Allen M. Jackson EDU671: Fundamentals of Educational Research Dr. Anthony Valley June 02, 2016

Area of Focus Statement The purpose of this study is to determine why outreach ministries have declined within our church. To investigate why membership is not increasing and what could be done to change the outcome. If using technology will make a different in small churches compared to larger churches within the community.

Problem - Interest Over the past couple year’s memberships have become stable and with the demise of older members, individual ministries have been declining or no longer active.

VARIABLES Once it was the only church in the area, now there are fifteen churches in the area and only three of the original small churches remain.

Research Questions What can I do as a pastor to help increase church membership? What are the current members willing to do to help increase church membership?

Participant The two pastors both have over 25 years each for a combined 50 year of pastoral experience. They both have leadership experience in leading other pastors from two different areas of the state of Louisiana. They both can give a different perspective on small rural churches from personal experiences.

Intervention The research proposed that smaller churches growth can be a link to technology and the lack of use of technology. I am prepared to study how to increase growth by using technology, and the effect technology will play in church growth. Using online surveys from local church members and my congregations, I plan to collect data to support or refute proposed hypothesis.

Ethics Members’ identities are protected because there are no questions that will identify participants on the website survey. The site is available to everyone and the link to the inquiry will only show how many participants have completed the study. The two pastors that I will be interviewing personally, I will protect their identities by not talking to them together or will I reveal their information to other participants. Each will complete Informed Consent Form.

Timeline Phase 1: Week one Allow one week for survey and questionnaires to be completed by members online Phase 2: Week two Interview church’s leaders (Two Pastors) and continue online survey’s other church members. Inventory technology located in the church. Phase 3: Week three Complete Surveys and Interviews and compiles data for interpretation and analysis

References Arthur, J., & Rensleigh, C. (2015). The use of online technologies in the small church. South African Journal of Information Management, 17(1), 1-6. Retrieved from accountid= accountid=32521 Bradley R. E., W. (2008). WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T LEARN FROM WILLOW CREEK'S REVEAL STUDY. Journal Of Youth Ministry, 7(1),

References Jim, E., & Wei, W. (2014). FACTORS THAT FUEL SMALL GROUP GROWTH. Christian Education Journal, 11(1), 134 Landrum, R. E. (2013). Research design for educators: Real-world connections and applications. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.