Thriving Congregations

Leading a congregation can be fulfilling work. Faith leaders often feel a divine calling to accompany individuals on their spiritual journeys and to transform their communities.

Yet, congregational life also brings challenges – from everyday organizational issues to today’s shifting cultural landscape. Fewer Americans are affiliated with religions or involved in congregational life than ever before. In the face of significant political polarization, many see churches as either irrelevant to their lives or as pawns of larger political interests.

The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture seeks to support faith leaders in figuring out how best to meet the needs of their communities, while also caring for their own personal needs.

How can congregations grow more vital as they provide meaning, community and identity to their members?

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Current Offerings

Flourishing in Ministry:

In partnership with CRCC, the Rosemead School of Psychology’s Mental Health and the Church Initiative is providing coaching to 100 pastors through the Flourishing in Ministry program. Over the course of 10 weeks (90 minute per week commitment), certified coaches will facilitate a process of self-discovery through group and individual coaching. The coaching is based on a model of wellbeing developed through 10 years of research with 20,000 pastors and includes practices that are grounded in Christian spiritual disciplines.

Coaching will be open to senior pastors of churches in Southern California.

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Resources

Reimagining Church: A Toolkit

Even as religious affiliation declines in the United States, some faith groups across religious traditions continue to thrive. CRCC developed the Reimagining Church toolkit to guide faith leaders on their journey of reimagining how religion can be lived out communally.

The toolkit was developed based on CRCC’s research on thriving congregations, as well as various programs CRCC hosted from 2020-2024. Members of the Reimagining Church cohort contributed to this project.