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Size transitions bring many stresses--and opportunities--to a congregation. Whether your congregation has grown, declined, or plateaued, discern how you can faithfully support size transitions with the appropriate skills, attitudes, and strategies.
CONGREGATIONAL VITALITY : Size Transitions
  How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth (Book)
Carl F. George, Warren Bird, Authors.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1993.
This book provides both rationale and method for achieving church growth in response to God's call. The author suggests a ministry-for-all approach is the key to such growth, explains why, and demonstrates how to develop this ministry style.
 How to Minister Effectively in Family, Pastoral, Program, and Corporate-Sized Churches (Article)
Roy M. Oswald, Author.
Action Information. March/April 1991. Vol. XVII, No. 2, pp. 1-7.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.
This article discusses the skills and attitudes of pastoral leadership that are successful in congregations of four different sizes and characters, and outlines what is needed to effectively transition from one size church to another.
The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations (Book)
Alice Mann, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1998.
Alice Mann explores the hindrances that arise in the "plateaus" between church sizes to form a glass ceiling against new member assimilation and participation.
One Size Doesn't Fit All: Bringing out the Best in Any Size Church (Book)
Gary L. McIntosh, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming Revell, 1999.
This book summarizes the differences in style and structure among different sizes of congregations, typical obstacles to growth at each size, and the most promising growth strategies for each situation.
Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition (Book)
Alice Mann, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2001.
Using two decades' worth of Alban Institute experience working with churches of various sizes, author Alice Mann offers a clear and well-written handbook for managing this critical transition.
Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry (Booklet)
Arlin Rothauge, Author.
New York, NY: Episcopal Church Center, 1983.
In this short classic, Arlin Rothauge discusses the structure, characteristics, relationships, and needs of four congregational sizes: family (up to 50 active members); pastoral (50-150); program (150-350); and corporation (350-500).
 State Street Church (UCC) (Case Study)
Alice Mann, Author.
2000.
Alban Senior Consultant Alice Mann worked with State Street Church in Portland, Maine, to help the congregation respond to the membership plateau that followed a prolonged period of gradual decline.
Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There (Book)
Gary L. McIntosh, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2009.
Gary McIntosh explains that, if a church is to grow beyond its current size, it must make the organizational changes to support that shift. He then identifies the specific size levels that research shows call for such changes.
 Inside the Small Church (Book)
Anthony G. Pappas, Author.
Anthony G. Pappas, Editor.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2002.
This is an indispensable resource for small-church leaders to learn to stimulate "leading, loving, largening, and leaving" in their congregations.
The Myth of the 200 Barrier: How to Lead through Transitional Growth (Book)
Kevin E. Martin, Author.
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005.
Kevin Martin contends that a congregation's culture—not its average Sunday attendance—is the key factor in its growth or decline. In this book he shows how to transform a small-church culture into a large-church one.
Size Transitions in Congregations (Book)
Beth Ann Gaede, Editor.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2001.
An anthology of fifteen articles exploring the impact of size transitions on congregational life, this resource builds on Arlin Rothauge’s classification and definition of four size-based church types (family, pastoral, program, and corporate).
Small Congregation, Big Potential: Ministry in the Small Membership Church (Book)
Lyle E. Schaller, Author.
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Small churches have the potential to be exceptional communities of faith. Shifting the focus from what small churches can’t be, Lyle Schaller offers a vision and suggestions for how small churches can live into their potential.
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