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Particular attention is given to the ways ministry within marginalized communities frequently operates through networks of relational trust, communal presence, shared responsibility, adaptability, and spiritual commitment rather than through institutional models typically associated with dominant church-growth paradigms.\r\n\r\nThe findings reveal that congregational sustainability within marginalized contexts cannot be adequately measured solely through traditional institutional metrics such as financial stability, numerical growth, or organizational scale. Instead, participating congregations demonstrated forms of ecclesial vitality rooted in relational ecosystems of care, interdependence, community memory, and grassroots leadership. The study further identifies tensions between dominant ecclesial assumptions and the lived realities of ministries serving marginalized communities, particularly regarding how legitimacy, effectiveness, and sustainability are defined and evaluated.\r\nThis dissertation argues that broader theological and institutional conversations surrounding church planting, sustainability, and leadership formation must become more attentive to the experiences and insights emerging from marginalized congregational contexts. By centering the voices and practices of underrepresented ministry communities, this research contributes to practical theology and ecclesiology through a more relational, contextually grounded understanding of church, mission, and congregational life.\r\n\r\n"],"abstract_tesim":["This qualitative multiple-case study examines how two Black congregations in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania establish and sustain ecclesial life within socioeconomically marginalized contexts shaped by racial inequity, economic disenfranchisement, and uneven institutional support. Drawing on interviews, congregational narratives, theological reflection, and ecclesiological analysis, the study explores patterns of sustainability, leadership, legitimacy, and mission. Findings reveal that congregational vitality in marginalized communities often emerges through relational trust, communal presence, adaptability, grassroots leadership, and spiritual commitment rather than dominant institutional metrics. The study contributes to practical theology and ecclesiology by offering a relational and contextually grounded understanding of church, mission, and sustainability.\r\n"],"license_tesim":["https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"rights_notes_tesim":["Copyright retained by the author. This work is made publicly accessible for academic and educational purposes under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives International 4.0 license. No commercial use or derivative works are permitted without the author’s permission."],"bibliographic_citation_tesim":["Ogbon (Swann), Oghene’tega. \"Empowering the Margins: Exploring Church Planting and Sustainability by Socioeconomically Disenfranchised Black Communities in Majority-White Mainline Denominations.\" Doctor of Ministry Research Project, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 2026."],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/downloads/fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d?file=thumbnail","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"member_ids_ssim":["fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d","35b2de94-45c1-4d60-947c-ca3a505d8341"],"file_set_ids_ssim":["fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d","35b2de94-45c1-4d60-947c-ca3a505d8341"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["rim.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["oswann@pts.edu"],"_version_":1865653151549358080,"timestamp":"2026-05-19T21:18:13.955Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2024-05-20T17:13:07Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2024-05-20T17:22:02Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"40c0a661-6bf6-4cfb-a2c0-c56b41430f79","accessControl_ssim":["173bfe32-c0a8-424f-b740-db753a4aac61"],"hasRelatedMediaFragment_ssim":["f9cb98c6-d4e6-458e-b9e7-ff3792d1503e"],"hasRelatedImage_ssim":["f9cb98c6-d4e6-458e-b9e7-ff3792d1503e"],"depositor_ssim":["karenmrohrer@gmail.com"],"depositor_tesim":["karenmrohrer@gmail.com"],"title_tesim":["Why I’m Like This: Life in the Shade of a Dying Church"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2024-05-20T17:13:07Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2024-05-20T17:21:45Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["e9d6112f-c471-4438-8ce1-a69f8db34620"],"hasLease_ssim":["8555d5cd-1de2-423a-9dfa-f788956c98e8"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Chicago Theological Seminary"],"degree_tesim":["Doctor of Ministry"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Pittsburgh Theological Seminary"],"year_tesim":["2024"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. 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