Congregational Development

Welcome To
Congregational Development

Congregations are the means the church has chosen to invite people into relationship with God and with those who know God. With their large financial overhead and their significant organizational maintenance requirements, congregations are challenged to remain the means and not become the end of their own ministries. Here at Congregational Development you will find resources and tools to help you in that work. In addition to this site, the Congregational Development staff are available for consultation and resource information.

Growth & Development

All of Congregational Development and Redevelopment, and all of Stewardship are at their heart about God's mission of transforming the world and the lives it contains.

The unit of Congregational Development produces resources for congregations and dioceses that will be useful in the ongoing work of growing healthy and vital congregations. You will find research results that will give accurate information about who we are and what we are about. You will find reporting on the 20/20 mission movement for the Episcopal Church and especially the work of the Presiding Bishop's staff that supports and encourages the movement.

New Church

This page supports the growing commitment of dioceses to plant new churches and redevelop existing congregations in response to the 20/20 initiative adopted by the General Convention of 2000 in Denver. This initiative calls for the Episcopal Church to double its size by the year 2020 as a faithful response to the mission of the church “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” (BCP p. 855) and the Great Commission to “Go therefore and make all nations my disciples” (Mt. 28:19).

The resources and links on this page will help direct you to diocese with experience in new church development. You can also find some stories of diocese that provide learning about what works and what doesn’t. Conferences and events that support new church development are also posted on this site.

Research & Development

The goal of research and statistics is to provide the church with information about its context, congregations, members, leadership, directions, and ongoing mission. Employing the best research procedures that are available we provide unbiased data and analysis for use by national leaders, dioceses and local congregations. This information is intended to help in the work of the church by helping us understand who we are, the situations where we work, and the progress we are making.

Small-Membership Church

This section of the site is dedicated to the small-membership church, defined as a church with an average Sunday attendance of 70 or less. Nearly half (42.2%) of all Episcopal churches in the United States can be considered small-membership. In this section of the Web site you will find information, resource suggestions, and listings for upcoming conferences particularly relevant to the different circumstances and settings of the small-membership church.

Stewardship

The purpose of this site is simple. We hope to provide basic information to help leaders in congregations and dioceses develop stewardship programs that help carry out the work God is calling them to do.

We are big believers in not reinventing the wheel. Rather, we prefer to highlight excellent wheels being invented around the church.