Adapting and Field-Testing the Ancient Catechumenate at Hope Ev. Lutheran Church, Saint Louis, Missouri

The purpose of this project is to adapt and field test the catechumenate in a way that is theologically consistent with the Lutheran Confessions and employs excellent teaching methodology and practice. Through my research I intend to do the following: to demonstrate a higher level of understanding of the process of catechetical formation in the early church, to develop a higher level of theological understanding of the basis for the catechumenate process, to appreciate the theological formation of the process of catechesis, to heighten awareness of the impact of theological education in the life of the Christian congregation, to make clear the need for spiritual formation through the practice of the disciplines of the catechumenate, to implement a theology of education in the practice of the catechumenate, and to study the specific roles of the catechist and sponsor in the process of the catechumenate