PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS
A dying Texas church gives life to a new congregation
 
On Ash Wednesday, the fellowship hall at Servant Church in Austin, Texas, buzzed with chatter and children's laughter as young families gathered to share soup and bread before the evening service. When Deacon Abby Parker Herrera jumped up on the stage to offer a blessing, she had to clang an iron-triangle dinner bell to quiet the room. As soon as she uttered "Amen," the cacophony resumed.

Seated at the end of a long folding table, her wheeled walker parked nearby, 92-year-old Mary Ruth Borges beamed. She could barely hear her dinner companions over the noise. But that was a happy problem.

"It makes my heart feel good to see them," she said, gazing at the young families surrounding her.

For decades, children -- and even young adults -- were rarely seen inside the walls of the midcentury stone church, formerly known as Asbury United Methodist. Launched after World War II in a thickly settled neighborhood in Central Austin, Asbury was once a thriving congregation. But over years of decline, as founding members aged into their 80s and 90s, new people quit coming.

By the mid-2000s, officials at the Rio Texas Annual Conference saw only two options -- deep change or slow death -- and proposed planting a young congregation at Asbury to revitalize the place. Members, many of whom had built Asbury 60 years earlier, faced a question steeped in resurrection theology: Would they be willing to let their church die in order to have new life?

 Read more of Asbury United Methodist's story »
IDEAS THAT IMPACT: THE CHURCH LIFE CYCLE
A resurrection story
The stories of churches that have contemplated the possibility of closing their doors and ending life as they have known it can often be understood by returning to the stories of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. And that can be a source of hope. 
 
Read more from Charles M. Olsen »
From birth to death: Exploring the life cycle of the church
Congregations have life cycles, as surely as people do. Understanding how the life cycle of a congregation works is an important tool for helping church leaders find their way out of stability and decline to vital ecclesial health.
 
Read more from Stephen C. Compton »
The marks of a healthy congregation 
Consultant Terry Foland has concluded that 12 areas of congregational life are significant in determining a congregation's health. Within each category are the challenging questions he suggests that church leaders ask themselves as they embark on the process of congregational change.

 
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As a participant in the course, you will produce one 1,000-word, theologically rich personal essay, ready to submit to a publication.

You will grow in your understanding of the practice of Christian theological reflection and the craft of writing. And you will benefit from the feedback and expertise of seasoned editors as well as an online community of writers.

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FROM THE ALBAN LIBRARY
 by Jeffrey D. Jones 
 
Church today isn't the same as it was fifty years ago-or even ten years ago. In spite of the powerful stories of turn-around churches with skyrocketing memberships, the difficult reality is that most congregations are getting smaller. Jeffrey D. Jones asks brave questions for congregations facing this reality-what if membership growth isn't the primary goal for a church? How can churches remain vital, even with declining attendance? 

Facing Decline, Finding Hope is an essential resource to help congregations confront their shrinking size while looking towards the hopeful reality that God is calling them to greater faithfulness. The book draws on biblical and theological resources, as well as contemporary leadership studies, to help leaders-both clergy and laity-set aside a survival mentality and ask new questions to shape ministry more attuned to today's world. 

Facing Decline, Finding Hope is a powerful book for leaders who want to honestly assess the size of their church and plan for faithful, invigorating service regardless of whether membership numbers are up or down. 
 
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