When your congregation is developing or revisiting "guiding documents" for leaders that are endorsed by the congregation as a whole (e.g....

One of the most important keys to congregational health and vitality--along with a clear purpose--is a cohesive leadership team.

Congregations, like all organizational systems, need feedback loops.  Regular assessment of the ministry is essential to group self-awareness and growth.

Online Training. Develop a deeper understanding of how to focus your congregation on mission, build trust and develop a cohesive leadership team. Learn about stewardship, strategic planning, annual goal setting and ministry assessment and the basics of congregational governance.

The purpose provision of the bylaws distinguishes the congregation from other institutions in the community and sets out the basic parameters for all the activity of the congregation.

Attribution and Permission This exercise was originally developed by Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs in 2007 and refined by the Unity Consulting team for the UU University Governance Track in 2008. You can see Unity Consulting lead it at UU University. This exercise also appears in The Nested Bowls: The...

Annual reports, often published in conjunction with a congregation's annual meeting, provide an opportunity to report on the annual goals that are serving the mission and vision of the congregation

A congregation’s mission is an answer to the question, “Why does this congregation exist in the world?” Congregational leaders are constantly faced with a barrage of decisions. Without a clear mission, how can they make those decisions?

Leaders who want to engage the creativity of the congregation in a process (such as the creation of guiding documents or strategic plans) can learn to ask questions and host conversations that will facilitate group learning.

Guiding documents like bylaws, covenants, mission statements, vision statements and strategic plans are developed in consultation with the congregation as a whole so that there is a general sense of trust and ownership. The documents can then serve as guides for the board, minister, staff and lay...

Congregations that have living vision, mission, and covenant statements are the ones that are growing—not only in numbers but also in the depth of membership commitment.

There are times when leaders need to take time and space to struggle with deeper questions. Generative conversations can create that kind of space

Leaders know why they are active, and how they are seeking to make a difference in the world; they understand that congregational life is not about making people “happy,” but by knowing how the congregation is called to serve their community, and are then faithful to that calling

Being Mission-Focused—one of the recommended leadership development competencies—include: Purpose-driven leadership. Having a clear sense of the mission of the congregation and keeping the congregation focused on that mission. Having a clear sense of one’s own mission or call. Core Values We...

Dynamic congregations rarely have a hard time dreaming new dreams, but many struggle to choose from among a parade of compelling ideas about how to use their time and energy.

Questions for Discussion How might having specific goals change the experience of serving on the board? What three goals would help you feel like your congregation has accomplished something significant this year?

I have a love-hate relationship with surveys, especially surveys used as a part of congregational planning. Frankly, used in this context they can often do more harm than good. When used as one among a number of ways of collecting data, they can get great and comparatively easy way to add peripheral vision to face-to-face methods of gathering response. Here Ian Evison offers a few guidelines for using surveys well.

Organizations, like all systems, seek equilibrium. If a congregation is thrown out of balance by the prospect of change, most members will seek to restore order and sameness. This is natural and should not be a reason to judge one another. Healthy organizations have developed the ability to be receptive to change and resistance--to lean into the disruption to their equilibrium. This is where a congregation becomes a community of learning.

A brief overview of how Governance and Ministry partner to serve the mission of the congregation. (Based on Dan Hotchkiss's Governance and Ministry, 2nd Edition.)...

Video, based on the book Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Gary L. McIntosh

Creates a shared vision of the church, an effective mission statement and dynamic mission-centered goals to implement the mission. Develops and affirms a clear identity and purpose with a strong sense of mission. Mission(s) used as a compass in decision-making. Members can identify the...

This image is one mental model in understanding mission in a congregation. The heart in the center is the core purpose of your congregation. Who are you called to be in the world, and in your context?...

We often claim that budgets are moral documents, and that congregational budgets should reflect our values. But line item budgets that include "office supplies, utilities, salary" and other such descriptions don't show how these line items serve the mission of the congregation. How might...

There have been many processes and methods that are based on the notion that there is collective wisdom that can be gleaned from the whole.

Practical Decision Making How a congregation makes decisions should reflect all the characteristics of a free church. Respectful participation, democratic values, and reference to common principles and mission should be common in our practices and most clearly evident in congregational meetings....

