A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study of the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries' Holistic Model of Education

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to assess the effectiveness of the holistic model of Christian education in the development and preparedness of ministerial leadership roles as used by the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ child sponsorship program (NCMCSP) in Armenia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Philippines. According to Moustakas (1994), transcendental phenomenology research seeks to understand human experiences (Moustakas, 1994). The participants in this study were delimited to graduates who experienced the NCMCSP from 2000 to 2020 and actively serving in ministerial leadership to assess their perceptions of the NCMCSP’s effectiveness in educating and preparing them for life and ministerial leadership. The theory guiding this study is that according Luetz et al, a holistic approach to education is the best way to develop and prepare students for life and ministry (Luetz, et al., 2018). For this research, the holistic Christian education model will be defined as an education that encompasses the development of the whole-person (1) spirituality, (2) physically, (3) intellectually, (4) emotionally, and (5) relationally through learning theology, doctrine, general studies, mentorship, and intentional sociological relational interactions. Thus, this study sought to answer research questions that assessed participants’ perceived effectiveness of the NCMCSP’s use of such a holistic education model. The data analysis of this study demonstrates that the NCMCSP was perceived as effective in all five aspects of whole-person development and proved that the NCMCSP’s model could be integrated with other ministry contexts, predominately Christian education, worldwide. Holistic education can be accomplished with proper collaboration.