Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

College

Barnett College of Ministry & Theology

Department

Department of Christian Ministries and Religion

Primary Advisor

Dr. Amanda Pavich

Second Advisor

Dr. Sean Sloan

Third Advisor

Dr. Jeremy Sims

Abstract

Many Evangelical churches in the Pacific Northwest minister within a cultural environment marked by high individualism, religious disaffiliation, and contested narratives of gender and identity. This project explores how one Free Methodist congregation, Sage Hills Church in Wenatchee, Washington, has sought to embody a Genesis-anchored theological anthropology of imago Dei and ezer kenegdo in its leadership culture and congregational life. Using a qualitative case study design, the research examines how a single congregation navigates the tension between conservative church habits that restrict women’s roles and secular narratives that dissolve stable categories of gender. The study draws on an anonymous online congregational survey (forty four adult respondents), fourteen voluntary semi-structured interviews with long term and newer attenders, and publicly available church documents and online materials. Because a new lead pastor was called in late 2015, the project treats 2015–2016 as the practical baseline for assessing cultural change at Sage Hills. These data are interpreted through two primary theological lenses, imago Dei (shared dignity, belonging, and purpose) and ezer kenegdo (strong, corresponding partnership), as well as a retreat–react–reimagine framework that describes common congregational postures toward cultural pressure. The analysis employs descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis to identify recurring themes related to belonging, visible partnership, and culture shift. Findings from this sample suggest that many participants at Sage Hills perceive a substantive movement from a more controlled, “country club” atmosphere toward a culture of belonging in which women and men are invited to participate as co bearers of God’s image. Survey and interview data indicate increased visibility and normalization of women’s leadership across platforms and ministries since 2016, alongside persistent tensions around male comfort with women’s spiritual authority, the experience of singles in a family oriented environment, and desires for greater multicultural representation. Together, these patterns are interpreted as evidence that, in this case, theological convictions about shared image bearing have begun to migrate from formal statements into observable practices, even as work remains to align culture fully with a Genesis shaped vision of partnership. The project proposes Mission, Connection, and Collaboration as context specific ministry implications that describe how a Genesis anchored anthropology can be operationalized within a “None Zone” setting: keeping Mission central through Genesis grounded shared leadership, deepening Connection through neighborhood presence and everyday ministry practices, and expanding Collaboration by normalizing mixed gender teams and intentional sponsorship of women into visible roles. As a single site qualitative case study with modest survey and interview samples, these conclusions are necessarily limited and are offered as suggestive rather than generalizable. Even so, the Sage Hills case points toward the possibility that Evangelical congregations in similar contexts may reimagine church culture by returning to imago Dei and ezer kenegdo as living frameworks for belonging, visibility, and leadership rather than as abstract doctrinal claims.

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