Church in Gainesville, Texas. The first two chapters include a biblical and theological basis for the spiritual disciplines and a brief historical sketch of Christian…

Within the past ten to fifteen years, there has been a trend among churches to downsize staff and eliminate the role of "Minister of Education." With these changes in staff structure, a need has emerged for assistance in evaluating adult educational programming within the church. For this project, a process was developed called the Adult…

There is a lack of published research on adult education programs in religious institutions. While religious institutions encourage their members to attend religious education opportunities, it may often be out of tradition. This study aims to begin the conversation around the tradition of Sunday School, specifically, the learning style…

The historical and philosophical foundation of adult education finds its origins and motivations stemming from various sources nationally and internationally. However, one not to be ignored pertinent epistemology source is the overall umbrella concept of piety and devotion including the three elements of religion, spirituality, and a personal…

Biblical illiteracy seems an increasingly significant problem in the Church today, and the problems which arise as a result of the issue have an impact on both the theology of the Church and the way the people of God live out that theology. In a culture which pushes against the biblical narrative, it is as important as ever to instill within the…

Although Traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church Education (TCE) has been involved in literacy teaching for over two millennia, its potential as a model and an asset for adult literacy programmes has not been recognised by literacy providers. This paper examines how people of different generations acquire and practise literacy within TCE, including…

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to assess the effects of adult learning principles (ALP) in sermons on parishioners' spiritual growth. Sermons have been central to the spread of Christianity. Given the significant role sermons play in parishioners' spiritual formation and growth, examining sermons' effectiveness is…

This paper reports the results of a study of adult ethical development in Christian congregations. Using an empirical hermeneutic phenomenological methodology, this study examined how five pastors understand and encourage ethical development, creating an in-depth analysis and interpretation of their perceptions of the phenomenon of adult ethical…

This paper recaps Henschke's 2021 CIAE Pre-conference paper on the fact that the first 200 years of the epistemology and practice of adult education in the United States was almost exclusively sponsored by the Church. Even in ancient times from the Bible book of Ecclesiastes, third chapter, there are 14 sets of things [28 in number] that God set…

This reflective essay addresses the use of metaphors as a creative framework through which Christian academics can change the lens for viewing our practices. Academics strive to demonstrate creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and mental keenness, while aspiring to teach our students to do the same. Often, however, the stresses and strains…

This article proposes spiritual conversation as a religiously educative activity. Revelation as the relational activity of speaking-listening between the human and the divine in daily life, and education as an activity to show someone how to live and die, are key concepts for this study. This work includes a study of narrative at the heart of…

This 17-month ethnographic case study, which is grounded in the notions of citizenship, language, and Bakhtin's ideological becoming, examines the complex interplay of ideologies of citizenship, language, and identity in a church-based citizenship class in a Northeastern U.S. city. This study reveals the disconnects of ideologies of citizenship…

This volume brings together the work of a wide range of scholars to explore the long and complex history of the relationships between churches and education. Christianity has always been involved in education, from the very earliest teaching of those about to be baptised, to present-day churches' involvement in schools and higher education.…

Millions of Americans profess belief in God and follow a Protestant Christian belief system. However, very little research or literature explores their participation in religious adult education. Several areas within adult education are exhaustively researched such as health care, leisure, and career related courses, but studies within religion go…

This study examined the relationship between adult educators' multicultural effectiveness scores and their negotiation of similarities and differences scores. The participants were in faith-based institutions, specifically Christian churches and in graduate adult education programs of universities and colleges in the United States. Multicultural…