How Congregations Thrive

Based on rich research on real-life Protestant congregations, this book explores how congregations can thrive – as communities, as worship spaces, and as actors in the world.

Why do some congregations flourish, while others can barely stay open at all in the face of disaffiliation, aging congregations, financial hardships, and clergy burnout? Grounded in research from 10 Protestant congregations, this open access book explores the characteristics connected to congregational flourishing, and demonstrates how worship, leadership, sermons and difficult conversations all play an important role in fostering a strong congregational identity as well as individual and social prosperity.

From leadership styles to congregational conflict to enacting faith in the local community, this book explores many areas of church life to determine what they reveal about and how they contribute to the overall health of the congregation. Surveys, interviews, focus groups and participant observation are utilised in the chapter’s findings. These discussions provide an up-to-date examination of congregational life in the Unites States for scholars of religion as well as a thoughtful roadmap for ministers looking to put their faith community on a stronger path toward congregational vitality.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.