The existing literature on church revitalization not only reveals the dire need for church revitalization but also highlights the paramount focus of the development of mission culture. However, a need exists in the literature to not only obtain quantitative results relating to church revitalization, but to explain the results in more detail in terms of participant perspectives relating to the role of mission culture development.1 This study seeks to fill that need.
This chapter describes the methodology employed in this study. The state of existing literature on the role of mission in church revitalization recommends an explanatory sequential mixed methods design.2 Specifically, this study utilized the participant-selection variant of the explanatory mixed methods design. John W. Creswell and Vicki L. Plano Clark note, “This variant is used when the researcher is focused on qualitatively examining a phenomenon but needs initial quantitative results to identify and purposefully select the best participants.”3 Figure 1 illustrates this design structure while the following two sections state the purpose of the study along with a synopsis of
1 John W. Creswell and Vicki L. Plano Clark, Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, 2nd ed. (Los Angeles: Sage, 2011), 151.
2 Creswell and Plano Clark, Mixed Methods Research, 82. “This design is most useful when the researcher wants to access trends and relationships with quantitative data but also be able to explain the mechanism or reasons behind the resultant trends.”
3 Creswell and Plano Clark, Mixed Methods Research, 85-86. The authors note two variants of the explanatory mixed methods design. The “follow-up explanations variant” is most common, places a priority on the quantitative phase, and uses the qualitative phase to explain the quantitative results.
However, the less common participant-selection variant places a priority on the second qualitative phase.
the research questions.4
Figure 1. Sequential explanatory mixed methods design
Research Purpose
The overall scope of the larger sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to identify revitalizing churches and learn what methods they utilized to successfully move toward revitalization.5 However, the focus of this portion of the study was to determine and prioritize key cultural change characteristics and practices present within Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches which have experienced revitalization. This particular segment of the study investigated how transforming the mission culture of the church results in revitalization.
Research Questions Synopsis 1. What percentage of SBC churches are plateaued or declining?
2. Of those churches that have experienced decline what percentage have experienced revitalization?
4 Figure 1 is adapted from Creswell and Plano Clark, Mixed Methods Research, 69.
5 John Creswell notes,
The explanatory sequential mixed methods approach is a design in mixed-methods that appeals to individuals with a strong quantitative background or from fields relatively new to qualitative approaches. It involves a two-phase project in which the researcher collects quantitative data in the first phase, analyzes the results, and then uses the results to plan (or build on to) the second, qualitative phase. The quantitative results typically inform the types of participants to be
purposefully selected from the qualitative phase and the types of questions that will be asked of the participants. The overall intent of this design is to have the qualitative data help explain in more detail the initial quantitative results. (John W. Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th ed. [Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2014], 224)
3. Of those SBC churches experiencing revitalization, what percentage emphasized mission in the process of revitalization?
4. In what ways does transforming the mission culture contribute to church revitalization?
5. What changes to the church’s organizational culture facilitated effective mission culture?
6. What mission principles, priorities, and best practices can be identified for use in other revitalization contexts?
Design Overview
This study was conducted as one component of a larger study with six other studies investigating the factors contributing to church revitalization. This mixed methods design consisted of two components. The first component was the quantitative strand consisting of two phases. Phase 1 collected and analyzed data on churches in the Southern Baptist Convention to produce a list of churches that have experienced
revitalization. Phase 2 utilized a survey to discover churches that identify mission culture as a contributing factor to revitalization. The qualitative strand was the second
component of the study. A select number of churches that identified mission as
contributing to revitalization were invited to participate in interviews. These interviews further investigated the role mission played in the revitalization process for each church.
The qualitative interviews provided further understanding and insight into the
relationship between mission and church revitalization. The following sections detail the purpose and design of each component and strand of the study. See figure 2 below for a glimpse of the design overview.
Figure 2. Design overview
Quantitative Strand
The entire research team jointly conducted the quantitative phases of the study.
In an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the purpose of the quantitative strand is to identify types of individuals (or churches in this case) to be selected for the
qualitative strand.6 The first three research questions were addressed in the quantitative strand. The purpose and specifics of each quantitative phase follows.
6 Creswell, Research Design, 224.
Phase 1. The purpose of phase 1 was to define the criteria of revitalization and