Pursuing church revitalization that is tailored to a church's unique personality

Walton R Kendall

Etd

Pursuing church revitalization that is tailored to a church's unique personality

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Walton R Kendall. Pursuing Church Revitalization That Is Tailored to a Church's Unique Personality. Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO). rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/caf866a7-d4bc-4bb2-8d2d-349687e3fbc2.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

W. R. Kendall. Pursuing church revitalization that is tailored to a church's unique personality. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/caf866a7-d4bc-4bb2-8d2d-349687e3fbc2

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Walton R Kendall. Pursuing Church Revitalization That Is Tailored to a Church's Unique Personality. Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO). https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/caf866a7-d4bc-4bb2-8d2d-349687e3fbc2.

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

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Walton R Kendall

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how a church's unique personality provides strategic insight for leading church revitalizaiton. The study involved semi-structured interviews with pastors and church leaders from four Presbyterian Church in America churches in the eastern United States. The study revealed that diverse strategies of revitalization reflect the unique mix of gifts and resources that each church possesses, both in its leaders and laypeople. Effective renewal plans are not borrowed from models provided by other churches, but are carefully crafted to fit each unique congregation. The study also revealed the importance of communicating a clear rationale and vision for change but also discerning what kind of change the congregation would most readily embrace. Leaders must possess a unitifed commitment to pursue necessary change but also adapt leadership initiatives and style to fit the congregation. Finally, the study revealed that churches more effectively pursue change when they are aware of their church culture and the opportunities and limitations it represents. The recognition of the dynamics of personality can reveal the most effective pathways to ministry fruitfulness as well as provide insight into pathways that should be avoided.

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