Let me share a fable of two congregations. ...

Smaller congregations in many denominations are struggling to survive. This doesn't mean they are necessarily "doing church" badly. But it does mean they need to do church differently. Intuiting this need, church leaders often begin gearing up for a strategic planning process....

It's the beginning of the year, and Ministerial Search Committees have just received a list of names of ministers who are interested in learning more about their congregation. Savvy Search Committees know that they are looking for a good match, not a perfect candidate, and the best way to find a...

Questions to use when wrestling with purpose, identity and vision.

Satellites, multi-site, yolked ministries and partnerships can explored by all types of congregations - tiny, large, urban, rural, clustered, or isolated. Might multi-site be right for you?

How do we design and support congregational systems that help us live into our mission and vision? Using guiding "ministry action statements," goal-setting, and assessment to keep its mission and vision vital and effective.

A wonderful exercise to elicit emerging ideas and to discover where the energy resides in a large group.

Once a congregation understands its mission, the next step is to discern how it wants to deepen and grow as a congregation. This workshop outlines processes for discerning aspirational values and ways to create and use a vision statement in devising a strategic plan and annual ministry goals.

Purpose-filled people are misson-driven. Workshop participants will explore discerning congregational core values, how to articulate them as mission, and how to make a mission "portable" to provide alignment for all of its ministries, strategies, and resource allocation.

Once upon a time there was a congregation that wanted a mission statement. They appointed a committee that worked hard. They held cottage meetings, World Café conversations, and got a real sense of the identity of the congregation, who they were as a "whole"—or their "center." It became time to...

I often use General Motors as an example of the top-down model of organization and leadership that is the opposite of what our congregations need to be nimble and vital (and I might add, attractive to Gen-Xers and Millennials). A story from Bloomberg "GM Recalls Stalled in 10 Years of Committee...

There is a quote that guides me in my work: “We create the path by walking.” How many of us knew exactly who or what we wanted to be when we “grew up?” Instead, many of us made choices that led us in a certain direction. As we started down a particular path, our choices helped us to discern...

Your congregation is committed to growth and understands that growth in numbers results from other kinds of growth. You also know it is important to set goals and measure how well you are doing.  ...

Are all of the members and friends of your church aware of all of the outreach ministries of your church? Is the wider community aware of who you are serving and how? Churches need to tell their stories, advises a r… article in the Christian Century. Author George Mitrovich explains When my...

Congregational leaders are often tempted to go through the motions of creating mission, vision, planning and covenant documents without taking a holistic view of the process.  Do the congregations systems support the process?  How do we reflect the core values...

Assessment of a congregation's ministry is a very important aspect of religious leadership and is one of the roles of a Committee on Shared Ministry. assessments....

Many of our congregations are wondering what our home congregation might look like in a changing context.  So today, we’re going to use a different part of our brain. 

Unitarian Universalists tend to use a lot of words when we attempt to explain our religious beliefs and values. We have a complicated faith that does not fit into typical questions about religion from outsiders. This makes sense at a national level. We have a big tent that makes room for a lot of...

Congregations who care about growth keep detailed tracking records and look for long-term trends.

Your mission is what is hanging on the wall, Your system is what is happening down the hall....

A good mission—articulated gracefully and served faithfully--can help the members of your congregation feel like they are part of something epic.     

What is the role of lay leaders in a mission-focused congregation? What is the role of the minister? The Rev. Brent Smith has experience and success leading mission-focused congregations. In this post he shares some of his insights. The distinction between lay and clergy roles is a key element in...

Having a clearly articulated mission statement helps to guide a congregation’s leaders in deciding where to put their energy and resources. But often such statements are put together by a committee and can be a bit….(I hate to say it)…wordy. Last year I visited Western Michigan, where the rest...

How many of our congregations offer programming that isn't working, or has only a very small group of the "usual suspects" participating?

Vibrant congregations in today's world live out of a sense of core mission or purpose. Twenty-first leaders need to find ways to embed that mission into all parts of congregational life. This workshop will provide strategies to help your congregation focus its development of leaders and congregants...