Thriving Churches Are 10 Times More Likely to Embrace Change
USA TODAY
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion News Service
The number of congregations with fewer than 100 in weekend attendance — the most vulnerable to collapse — rose to 58% in 2015, up from 49% five years ago, according to a Faith Communities Today report released Monday by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Yet the report is optimistically titled: “American Congregations 2015: Thriving and Surviving.” David Roozen, author of the report and retired director of the institute, wanted to highlight signs of hope in the research by asking about innovation, growth and positive change, particularly in those small churches among the 4,436 U.S. congregations whose data he analyzed. “Thriving congregations are nearly 10 times more likely to have changed themselves than are struggling congregations," Roozen added. [link]
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion News Service
The number of congregations with fewer than 100 in weekend attendance — the most vulnerable to collapse — rose to 58% in 2015, up from 49% five years ago, according to a Faith Communities Today report released Monday by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Yet the report is optimistically titled: “American Congregations 2015: Thriving and Surviving.” David Roozen, author of the report and retired director of the institute, wanted to highlight signs of hope in the research by asking about innovation, growth and positive change, particularly in those small churches among the 4,436 U.S. congregations whose data he analyzed. “Thriving congregations are nearly 10 times more likely to have changed themselves than are struggling congregations," Roozen added. [link]
