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In the U.S. Congregations spotlight

Places of Promise: Finding Strength in Your Congregation's Location

Learn about the role location plays in determining congregational strengths and numerical growth. (January 2008.)
[Order now]

Beyond the Ordinary: 10 Strengths of U.S. Congregations

An intricate look at vitality and health in congregations. Details ten strengths key to vital congregations. [Learn more]

God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations

Takes a hard look at who is doing what in ministry today and provides specific strategies for strengthening pastoral leadership. [Learn more]

New book released

A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations: Second edition

An updated and expanded edition of A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations reflects new findings and includes updated statistics, tables, and cartoons, along with completely new chapters describing pastoral leaders and significant changes in congregational life between the 2001 and 2008 surveys. New Myth Traps and Fast Facts about congregational life are featured in each chapter.

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The U.S. Congregational Life Survey

Discover Your Congregation’s Strengths!

The U.S. Congregational Life Survey — conducted in 2001 and again in 2008 and 2009 — is the largest and most representative profile of worshipers and their congregations ever developed in the United States. It is also an excellent way for congregations to identify their strengths. Updated findings are available in our blog and in an updated Field Guide to U.S. Congregations.

The Survey:

Will help your congregation discover your unique strengths. [Learn more]
Examines congregational vitality to help congregations renew and enrich their mission.
Describes the American religious landscape in the new millennium based on input from over 500,000 worshipers in more than 3,000 congregations across the United States.

Updated information from Wave 2 of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey available on our blog and in an updated Field Guide to U.S. Congregations! Wave 2, conducted in the fall of 2008 and the spring of 2009, reveals how congregations and worshipers have changed in recent years.

Church Growth Resources

PowerPoint Presentation on Evangelism and Church Growth
Myths and Facts about Evangelism and Church Growth
Church growth: Nine myths, no magic bullets — Presbyterian Outlook (September 25, 2004).
What Growing Churches Do

U.S. Congregations Resources

Why do people attend worship? What are they looking for?
How are worshipers involved in the community?
Do worshipers' friends also attend worship services somewhere?

Publications of general interest.

Who Worships in Presbyterian Congregations?

"Larger percentages of PC(USA) worshipers are involved in small group activities in their congregations and in community outreach activities."

Learn what over 50,000 worshipers in 523 Presbyterian congregations have to say. "A Field Guide to Presbyterian Congregations" tells their story.

Copies of "A Field Guide to Presbyterian Congregations" are available for $7.50/each from the Research Services office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Call 1-888-728-7228 ext. 2040 to order.

"Worshipers in PC(USA) congregations that are growing are more likely to experience God's presence in worship."

Learn more about how Fast-growing Presbyterian Churches compare to others in the denomination.

- Files marked with this icon can be downloaded in printable Adobe Acrobat format. This file requires the free Acrobat Reader. For best results, right-click the link (or click and hold for Macintosh), select " save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing.

Of General Interest

Using Your Survey Results

Church Growth and Evangelism

Worshipers

10 Strengths of U.S. Congregations

Location

Leaders in U.S. Congregations

Research Reports