| dc.description.abstract | Divorce ranks high among the issues that threaten the church’s mission and
growth. H. Wayne House observes that this problem is not only faced by the non Christian community, but Christians are also overwhelmed by the challenges of
marriage and are calling for marriage professionals and counselors with the hope of
finding solutions to issues of marriage. Most of the time, Pastors, Elders, members,
and the Home and Family Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church
have to deal with divorce issues among believers. The problem of divorce presents a
threatening situation to the members involved, their families, and the church at large.
Over the years, the rate of divorce has been an issue of interest to society and
the church at large. Even though it is an issue with its rippling effect on many and
affects almost everyone in the society and the church, the issue appears a topic that is
rarely given attention and consequently poses a challenge to all. The church has
ignored this reality at the expense of other equally important activities.The study examined the issue of the divorce rate among the church members
of the Sefwi Wiawso District of SDA in Ghana. It looked at why there are cases of
divorces in the District, how the issue can be addressed, and finally, in an attempt to
deal with the issue (phenomenon), a program was developed, implemented, and
evaluated.
This study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The
qualitative aspect focused on ideas or theological framework on marriage and divorce
to help understand these concepts. The qualitative part of the study is more on the
quality of ideas and forms the framework of the study. With the quantitative part,
there was a survey to investigate the problem at hand to suggest appropriate solutions
to the divorce problem.
The study concluded that how people perceive marriage has a relationship
with whether there will be failure or success in marriage. Also, the study found that
the use of marriage professionals, pastors, counselors, psychologists, and experienced
married couples could go a long way to help marriages and also make divorce an
option to be least considered. The study discovered that involving church members in
the development of programs and implementation is one of the effective ways of
reducing divorce. | en_US |
