Associational

I like frameworks to help me hang ideas on and organize my thinking. For years I’ve used the growth categories from Ted Buckle and popularized by Loren Mead in his book More Than Numbers: the Way Churches Grow (the words are changed a bit.)  At the suggestion of Jan Gartner (Professional Development Associate for Religious Education and Music Leaders), I’ve added Associational Growth. We will use these categories to organize this blog.  Each blog entry will speak to at least one kind of growth.  Rather than definitions, I’ll introduce the categories with some questions.  I invite you suggest some of your own questions for these categories in the comment section.  What else would you add?

Organizational Maturity

• What is your congregation’s purpose for existence? How do you know? How is your purpose expressed?
• How does your governance and organizational structures fit your size and serve your purpose? How do you understand governance and organization to be different?
• How are your policies community-owned and responsive to your purpose and the people you want to be?
• How does your building or meeting space serve your mission (rather than be your mission)?
• What is your pathway to leadership and service? How is this communicated?

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