Resources on Growth: A Selected Bibliography

FACTS

Faith Communities Today (FACT) research and publications are collaborative products of the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP). Partners include a wide, multi-faith spectrum of denominations and faith groups – Oldline, Evangelical and Black Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic, Unitarian-Universalist and Latter-day Saints, Jewish, Bahai and Muslim . View “FACTs on Growth” online as a pdf document or at: http://fact.hartsem.edu/products/index.html

Faith Communities Today UU Survey Results Analyzed by Congregation Size, The Reverend Charlotte Cowtan January, 2002
http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/fact/fctsurveyresults.pdf

Systems

From a report by Nelson Searcy.  Strong Evangelical Christian bias; and self-promotion of Searcy’s products and services.  Downloaded at https://www.churchleaderinsights.com/syst3m5/Healthy_Systems_Healthy_Church.pdf

Relationships

Practicing Right Relationship: Skills for Deepening Purpose, Finding Fulfillment, and Increasing Effectiveness in Your Congregation by Mary K. Sellon, Daniel P. Smith 2008, Alban Publishing

Tranformative Community

Behold I Do a New Thing: Transforming Communities of Faith BY C. Kirk Hadaway, Author.  Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2001.  Maintaining that a good church is one that truly changes people, Kirk Hadaway presents a dynamic Model of church as “incarnational community” that provides leadership for transformation.

Tipping Points

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Paperback) by Malcolm Gladwell

Small Steps

Not Trying Too Hard: New Basics for Sustainable Congregations by Bob Sitze.
Bob Sitze, an evocative and sometimes whimsical writer and workshop leader, offers a new vision for congregations and their leaders—a vision that releases us from the growing burden of trying harder to invent and implement “better” worship, evangelism, stewardship, small groups, long-range planning, mission statements, and the like. Sitze argues instead that as congregations apply the insights of “simpler lifestyles” to their life together, they will find joy and fulfillment by more closely matching their expectations for ministry with personal and corporate assets. (Alban)

Assessing Your Readiness

SWOT Analysis: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm; you can find examples of other UU SWOTs by googling “Unitarian Universalist Congregation SWOT”

“Ministry Area Profile” demographic research.

Percept Group, Inc. Available through the UUA. The UUA has contracted with a demographic research company, Percept Group, Inc., for congregations to receive a discounted rate on a demographic study package. Included is (1) information in tabular form based on the 2000 census for the study area or areas you have chosen for your ministry area, (2) trends and projections for the study area or areas, (3) U.S.lifestyle data, and (4) a guide to help you use this information. Also, you will receive six graphic representations of these data in the six InfoMaps you select. Examples of demographic information are “Lifestyle Diversity,” “Median Age,” “Five-Year Growth,” “Percentage of 2000 College Graduates,” and “Number of Unitarian Universalists.” See the UUA Web site at www.uua.org/cde/education/demographic.html;  click on the link to request ordering information.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/61156_ENG_HTM.htm

Congregations Count! Tools to Make the Most of the Membership Journey May 12 and 19, 2007, Presented by Linda Laskowski  Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley

Getting People in the Door

Reaching Out in a Networked World: Expressing Your Congregation’s Heart and Soul by Lynne M. Baab. A congregation communicates its heart and soul through words, photos, actions, programs, architecture, decor, the arts, and countless other aspects of congregational life. In Reaching Out in a Networked World, communications expert and pastor Lynne Baab examines technologies such as websites, blogs, online communities, and desktop publishing. She demonstrates how a congregation can evaluate these tools and appropriately use them to communicate its heart and soul, to convey its identity and values both within and outside the congregation. (Alban)   Article at http://alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=6712 

Responding to First Time Visitors AND Increasing Chances Visitors Will Return

The Membership Journey (PDF, 53 pages) A guide to various aspects of membership growth and for enriching the lives of all members for all sizes and ages of congregations. This guide also suggests approaches to moving toward being an anti-racist/anti-oppressive/multicultural congregation. http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/membershipjourney.pdf

Beyond the First Visit: The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church (Paperback)
by Gary L., McIntosh (Author) All churches like to think that theirs is the friendliest in town. But do guests see it that way? Gary L. McIntosh invites you to take a look at your church through the eyes of a visitor. His starting point, grounded in an understanding of God as a welcomer, is that churches should see those who enter their doors as not merely visitors but as guests, and themselves as gracious hosts. This practical book offers sound advice on assessing and improving the ways in which churches attract, welcome, and connect newcomers to the church family

Fusion, Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of your Church. By Nelson Searcy. There is a lot of self-promotion BUT lots great ideas that can be used in a UU setting with some adaptation.  Another book by Search is Attract, about the use of small groups for growth

Congregational Size and Growth

The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations by Alice Mann. A lban Senior Consultant Alice 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. 

Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition by Alice Mann.  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.

