TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES v
LIST OF FIGURES vi
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Research Questions 2
Definition of Questions 2
Benefits of Research 3
Rationale for Study 4
II. LITERATURE REVIEW 6
Introduction 6
Strong Families 8
Importance of Strong Families to Missions 12
Research Results 13
Practical Results 16
Within the family 16
Within the community 17
Missionary Families as They Relate to Strong Families 18
Commitment 18
Affection and Appreciation 22
Within the marriage 22
Between parent and child 24
Positive Communication 29
Within the marriage 30
Between parent and child 30
Outside the family 34
With people in the home country 34
Time Together 34
Spiritual Wellbeing 38
Family traditions and rituals 39
Religious heritage 41
Prayer and meditation 42
Everyday life 44
Coping with Stress and Crisis 47
On the marriage 49
On the missionary kid 53
On the family 59
How others can help and encourage 62
Conclusion 67
III. METHODOLOGY 70
Participants 70
Procedure 71
Assessment Tool 72
Validity of Instrument 73
Demographic Information 75
Qualitative Analysis 76
IV. RESULTS 77
Quantitative Results 77
Distribution 78
Demographic Information 79
Sample population 79
Time and length of service 80
Missions training 83
Financial support 83
Family of origin 85
Working partnerships 87
Countries of work 90
Instrument Related Results 91
Responses for "Strength" 91
Responses for "Growth" 95
Responses for "Not Applicable" 99
Unusual response 99
Overall view 100
Qualitative Results 103
First Question 103
Second Question 105
Third Question 108
Fourth Question 111
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 118
Research Questions 118
What are the demographics of missionary families in the churches of Christ? 118
Do missionaries have strong families? 120
Spiritual well-being 121
Commitment 121
Time together 122
Appreciation and affection 122
Coping with stress and crisis 123
Positive communication 123
Further research 124
Research Instrument 124
More Questions for Future Research 126
Research Benefits 129
VI. REFERENCES 131
VII. APPENDICES 139
APPENDIX A 139
APPENDIX B 141
APPENDIX C 147