A Program development for training chaplains of Korean Adventist Schools in integration of faith and learning to enhance their classroom ministry

Abstract

One of the most critical issues of the Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church is that the majority of the baptized at Adventist schools leave the church after graduation. There could be several reasons. Many studies verify that one of the major reasons is the lack of classroom ministry in the schools. The question is then raised: how can the Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church enhance classroom ministry in the schools? The purpose of this study is to design, conduct and evaluate a seminar program to equip Korean Adventist school chaplains to help teachers for the enhancement of their classroom ministry. A 3-day training program on integration of faith and learning (IFL) was designed; then this was implemented for the chaplains from July 5 to 1, 2005 at Madalpy Sahmyook Training Center. The evaluation of the program was done mainly with questionnaires, interviews, and by the researcher's own observations. Findings of this study show that IFL is a Bible-based concept of Christian education, and the training in IFL must be continued in an assertive and on-going manner. A cooperative effort by the Korean Union Conference (KUC), local conferences, and school leadership is needed for the enhancement of classroom ministry. Based on the findings, several practical suggestions have been proposed to KUC, local conferences, and school administrators for the effective enhancement of classroom ministry. The following are the core of those suggestions: 1. KUC needs to play a main role for the enhancement of teachers' classroom ministry through designing, conducting, and evaluating the IFL training programs. 2. The local conference needs to select qualified pastors as chaplains. The conference also needs to provide chaplains the opportunity to be trained in IFL. 3. School administrators need to encourage teachers to perform classroom ministry consistently and effectively.