Developing Your Small Church's Potential
by Carl S. Dudley and Douglas Alan Walrath
Judson Press, 1988

If you are serving a small-membership church or if you are a member of a small-membership church, Developing Your Small Church's Potential is a book you will want to read. It is part of a series on "Small Church in Action," co-authored by Carl S. Dudley and Douglas Alan Walrath, published by Judson Press.

Carl S. Dudley is co-director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research (formerly the Center for Social and Religious Research) of Hartford Seminary and professor at Hartford Seminary.

Douglas A. Walrath, now retired, is former director of the Small-Church Leadership Program at Bangor Theological Seminary. Walrath was general editor of the "Small Church in Action" series.

Developing Your Small Church's Potential is broken into four chapters, with each developing a part of the whole. One cannot overlook one chapter for another. The first chapter begins to examine change within the community and then compares it to the change within the church. To find the potential of a congregation, you must be aware of the social context of the community. Each type of context has an important effect upon how each type of ministry will be accepted and used. The book has some examples of each context.

The next chapter helps us look for the different connections between a church and the community. It begins with the social position of the church within the community. Another connection is the cultural appeal. The culture of the community plays an important role in the ministries of the church. A rural church will have different ministries from an urban or a suburban church.

The last two chapters deal with how the church and community face change. These chapters focus on ways of integrating a change in the community into the church. Chapter three has a few directions:

• Change the use of the building.
• Share and merge the stories of the newcomers and the old-timers along with the new stories of shared ministries.

Chapter four addresses the kind of church that can change communities. A church that has a social vision can change any community.

Questions for discussion and reflection appear at the end of each chapter. This book should be used when a church is developing its vision statement or looking for a mission. Consider giving a copy to each council member; then your church may develop an appropriate strategy for change.

(August 2000)