Size Transitions in Congregations

Size Transitions in Congregations PDF Author: Beth Ann Gaede
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996317
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Congregations that seek growth are often frustrated at hitting a plateau-caught in a transition zone between sizes. The Alban Institute has long been recognized as a leader in size transition research and learning, and this anthology offers an in-depth collection of resources, through new articles developed for the book as well as previously published and highly regarded pieces that inform and provoke.

Size Transitions in Congregations

Size Transitions in Congregations PDF Author: Beth Ann Gaede
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996317
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Congregations that seek growth are often frustrated at hitting a plateau-caught in a transition zone between sizes. The Alban Institute has long been recognized as a leader in size transition research and learning, and this anthology offers an in-depth collection of resources, through new articles developed for the book as well as previously published and highly regarded pieces that inform and provoke.

The In-Between Church

The In-Between Church PDF Author: Alice Mann
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996589
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
Alban Senior Consultant Mann draws on her lengthy experience in helping congregations deal with the hurdles and anxieties of expansion or contraction in size. Often, congregations experiencing size change do not recognize the need to change culture and form as part of the successful adaptation process. Mann details the adjustments in attitude—as well as practice—that are necessary to support successful size change.

Raising the Roof

Raising the Roof PDF Author: Alice Mann
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996155
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
Pastoral-to-program size change is frequently described as the most challenging of growth transitions for congregations. Now Alban senior consultant Alice Mann, author of The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations, addresses the difficulties of that transition in this resource designed specifically for a congregational learning team. Conceptualized and developed by Mann for an Alban on-line seminar program test event conducted with 12 congregations in transition, her newest book features a five-step process enabling the learning team to engage a wider circle of congregational leaders and members in study, discernment, and planning. Never-before published resources include discussion of a major new concept—passive barriers to growth—plus Mann’s "System Change Index" tool to help congregations measure their progress from pastoral-size to program-size ways of operating. From preparing the congregation’s board and members, selecting the person to guide the learning process, and recruiting the learning team, to creating and celebrating a plan for congregational learning and action, Mann provides all the resources a congregation needs to address this significant size transition period.

Inside the Large Congregation

Inside the Large Congregation PDF Author: Susan Beaumont
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566995612
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
For five years, Alban Institute senior consultant Susan Beaumont has been giving voice to the organizational and leadership demands of large congregations. Through her work, she has identified five basic leadership systems that need to stay in alignment for the large church to function well for its size: clergy leadership roles, staff team design and function, governance and board function, acculturation and the role of laity, and forming and executing strategy. She has also learned that these five systems operate with some important but subtle distinctions in what Beaumont calls the professional church (400-800 in worship attendance), the strategic church (800-1,200), and the matrix church (1,200-2,000). Often, she has discovered, problems in a large congregation are related to the fact that one or more of the five systems is inappropriately structured for the size of the congregation. In other words, the church isn't acting its size. Beaumont is invested in helping large congregations 'rightsize' their leadership systems to better serve their ministry context. This book articulates why size matters and how it matters in the world of large congregations. It is written for anyone who wants to better understand the leadership and organizational dynamics of the large church anyone seeking to understand the challenges of leading from inside the large congregation.

Can Our Church Live?

Can Our Church Live? PDF Author: Alice Mann
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566994810
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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Book Description
Nothing on earth lives forever—not even congregations. Alban Institute senior consultant Alice Mann explains how the natural life cycle of a congregation, as well as other internal and external factors, can produce a congregation that is in real trouble. She then offers hope for congregations that want to change. Practical options for congregations, leadership challenges for laity and clergy, and ways to work with denominations are detailed and engaging discussion questions provide a basis for congregational planning

One Size Doesn't Fit All

One Size Doesn't Fit All PDF Author: Gary L. McIntosh
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 0800756991
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Different churches grow in different ways. This book will help you figure out your church's orientation and show the way to healthy growth.

Ending with Hope

Ending with Hope PDF Author: Beth Ann Gaede
Publisher: Alban Books
ISBN: 9781566992633
Category : Church attendance
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Why is it we do funerals so well but often balk at even recognizing the death of a congregation? Couldn't we do grief ministry and funerals as well for social groups as we do for individuals?" challenges Gilson Waldkoenig, in his seminary classes. Waldkoenig, associate professor of church in society at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, contributes his special insights on the subject of church endings, in this unique and important book. Ending with Hope grows out of the understanding that although closing a congregation is in many ways about dying, it can also be about new life. Closing a congregation does not have to be about failure but can be about redirecting resources for new ministry. Contributors represent eight denominations and include more than a dozen pastors, lay leaders, judicatory staff, and others who have "been there"--who have helped congregations through the painful closing process. Resources include models for assessing whether a congregation should close; reflections on members' and pastors' experiences during closing; case studies; guidance for deciding what to do with a building; suggestions for selecting and preserving documents and artifacts; rituals for healthy closings; a survey of historical trends regarding closings; and other helpful materials.

Steering Through Chaos

Steering Through Chaos PDF Author: Scott Wilson
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310324637
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Provides leaders the insight, inspiration, and courage they need to anticipate change, prepare for transitions, and make the difficult choices that will keep their churches moving forward.

Next

Next PDF Author: William Vanderbloemen
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493423347
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
Packed with new research, new interviews, and practical solutions, this updated and expanded edition of Next will equip pastors, ministry teams, and Christian organizations to navigate leadership changes with wisdom and grace. While there is no simple, one-size-fits-all solution to the puzzle of planning for a seamless pastoral succession, Next offers church leaders and pastors a guide to asking the right questions in order to plan for the future. Vanderbloemen, founder of a leading pastoral search firm, and Bird, an award-winning writer and researcher, share insider stories of succession failures and successes in dozens of churches, including some of the nation's most influential. The authors demystify successful pastoral succession and help you prepare for an even brighter future for your ministry. Includes a foreword by John Ortberg and an introduction by Eric Geiger and Kenton Beshore.

The Hidden Lives of Congregations

The Hidden Lives of Congregations PDF Author: Israel Galindo
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996562
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Faced with crisis, lack of direction, or just plain "stuckness," many congregations and their leaders are content to deal only with surface issues and symptoms—only to discover that the same problems keep recurring, often in different, and more serious, ways. In The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Christian educator and consultant Israel Galindo takes leaders below the surface of congregational life to provide a comprehensive, holistic look at the corporate nature of church relationships and the invisible dynamics at play. Informed by family systems theory and grounded in a wide-ranging ecclesiological understanding, Galindo unpacks clearly the factors of congregational lifespan, size, spirituality, and identity and shows how these work together to form the congregation’s hidden life. He provides useful tools for diagnosing and understanding how one’s congregation fits into the various categories he names and suggests what leadership skills are necessary to get beyond the impasse of surface issues and help the congregation achieve its mission. The Hidden Lives of Congregations provides one of the most far-reaching looks into the invisible nature of faith communities written in recent years. For seminaries and divinity schools, it provides a standard text for getting a solid start in congregational practices; for experienced pastors, it provides support for renewing ministry; for lay leaders and committees, it offers insight to deepening mutual ministry. Israel Galindo has written an indispensable manual that leaders will return to repeatedly for new wisdom and guidance