Where Do We Go From Here? Discovering How Denominational Leaders Understand the Issues and Solutions for Denominational Decline within the Synod of Lincoln Trails in the PC (USA)

David Carlton

Etd

Where Do We Go From Here? Discovering How Denominational Leaders Understand the Issues and Solutions for Denominational Decline within the Synod of Lincoln Trails in the PC (USA)

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

David Carlton. Where Do We Go From Here? Discovering How Denominational Leaders Understand the Issues and Solutions for Denominational Decline Within the Synod of Lincoln Trails In the Pc (usa). rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/16b77322-9a43-4cd9-bf13-18cb7835ee68?locale=de.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

D. Carlton. Where Do We Go From Here? Discovering How Denominational Leaders Understand the Issues and Solutions for Denominational Decline within the Synod of Lincoln Trails in the PC (USA). https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/16b77322-9a43-4cd9-bf13-18cb7835ee68?locale=de

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

David Carlton. Where Do We Go From Here? Discovering How Denominational Leaders Understand the Issues and Solutions for Denominational Decline Within the Synod of Lincoln Trails In the Pc (usa). https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/16b77322-9a43-4cd9-bf13-18cb7835ee68?locale=de.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Schöpfer

David Carlton

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In Copyright

Abstrakt

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has experienced more than five decades of continuous membership decline, falling from approximately 4.25 million members in the early 1960s to fewer than one million in 2024. This convergent mixed-methods study examined how leaders at three levels within the Synod of Lincoln Trails understand and respond to this decline. The researcher conducted thirty-four semi-structured interviews with the Synod Executive, Executive Presbyters, and Teaching Elders across five Presbyteries in Illinois and Indiana, supplemented by a twenty-seven-question survey of seventy-nine Ruling Elders serving on local Sessions. The research was organized around five questions addressing leadership awareness of decline, strategies for reversing it, definitions of congregational viability, approaches to disciple-making, and implementable outputs. Findings revealed that while leaders at all three levels are aware of the decline, the depth of understanding varies significantly, with Ruling Elders demonstrating the least capacity to articulate its causes. A persistent knowing-doing gap emerged as the study’s most significant finding: leaders can describe what a healthy church looks like but lack the practical tools and frameworks to move their congregations toward that vision. The research also documented a denomination-wide evangelism deficit, competing definitions of congregational viability across leadership levels, and significant disconnection between the three tiers of Presbyterian polity. Two practical implementations were developed in response to these findings: a research findings webinar designed to share key insights with leaders across the Synod, and a six-session pastoral coaching curriculum designed to help Teaching Elders translate awareness into congregational action. Together, these outputs address the central finding that the gap between knowledge and praxis is the primary barrier to adaptive change within the PC(USA).

Jahr