Description

 
Change is inevitable. Make it transformational. Discomfort with change blocks transformation in churches and individual Christians every day. Yet the current landscape of church in the US is one of inevitable change: shrinking attendance among committed members, population shifts from rural to urban, and increasing numbers of people for whom church is an afterthought, at best.

We have now lived through a period of unrelenting forced changes on congregations due to a pandemic. For those churches and their members who can embrace the current and coming changes, there are opportunities to not only survive but to thrive. Church After lays out strategies for moving each of us toward a faith without fear, a faith which embraces change and transitions, and a faith rooted in the Good News of Jesus, which proclaims that we must die to the old to become new.

Packed with practical ideas for use with any congregation, Church After utilizes research on brain science and transformative learning to help congregations find transformation in unexpected change. Pastors and lay leaders will find in Church After the essential skills and knowledge to leverage congregational transitions for maximal spiritual growth and individual/congregational transformation.
 

 
REVIEW: 
Change is inevitable and “change readiness is crucial”. CHURCH AFTER: Finding transformation in unexpected change by Anna Mitchell Hall is a change readiness resource for leaders in congregations. Its discussion questions and tools engage all ages and stages in the life of the church, and it’s a must-read for everyone leading a group through navigating change in ways that lead to meaning-making and transformation. As a parish pastor, I look forward to integrating the lessons from this book into my practice of ministry. – Pastor Lawrence Tanner Richardson

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Anna Mitchell Hall is an ordained Baptist minister who has coordinated programs and conducted research in churches, nonprofits, and universities. In her work as Director of Research and Development for the Convergence, she draws on the latest research from across the fields of religious practice, organizational development, and adult learning to inform product development and implementation that supports the needs of pastors and churches. She holds a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, Emory University, a Master of Public Administration from Valdosta State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, where her research focused on congregations experiencing a change in pastors.