A Qualitative Analysis of Discipleship in the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Responses to a Global and Regional Survey

Abstract

In 2014 the South Pacific Division1 (SPD) of the Seventh-day Adven­tist (SDA) Church commissioned a research team from Avondale College of Higher Education to investigate the nature of discipleship. The aim of the research project was twofold: to provide an objective description of a Seventh-day Adventist disciple of Jesus, and to provide a criterion/criteria by which the attainment of discipleship may be measured and shared in the context of the Adventist Church’s mission. This paper reports on stage one of the project in which international and national church leaders were interviewed regarding their understanding of discipleship as articulated and applied at division, union, conference, and local levels. This qualita­tive data was then analyzed for common themes, areas for development, and contributions towards a description of a Seventh-day Adventist dis­ciple. Five key findings emerged from stage one and are reported below, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses in the Church’s understand­ings of and approaches to discipleship.