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"This is the best book I have ever read on congregational
development I wish I had written it." (Lyle E. Schaller, Parish
Consultant)
The common experience of large congregations getting larger and
small congregations getting smaller has given rise to the belief
that growing congregations tend to hit a barrier at the 150-200
attendance mark. The dividing line in American Church attendance is
150 people on an average Sunday. Churches below this seem to have a
harder time growing. Above this, churches seem to have an easier
time growing. Trying to grow a smaller church can feel like trying
to break through what Martin calls the 200 barrier. Martin explains
that there is no barrier; there are just two different ways of
being a church the Pastoral Size church and the Program church. The
Transitional Church is really a hybrid of these two cultures, and
this dual nature produces stress and tension where the idea of a
200 barrier often becomes a self-fulfilling expectation.
How does the Pastor Size church culture really work? What are the
key elements of the larger American Church? How does this create a
large church culture that becomes self-supporting? Martin looks at
these elements and shows how the Transitional Church can avoid
mistakes in their effort to grow beyond the barrier, and why
transformation and change is so difficult.
Drawing on sociological and anthropological studies about the
significance of numbers in human organizations, Martin proposes
practical steps that leaders of Transitional Churches will want to
take."
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