Successful churches provide meaning and belonging
By Ken Camp
Managing Editor

WACO—Successful congregations do two things well; they provide people with meaning and with a sense of belonging, said religious researcher Kevin Dougherty.

“To succeed, a church must provide meaning. It must make a compelling case there is something worth believing—worth sacrificing for,” said Dougherty, assistant professor of sociology at Baylor University and a researcher in the school’s Institute for the Studies of Religion.

For congregations to communicate meaning, they need to grasp clearly their own mission and purpose, he added.

The clarity of a church’s mission and purpose relates directly to the church’s vitality and its growth, Dougherty told a symposium on congregational renewal, sponsored by Baylor’s Center for Ministry Effectiveness and Educational Leadership.

Older churches—congregations removed by at least one generation from their founding vision—find it more difficult to agree on their purpose and adapt to changing circumstances, he observed.

“The gospel is timeless. Your church is not,” he said. “Your congregation was relevant for its founding generation. But the further away you get from the founding, the more squabbles arise about who and what a congregation should be about.”

Churches succeed when their members feel they are a valuable part of a family that cares about them and involves them in meaningful ministry, he added. the rest