A Ministering Congregation

The task before us is to foster and develop a ministering congregation.

A ministering congregation:

Has a communal sense of call,
Knows the community that it is aiming to serve,
Mobilizes its resources and programs to respond to the diverse ministry needs of its gathered congregation and surrounding community,
And provides a formation process to engage its membership in this shared ministry.

A ministering congregation has specific characteristics:

Is mission focused,
Is committed to spiritual growth and development of its members and the congregation,
Knows its surrounding community and is responsive to the community's needs for ministry,
Has outreach that is intentionally coordinated with all the congregation's programs,
Has small groups that are a source of pastoral care, religious education, new member inclusion and leadership development,
Conceives it programs as "ministries" to the congregation and the surrounding community,
Has an intentional and ongoing "shared ministry program," a process for helping lay people discover their gifts and live out their ministries in the church and in their daily lives,
Understands religious education as a faith development and formation process for the ministry of the laity,
Is able to reach out to and serve more diverse populations within the community,
Is committed in word and action to antiracism, anti-oppression and multiculturalism,
Has responsible stewardship and engages in a mission budget process that is informed by its sense of mission as a congregation within a particular community,
Is "Association-al" and has covenantal relationships with other Unitarian Universalist congregations in the area, district and continent,
Engages with other faith communities in common social ministries, advocacy or service.

For more information contact growthresources @ uua.org.

This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and congregations. Please consider making a donation today.

Last updated on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

Section Navigation

Learn more about the Beliefs & Principles of Unitarian Universalism, or read our online magazine, UU World, for features on today's Unitarian Universalists. Visit an online UU church, or find a congregation near you.