Building Bridges: Equipping Congregants at the Kingsview Village Seventh Day Adventist Church to Build Relationships with Muslims

Abstract

The goal of this project/thesis is to equip Seventh-day Adventists congregants to build relationships with Muslims in Toronto, Ontario. Through the use of action research and the active participation of twenty congregants of the Kingsview Village Seventh-day Adventist Church I organized and developed a series of nine seminars that was conducted over a three month period. A literature review of the belief systems of Muslims was conducted to aid with the equipping program. Analysis and interpretation of information collected through questionnaires, interviews of congregants of Kingsview Village church and literature review helped to inform the researcher in the development of relevant equipping lessons and simulations. The end of program questionnaire, volunteer interviews, and simulations among participants indicated that knowledge of Islam and Muslim beliefs and practical principles to build relationships were gained. In addition, areas of Muslim beliefs, and practices that are similar with Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and practices were identified as bridge building tools.