An Educational Day Away...from your normal routine

This year four sessions at the 2017 Religious Research Association national meeting are specifically designed for religious leaders and clergy, seminarians and denominational executives. Please consider attending these talks at the 2017 Annual Conference in Washington D.C. Oct. 13, 2017 if you are in the area. Joining the Religious Research Association is also a great way to stay informed about the latest religion research and have access to the work of many academic religion researchers.

This year's sessions are being held at the Marriott Wardman Park – 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington, DC
Friday, October 13 th – 8am to 4:30am and include:

Period A: Friday, October 13, 8:00-9:30am

A-1: Diversity in Congregations Room: Hoover

Papers:

All Mixed Up? Possibilities for Multiracial Congregational Development in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Presenter: Perry Chang, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (perrydchang@gmail.com)

How Congregations Can Attract People of Different Psychological Types Presenter: Marjorie Royle, Clay Pots Research (tayloroyle@comcast.net)

The Secrets of Being an "Inclusive" Congregation: Distinct Features of US Orthodox Christian Parishes that Embrace Diversity in Members Presenter: Alexei Krindatch, Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in North and Central America (akrindatch@aol.com)

9:40-10:20am – Free coffee, tea, and danishes

Period B: Friday, October 13, 10:30am-12:00pm

B-1: Flourishing in Ministry Room: Hoover

Papers:

The Flourishing in Ministry Study Presenter: Matt Bloom, University of Notre Dame (mattbloom@nd.edu)

The Flourishing in Ministry Project: Survey Findings Presenter: Linda Kawentel, University of Notre Dame (Linda.M.Kawentel.1@nd.edu)

The Flourishing in Ministry Project: In-depth Qualitative Interview Study Presenter: Manuela CastiYeagley, University of Notre Dame (mcastiye@nd.edu)

Flourishing in Ministry in the United Church of Christ Presenter: Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, United Church of Christ (hajbik@ucc.org)

Lunch Break – 12:00-1:00pm

Period C: Friday, October 13, 1:00-2:30pm

C-1: Thriving Congregations Room: Hoover

Papers:

What is spiritual vitality? To what do people attribute vitality? This qualitative study compares responses from 10 faith traditions. Presenter: Linda Bobbitt, ELCA (lbobbitt2.0@gmail.com)

Using Annual Church Reports to Discover Congregational Vitality Richard Houseal, Church of the Nazarene Headquarters (rhouseal@nazarene.org)

To Give or Not to Give: How Decisions Are Made When It Comes to Giving to the Church Presenter: Alexei Krindatch, Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in North and

Central America (akrindatch@aol.com)

Applying Congregational Research to Congregational Renewal Presenter: Stephen McMullin, Acadia University (stephen.mcmullin@acadiau.ca)

Period D: Friday, October 13, 2:45-4:15pm

D-1: Starting New Congregations Room: Hoover

Papers:

The Growing Edges of Evangelism: What New Worshiping Communities Do to Attract Nones and Dones Presenter: Angie Andriot, Presbyterian Church (USA) (Angie.Andriot@pcusa.org)

New Churches ARE Different - in their Attenders' Psychological Types Presenter: Marjorie Royle, Clay Pots Research (tayloroyle@comcast.net)

How Does New Church Location Impact Growth and Discipleship? Presenter: Warren Bird, Leadership Network (warren.bird@leadnet.org)

Worshipping Local: The Relationship Between Neighborhood Church Attendance and Neighborhood Commitment Presenter: Kevin D. Dougherty, Baylor University (Kevin_Dougherty@baylor.edu)

Optional:

4:30-5:30pm New Book Reception

5:30-6:30pm RRA H. Paul Douglass Lecture

6:30-7:30pm RRA Reception

Please consider attending!

 

 

In 2016 at the Religious Research Association national meeting, four sessions were specifically designed for religious leaders and clergy, seminarians and denominational executives. The following links will download the PowerPoint slides from those talks. Enjoy these but p lease do not quote without author’s permission. If you would like more information about a talk contact the author directly.

