Our congregations report a strong sense of:

• family feeling
• spiritual vitality
• worship that deepens spiritual relationships
• identity with our movement
• moral witness in their communities
• ability to incorporate new members
• uplifting worship
• programming that builds the congregation

Things That Don’t Characterize Our Congregations

• A sense of responsibility for social justice in society
• Desire to maintain ethnic identity of the congregation, increase the ethnic diversity of the congregation
• Openness to change
• Openness in dealing with conflict
• A sense of having well-organized programs and activities

Identity and Congregational Size

• Congregations under 350 regular adult participants report a stronger sense of family than do larger congregations
• Congregations over 100 regular adult participants have a stronger sense of congregational vitality than small churches
• Small churches (those with fewer than 100 adult participants) have a significantly more pessimistic view of their futures than do larger churches (those over 100 participants)
• Satisfaction with the effectiveness of program organization is a function of size, with larger congregations more satisfied than small ones

Identity with our Fellowship

• Our congregations are more likely to clearly identify with other Churches of Christ than other groups do with their fellowships
• Congregations with 100-349 adult members are less identified with our historical roots than smaller, larger churches