Big Ideas Published For Small Congregations
December 15, 2007
Leaders of small congregations need the new book by Rev. Jane Dwinell and Ellen Germann-Melosh, Big Ideas for Small Congregations. Dwinell is a small-church consultant; editor of Small Talk, a newsletter for leaders of small congregations; and former consulting minister of a small congregation in Vermont. Germann-Melosh is a former Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) district executive and is a small-church consultant.The book discusses the issues of all congregations: leadership, caring, money, facilities, staff, conflict, religious education, and more. It does this from the perspective of small churches, generally those with fewer than 150 members.
There is a discussion of the two types of small congregations: group-centered and leader-centered. There is also a section on starting a new congregation and one on how to determine if your congregation is attractive to visitors and how it can plan for growth. The book also includes resources, from websites to books.
The 184-page book is $20 from Spirit of Life Publishing, PO Box 243, Montpelier, VT 05601.
For more information contact interconnections @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
