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Raising the Roof I: The Pastoral-to Program-Size Transition
 Size transitions are critical in the life of a congregation. One size transition in particular poses special difficulties.
When average Sunday attendance (including children and teachers) regularly exceeds about 150, anxiety usually rises. The single “cell” of ministry and fellowship, organized around the pastor, has reached its capacity. Sustained growth is unlikely to occur unless the congregation learns how to organize its life and ministry in a different way--including a shift to “multi-cell” functioning, formation of an effective team of program leaders, and development of new practices for building relationship and providing pastoral care.
This is an uncomfortable zone, usually marked by profound ambivalence. The congregation is too big for its previous patterns of ministry and interaction, but does not yet have “critical mass” to enjoy the real benefits of the next size up.
This seminar will illuminate the dynamics of this most difficult size plateau and help leaders navigate wisely in this transition zone. The emphasis throughout is on ways to help your congregation discern God’s call by revisiting its own story and by exploring its community context today.
Join Alban senior-consultant Alice Mann, noted author of Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition, to learn how to address the obstacles and barriers to growth, as well as the deep links between size, community context, and a congregation’s distinctive sense of vocation.
You will leave with:
- An understanding of the three dynamics of size change—power, leadership, and readiness.
- Tools the congregation can use to explore its community context, discern its sense of distinctive calling, and discover its own attitudes about size.
Seminar preparation will include reading assignments and data-gathering.
Alban senior-consultant Alice Mann, noted author of Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition, served for two decades in the dual roles of local pastor and nationally recognized consultant-trainer in the field of congregational development, with emphasis on incorporating new members, redeveloping struggling congregations, defining judicatory roles in growth and revitalization, breaking through size plateaus, and deepening parish spirituality. She engages large and small groups in practical learning and candid conversation about the choices church leaders face today.
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