Free Downloads Small, Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths And Health For Your Congregation
Create a small, strong congregation that is dedicated to advancing God's mission The twenty-first century is the century of small, strong congregations. More people will be drawn to small, strong congregations than any other kind of congregation. Yes, there are mega-congregations; Their number is increasing greatly. Nevertheless, across the planet, the vast majority of congregations will be small and strong, and the vast majority of people will be in these congregations. With uncommon wisdom Kennon L. Callahan--today's most noted church consultant--moves ahead of conventional thinking and in Small, Strong Congregations offers his unique vision of the church of the future. This important book chronicles the emergence of a vast number of congregations that are questioning the bigger-is-better notion in church membership. These congregations are deliberately small, active, and happy in their dedication to creating strong church communities that advance God's mission. Step by step, Kennon Callahan shows pastors and other church leaders how they can develop the values and specific qualities helpful to shape and strengthen their own small congregations.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.
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (October 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0787949809
ISBN-13: 978-0787949808
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.2 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #913,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1082 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Churches & Church Leadership > Church Administration #1147 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Churches & Church Leadership > Church Institutions & Organizations #2661 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Churches & Church Leadership > Pastoral Resources
Most of the popular church growth material is coming from larger congregations in various denominations. A well-known preacher will write his story of the marvelous growth in the particular congregation that he served. He will highlight some of the grand strategies that he employed to create a mega church. A mega church is a congregation over the 1000 attendance threshold. Of course, local preachers want to see the congregation that they work with develop, so they buy the book hoping that these new methods will work for them. After a period of excitement, attempting to have the congregation follow the mission, often little changes, and even sometimes the congregation is worse off than before the project started. The major fault is that the preacher was attempting to infuse mega-church methodology on a small to middle size church.Like much of American culture, Christians assume bigger is better, and smaller is weaker. But with the shifting of society, instead of rejecting being a small to middle size congregation, churches would be wiser to embrace the role that this size dynamic fulfills in God's kingdom. In today's marketplace, there are large big box stores that are thriving, and there are small boutique stores that are succeeding.. The stores that are struggling the most are the middle sized ones. It is because these places are too big to offer personal care and too small to provide deep discounts. Churches are falling into this uncertain category. The church is attempting to provide the programing of a large church, and is unable to provide the relational connectivity of a smaller church. So instead of growth, there is just perpetual frustration.Fortunately, Kennon L.
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