Carl S. Dudley

This hands-on guide helps congregations meet the reality and challenges of today's constantly changing urban and suburban church communities. Congregations in Transition, written in an easy-to-follow workbook format, is designed to help communities of faith focus on the changing needs of their members and explore the opportunities and options open to them.

According to Carl Dudley and Sally Johnson, the discovery of strong and compelling congregational self-images binds church members together and energizes ministry. They describe five images of churches' relationships to their communities over time--the Survivor, Prophet, Pillar, Pilgrim, and Servant styles--thus allowing churches to gain the knowledge necessary to build on their strengths and address their weaknesses.