PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS
The three phases of launching a church-based social enterprise
 
Starting a Christian social enterprise is difficult and passion-filled work. It comes with a ton of setbacks and self-doubt. And a ton of excitement.

I believe that social enterprise -- a business with a social good in mind -- can offer a new way forward for the church.

But I realize as I evangelize about this new model that people will have questions about how to get started. How can a local congregation or minister launch a social enterprise that maximizes missional impact in a community?

I have identified three initial phases for this work: habitation and discernment; consulting with the community; and testing.

The advice here is aimed at ministers and congregations interested in starting a small-scale enterprise that has a relatively low bar for entry into the marketplace. Launching a large-scale idea for social innovation requires much more capital and risk.
IDEAS THAT IMPACT: INNOVATION
Design comes to church 
In a time when congregations are customizing or developing their own events and services, all church leaders are designers. The design process centers around questions about audience and needs, writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
 
Social innovation as Christian practice 
Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries is not a Christian who is also a social entrepreneur. He is a Christian social entrepreneur, his faith animating how he leads and serves.
 
Everything old is new again
As Christian leaders, how can we recognize and honor both the new and innovative and the old that grounds and roots the new? A managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity ponders this when she sells an antique spinning wheel.
 
Read more from Gretchen Ziegenhals »
 
FROM THE ALBAN LIBRARY
by Jeffrey D. Jones 
 
Church today isn't the same as it was fifty years ago-or even ten years ago. In spite of the powerful stories of turn-around churches with skyrocketing memberships, the difficult reality is that most congregations are getting smaller. Jeffrey D. Jones asks brave questions for congregations facing this reality-what if membership growth isn't the primary goal for a church? How can churches remain vital, even with declining attendance? 

Facing Decline, Finding Hope is an essential resource to help congregations confront their shrinking size while looking towards the hopeful reality that God is calling them to greater faithfulness. The book draws on biblical and theological resources, as well as contemporary leadership studies, to help leaders-both clergy and laity-set aside a survival mentality and ask new questions to shape ministry more attuned to today's world. 

Facing Decline, Finding Hope is a powerful book for leaders who want to honestly assess the size of their church and plan for faithful, invigorating service regardless of whether membership numbers are up or down. 
 
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