Addressing Pastoral Challenges: Strategies Learned from the National Pastoral Attrition Project

Pastor Attrition: Myths, realities, and preventions PPT
Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research (scott.mcconnell@lifeway.com)

Clergy Without a Call: What We Can Learn from Lutheran Pastors Who Left the Parish PPT
Ryan Curnutt, Research Analyst, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (Ryan.Curnutt@lcms.org)

Southern Baptist Strategies to Address Pastoral Attrition PPT
Richie Stanley, Director, Center for Missional Research, North American Mission Board (rstanley@namb.net)

 

Fresh Insights into Congregational Functioning

Young Adults and Spirituality: What Does A Transformative Church Look Like? PPT
Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, Director, Center for Analytics, Research and Data, United Church of Christ (hajbik@ucc.org)

What Has Money Got to Do with It? Financial Characteristics of Vital, Healthy and Growing Churches PPT
Warren Bird, Director of Research and Intellectual Capital Development, Leadership Network (Warren.Bird@leadnet.net)

“They Don’t Look Like Presbyterians to Me!” Reinventing New Church Development PPT
Angie Andriot, Research Associate Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Angie.Andriot@pcusa.org)
Co-Author 1: Deborah Coe, Coordinator, Research Services, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The Benefits of Being Multisite No Matter What Your Size PPT
Scott Thumma, Director, Hartford Institute for Religion Research (sthumma@hartsem.edu)

Rethinking the Dimensions of Congregational Vitality and Health

Missional Vitality of the Evangelical Lutheran Church: A new Vision of a Thriving Church
Linda Bobbit, Researcher, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Linda.Bobbitt@elca.org)
Presentation and other material available at http://congregationalvitalitysurvey.com/research.htm

Thriving Congregations: What Are They Doing Right? PPT
Deborah Coe, Coordinator, Research Services, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Deborah.Coe@pcusa.org)

How Do You Measure Health? Characteristics of Vital, Thriving and Growing Congregations in the Faith Communities Today 2015 Study PPT
David Roozen, Hartford Institute for Religion Research (roozen@hartsem.edu)
Co-Author 1: Scott Thumma, Director, Hartford Institute for Religion Research (sthumma@hartsem.edu)

What Annual Reports from Pastors in the Church of the Nazarene Say About Growth and Vitality PPT
Dale Jones, Director of Research Services Church of the Nazarene Global Ministry Center (DJones@nazarene.org)
Co-Author 1: Rich Houseal, Research Services Church of the Nazarene Global Ministry Center

 

Reaching Out to Young Adults and the Unchurched

What Can We Learn from New Congregations about Attracting Young Adults and the Unchurched? PPT
Marjorie Royle, Clay Pots Research (tayloroyle@comcast.net)

Engaging Young Adults: Findings from the Faith Communities Today 2015 Survey PPT
Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, Director, Center for Analytics, Research and Data, United Church of Christ (hajbik@ucc.org)

A Young Adult Critique of American Baptist Churches PPT
C. Jeff Woods, Associate General Secretary American Baptist Churches, USA (Jeff.Woods@abc-usa.org)

How the Unchurched Respond to Church Outreach Methods
Ed Stetzer, Wheaton College (ed.stetzer@lifeway.com)

 

Additional papers with relevant and helpful material for religious leaders:

Building a Vibrant, Healthy, Growing Church PPT
Petr Činčala, Institute of Church Ministry Andrews University (cincala@andrews.edu)
Text of the presentation

Arrogant or Authentic: Church Pride in Striving for Change
Adair Lummis, Hartford Institute for Religion Research Hartford Seminary (alummis@hartsem.edu)
Co-author David Roozen, Hartford Institute for Religion Research Hartford Seminary
Text of the presentation Preliminary Draft