Size Transitions in Congregations by Beth Ann Gaede.  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.

Connecting to the Congregation

Volunteer Coordination and New Member Integration Pat Emery, Workshop Presenter, General Assembly, 2003. This workshop describes the new member and volunteer coordination programs at Jefferson Unitarian Church, which has experienced significant growth over the last several years, even during an interim year, and which has a high level of volunteerism. The workshop presents the underlying philosophy as well as the specifics of implementation of these successful programs and includes examples of forms, letters, agendas, and publicity which can be adopted or adapted by other UU congregations. The workshop and related documents are organized into the six basic areas listed below. Titles in bold type are narratives that describe concepts and programs and which refer to the other documents used in our program. The documents list below are links that will allow you to download the files in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) http://www.jeffersonunitarian.org/programs/prg_volunteer.html

• Guest Registry Form
• Greeter Instructions
• Welcoming Statement
• The Second Impression
• Visitor’s letter vers. 1
• Visitor’s letter vers. 2
• JUC Church Brochure
• Visitor’s Name Tags
• Becoming a Member
• The Path to Membership Class
• Path to Membership Class
• Path Advertise & Announce
• Path Class Agenda
• Four Corners Game
• Responsibilities, Benefits
• Path Class Thank You
• The Joining Process
• The Joining Process
• Foundations.Fellowship II
  …And More

Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation by Carol Howard Merritt,  2008 Award of Merit from Religious Communicators Council  Christian Century’s Top Ten Practical Theology Books of 2008  (Alban Publishing)

Planning to Grow by Dan Hotchkiss,   senior consultant at the Alban Institute.  http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=5612

Small Congregations

Small, Strong Congregation by Kennon Callahan. Written to be a hands-on guide, Small, Strong Congregations offers practical suggestions for creating mission and service, compassion and shepherding, community and belonging, self-reliance and self-sufficiency, worship and hope, teams and leaders, space and facilities, and giving and generosity. This wise resource is filled with illustrative examples that show clearly how myriad small churches have created solid, vigorous congregations.

Wonderful Worship in Smaller Churches (Paperback) and The Indispensable Guide for Smaller Churches (Paperback) by David R. Ray.  Both are favorites of Nancy Proctor.

Deepening Commitment

Reverend X: How Generation X Ministers Are Shaping Unitarian Universalism, published by Jenkin Lloyd Jones Press. “Reading Reverend X was like going to a spiritual gym to joyfully exercise my vision, my hope, and my trust. I feel stronger in my own Unitarian Universalist vision, since the authors expressed it with great clarity. And I have a renewed hope for our common future, since so many of the ideas and feelings expressed in this book are simply exciting, and hope is usually powered by excitement. But what I feel most is a sense of deep and transformative trust, a confidence in the importance of our movement. This younger generation seems to embrace a far broader and interdependent concept of ministry than I did when I graduated from seminary, and our Association will be all the better for it.” Rev Mark Bellitini.  PURCHASE at http://www.allsoulschurch.org/shop

Self Care

Clergy Self-Care Strategies for Good Times and Bad by Patricia Hayes
http://alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=2922

Lay Leadership: Expanding the Circle by Patricia Hayes
http://alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=2292

A Model for an Annual Spiritual Checkup by Patricia Hayes

http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=2920

At the TJ District Growth Summit in Chapel Hill October 17-18, 2008, the Reverend Stefan Jonasson presented the keynote address: The Promise of Unitarian Universalism. Here is the audio recording of his address: the-promise-of-unitarian-universalism

Nancy Proctor, from the UU Congregation of the Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk, NC, and chair of the TJD Growth and Development Council, recently compiled this information about small congregation growth. And although it focuses on small congregation growth, most of the information is applicable to congregations of any size.

This is probably the best place to start if you want to see what the latest research shows as to why churches grow.
FACTs on Growth

And here is the FACT study as it applies to UU congregeations.
Faith Communities Today UU Survey Results

This is an article about small congregations and growth:
A Saving Remnant: Vitality in Small Congregations

This is a very large pdf file but has lots of good information on growing members on the UUA website:
The Membership Journey

To learn more about your community:

If there is a Episcopal Church in your zipcode go to:
Studying Your Congregation and Community

If there is a Nazarene Church in your area go to:
Neighborhood Demographics Reports

My colleague in Central Midwest District, Ian Ivanson, posted a valuable interview with a marketing consultant, Mike Murschel, who has been working with some of the congregations in that district. I thought you might find it interesting. This article is available on the CMWD website: Some Marketing Basics. Mike Murschel also has created a great listing of free marketing resource for the Chicagoland Marketing Initiative for the Chicago Area Unitarian Universalist Council: Chicagoland Marketing Marketing Initiative Materials and Resources. Although some of it is specific to Chicago, most of it is adapatable to any setting.

