Includes bibliographical references and index.

This important new handbook for seminarians and clergy professionals places the congregation itself, rather than individual scholarly disciplines, at the center of congregational analysis. Studying Congregations: A New Handbook is a thoroughgoing revision and update of the leading textbook in the field (A Handbook for Congregational STudies). Using a comprehensive systems approach to congregations, this volume enables readers to analyze the ministries, stories, and processes that are at work in congregations. It provides techniques for studying the congregation as well as a framework for understanding the nature of the congregation