29 May Dalton Jenkins Receives Doctorate

Congratulations to Dalton Jenkins, pastor of Bethel Temple of Praise in Yonkers, New York. On May 19, 2012, he was awarded the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) from New York Theological Seminary.

His dissertation was titled, “Kingdom People Living by Kingdom Principles: The call of missions, a holistic approach.” The dissertation focused on missions and being missional, and how missions and being missional in the First Century differs from missions and being missional in the 21st Century. Jenkins said the project was designed to achieve three goals:

1. To raise awareness by helping to clarify the nature of the structures and practices of the church relating to its missional focus.
2. To develop a better awareness of local missions.
3. To develop a process to help persons live out the mission by engaging their communities.

Jenkins explains, “The idea of being missional is not about the church coming up with some program and fancy name, but about understanding the needs of the community–spiritual, social, financial–and how to live in ways that can help transform the community. Every person must begin at his or her own doorstep….The Church’s basic mission is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God; this message has a social and a political aspect….This is the fundamental responsibility of the Church, but this message is holistic, affecting the total person: body, soul, and spirit.” The project was designed to “increase awareness as to how our church can apply a missional theology in order to challenge the church to rediscover its biblical call to holistic ministry.”