I believe that it is the role of our congregations to, first, help new people connect with members of the congregation, secondly, to help them understand Unitarian Universalism and deepen and clarify their faith, and thirdly, to help them put their faith into action by serving the world. If you see this as your mission with new members of your congregation, I would recommend that you become intentional about how you bring people into this incredible faith. Having a plan for what happens after someone joins your congregation can result in developing a life-long UU, rather than one that burns out and leaves us after two or three years. Whether you are from an emerging congregation or a well-developed one, I encourage you to develop a program that moves people through the steps of connecting, deepening, and serving. The following three programs make a great way for new members to spend their first year in your congregation:

Evensong- this eight-week small group ministry program designed to help congregation members make lasting connections with one another. It includes Weekly worship services designed for groups of 10 to 20. Each service includes singing, readings and discussion. Participants in this program are invited to share thoughts, experiences, doubts and religious beliefs. Evensong is a wonderful way for members to get to know each other at a deeper level and to help them clarify their beliefs.

•   Evensong 1
•   Evensong  2
•   Evensong for Families

A Chosen Faith by former UUA President, the Reverend John Buehrens, the minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City, the Reverend Forrester Church. Use the online discussion guide to delve deeper into what Unitarian Universalism is all about.

•   A Chosen Faith
•   A Chosen Faith Online Study Guide

Weaving the Fabric of Diversity – this eight-week course delves into the hallmark of Unitarian Universalism social justice work with an exploration of embracing diversity: racism, heterosexism, ableism, classism and ageism.

•   Weaving the Fabric of Diversity

(Thanks to The Reverend Susan Smith, District Executive in the Southwestern Conference for these wonderful suggestions)

Tonight’s webcast focused on models of congregational governance and the role of boards in congregations. We explored the John Carver Model of Policy Governance, along with several other governance models. In addition, we looked at accountability in congregations and ways to move a board from a micro-managing board to a generative board that is asking the visionary questions.

I’ve posted a PowerPoint version of the presentation, along with a PDF version of the slides for those who prefer to review the presentation that way.

• Congregational Governance - PowerPoint Presentation
• Congregational Governance - PDF version

You can view the entire webcast from this link: Congregational Governance Webcast. Click the big right-arrow in the center of the first slide to run the webcast. You might have to scroll a bit to see it all. The Webcast runs about 70 minutes.

Making sure that your congregation has good practices in place in regard to hiring is one of the most important things a board can do in a congregation. Even people who are not specifically hired to work with children and youth, still interface with them. Your safe congregation policy should include specific plans to conduct criminal background checks on all employees, regardless of their role. You can find out more about conducting background checks and get some recommendations for companies to use by visiting the UUA web site page on Responsible Staffing.

Nancy Heege, District Executive in the Praire Star District, has posted some great information about a new resource for small congregations. Big Ideas for Small Congregations – a new resource! « Nancy’s Views on the Landscape

One of the top questions I receive from congregational leaders is about Committees on Ministry (COM). The following resources are good guides to get started as you organize or reorganize your COM. The UUA has developed two valuable references:

Assessing Our Leadership (PDF) was published in June 2001, and offers ideas on developing and implementing a process for the ongoing evaluation of a congregation’s leadership, both clergy and lay.

The companion tool, Congregational Self-Assessment (PDF), helps congregations take a careful look at their overall ministry.

Other COM resources:

Moving on from Church Folly Lane, by Robert Latham, has an appendix specifically on the structure of Committees on Ministry. It is a great foundational reading for any discussions about how to form an effective COM.

Growing a Practice of Shared Ministry: The learning and teaching work of Committees on Ministry by Beverly Sadownick Smrha, District Consultant, Pacific Central District of the Unitarian Universalist Association

You can also find a useful tool in the The UUA Congregational Handbook for conducting an annual assessment of the congregation’s ministry (Annual Review of a Congregation).

When Better Isn’t Enough: Evaluation Tools for the 21St-Century Church  An excellent reference for ministerial evaluation

An article in the UUA’s Leader’s Library addresses COM’s:
Committes on Minister Not Just For the Minister

Mid-South District offers a great overview of COM’s in this workshop handout:
So what does a Committee on Minister do?

In my January 15, 2008 web seminar, I presented an assessment tool developed by Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Professor of Reconciliation Studies, at Bethel University, in St. Paul, Minnesota that is designed to help a congregation assess its readiness in becoming a multi-racial, multi-cultural congregation. I’ve posted a copy of the tool and more details about the tool in the PowerPoint presentation from the seminar.

• Building Multi-Racial, Multi-Cultural Congregations - PowerPoint presentation
• Authentic Multiracial Congregation Assessment

You can view the entire webcast from this link: Building Multi-Racial, Multi-Cultural Congregations Webcast. Click the big right-arrow in the center of the first slide to run the webcast. You might have to scroll a bit to see it all. The Webcast runs about 45 minutes.