Too often our leaders lead from unexamined fear and frustration. We need to lead from our hopes as embodied in the vision of the Beloved Community.

No person is perfect. How do we ask each other to return to covenant when someone makes a mistake?

Supporting one another is important, but if that is primarily what you do, then your congregation will decline. For a congregation to be alive, vital, and growing, it must have a sense that it exists to serve as well.

Emotions play a major role in the leadership of congregations, and if we do not take that into consideration as leaders, we will walk into situations that tear at the fabric of communal life and possibly thwart any growth that had been planned.

Small congregations are trying to do too much. They are struggling to put together a quality meaningful worship service and a Children’s Faith Development Program every Sunday. Let’s try something different.

Don’t try to do everything! Instead, figure out what your congregation does well, and do it, and do more of it!

In its 7th year and with about 40 adult members, a small congregation in the South realized it was stuck—its membership hadn’t increased in 3 years. True, a few new folks joined each year, but the new folks only replaced those who had moved or left for other reasons. ...

If you’re listening to this CD, chances are you think your congregation is small. But not all small congregations are alike. These differences are not just about numbers. They’re about attitude, and group behaviors, and organizational structure. It helps to know how your congregation does...

Change is always difficult, yet it happens every day in our lives in small and big ways. It is also is a regular component of congregational life. When a visitor shows up on a Sunday, the dynamics in a congregation have changed, particularly if the newcomer stays. We all need to be aware of the...

Before we decide whether we want to be an institution, it might be helpful if we thought about what an institution is, and what it is not. ...

Families with children no longer feel a sense of obligation to attend church. Participation in a religious community is often considered one option among many competing interests. How do you go about creating a multigenerational culture in your congregation?

We need to think beyond increasing the membership rolls and focus more on developing what the workshop leaders called an “outward orientation.”

Community ministers benefit by having a place that supports them spiritually and provides social connections. The congregation gains by its connection with a minister who has insights beyond the congregation's walls.

membership coordinator, and she focused much of her energy on integrating new and not-so-new members.

When InterConnections wrote a lengthy article about church websites in 1998 an estimated 40 to 60 percent of our congregations had them. In 2006 the figure was over 90 percent. (It's close to 100% in 2019) Increasingly, it’s the way that visitors find us. Many congregations report that most of...

Is your congregation being held hostage? Is there a troublesome personality who tries to get his or her own way by withholding money, by loud assertive behavior, or by misusing Joys and Concerns?...

Young adults, just like older adults, want worship that speaks to their experiences in life, that challenges them to develop deeper relationships, and that connects them to things that are beyond themselves.

How all ages can come together to make a rich and vibrant spiritual community.

Is it hard to find a place to sit on Sunday morning? If YOU think so, think how newcomers must feel. Studies show that newcomers are much less likely to return if the sanctuary or fellowship hall feels too crowded. Plus longtime members may feel they aren’t needed and they may stay home. If...

At our best, Unitarian Universalism has been a beacon of freedom, justice and wholeness; at our best, we create religious communities that make a crucial difference in the lives of many people. ...