2008 presentation on theory of building blocks in congregational growth

1. THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF
CONGREGATIONS

2. Building blocks provide the
road map for a transition
from one type of
congregation to another.

3. Small Group Block
 15 or less
 Greatest intimacy, mutual care and
support occur.
 Anthropologists call “sympathy group”
 Some degree of homogeneity, (age,
educational or circumstances)
 Has its own leader,

4. Family Group Block
 Larger than small group but no more
than 50 people.
 Intergenerational group functions like
a family.
 Leadership is entrusted to respected
elders.
 Members receive rights and privileges
based on age, relationship to the elders,
family position

5. Family Group Block
 Sometimes called Primary
 Like a tribe with more than one extended
family.
 Group of unrelated people formed by
 common circumstance
 continues over a period of time
 family-like style of governance emerges.

6. Fellowship Group,
 Larger than Family group but no
more than 150 members.
 Governed by council whose members
serve with consent of the group.
 Principal leader maintain position by
popularity, acknowledged skill or
experience, charisma, etc.

7. Anthropologist Robin Dunbar
 Number of relationships an individual
can manage is primarily the
consequence of neocortex size.
 The neocortex portion of the human
brain large enough:
 to handle complexities of active
relationships in group of no more than 150
people.

8. Number of Relationships
 Most members of group need a facilitator who
can help them maintain knowledge of that
many active relationships.
 Human beings are naturally aware of this
upper limit in relationship capacity and have
organized their lives accordingly.

9. Average Worship Attendance
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Family Size Pastoral
Size
Program
Size
Corporate
Size
Family Size
Pastoral Size
Program Size
Corporate Size

10. Family
Congregation (up to 50)
 Resembles extended biological family
in which all know each other
 Family matriarchs and patriarchs
make decisions.
 Maintain stability through tacit authority
 Consisting of single cell, each use only
one building block.

11. Pastoral Congregation
 Pastor facilitates relationships of group
members
 Makes it easy for members to be in active
relationship with the others,
 even though members do not have complete
knowledge of all the active relationships in
the group.
 Rarely see true small group in family or
pastoral congregations.
 Consisting of single cell, each use only one
building block.

12. Family and Pastoral
Congregations
 Simplicity of the single cell is
appreciated and cherished by the
members.

13. Program and Corporate
Congregation
 Consist of multiple cells.
 Building blocks:
 Small
 Family
 Fellowship
 Assembled in a variety of configurations with
no set pattern,
 Differing sizes within their ranges
 Varying connections or lack of connections with
each other.

14. FELLOWSHIP
GROUP
SMALL
GROUP
No two Program or Corporate
Congregations assemble the
building blocks in quite the
same way.
SMALL
GROUP
SMALL
GROUP
FAMILY
GROUP
FAMILY
GROUP
SMALL
GROUP
SMALL
GROUP
SMALL
GROUP

15. Small Groups in Congregations
 Small Groups
 Committees
 Boards
 Class
 Newsletter Crew
SMALL
GROUP
BUILDING
BLOCK

16. Family Groups in Congregations
 The early worship service
 The choir
 Religious Education teachers,
 The youth group FAMILY
GROUP
BUILDING
BLOCK

17. Fellowship Groups
 9:00 Worship Service
 11:00 Worship Service
 Less than 150 in attendance at each of
worship services.
 Active relationships with their own
worshipping congregation but not with all
those at other worship services.
FELLOWSHIP
GROUP
BUILDING
BLOCK

18. Corporate Congregation has
more of each type of building
block.
 Multiple cells (building blocks) that exist alongside but
are not fully merged with each other.
 Fellowship groups and family groups
 autonomy to manage their affairs,
 characteristics of completely independent mini-
congregations.
 Main worship services may be subdivided into two or
more fellowship groups whose identities are shaped by
activities other than worshipping together, such as
fellowship or education.

20. BUILDING BLOCKS in
TRANSITIONS
 Any strategy for transition must take into
account the building blocks
 A transition in size is not just a matter of
increasing membership or starting a new
and different worship service

21. Pastoral to Program
 Must give up being a single cell in
which almost every member is in active
relationship with each other
 Become a multiple cell in which
members are distributed among
building blocks of
 small groups,
 family groups, and
 fellowship groups.

22. Program to Corporate,
 Greater complexity as members of each
minicongregation have greater autonomy and
independence from each other.
 Proportion of worship-only members increases
as numerical size of the congregation
increases.
 Greater complexity allows for greater anonymity.
 Easier to hide in a complex organization than in a
simple one
 Larger congregations may have more members,
without a corresponding increase in active
participation.

23. Leaders of Pastoral
Congregations
 Keep building blocks in mind as a
strategic road map for the transition to
Program Congregation,
 Bring into existence several new
building blocks alongside the existing
single fellowship group.

24. Leaders of Program
Congregations
 Bring into existence new building
blocks
 Increase the size of current ones

25. New building blocks create
room for the congregation to
grow from one type to another.
 Transitional growth by adding new building
blocks
 Grow groups incrementally (up to their
maximum size limits) at the same time.
 Making sure Groups are a part of and
not apart from their congregations.
 Need good infrastructure

26. The Church Board
 LET GO
 Encourages and supports initiatives by
individuals and groups to further mission of
the Congregation.
 Provide structure to initiatives and to assure
align with mission of the Congregation

27. Congregation Expectations from
Group:
 Agree to basic principles the Congregation
 Meet community, security, and legal
responsibilities
 Leadership members of the congregation and
report activities to board and congregation

28. Group Expectations
 Use of space at rent-free
 The name of the church in publicity
 Use of the church's tax exempt status
and bulk mailing permit
 Space in the newsletter, bulletin and
website.