The College for Congregational Development

Who Are We?

We are lay and clergy leaders. We are Episcopalians. We are members of small, rural congregations, mid-sized churches, and large, urban parishes and cathedrals. Our congregations have music programs, preachers, soaring buildings, crumbling buildings, websites, children, chaplains, old folks, problems, conflicts, challenges, new ideas, old habits, hope, fear, love, labor, and life. We remember our past and wonder about our future. We have a few regrets, but we’ve learned a few things too. We want our spiritual communities to be healthy, vibrant, and expressive of our unique identities. We gather to learn, connect, and return home with new energy and skills to effectively lead the communities we love.

What Is Congregational Development?

Congregational Development is the development of congregations of all sizes, locations, and conditions into more faithful, healthy, and effective communities of faith that are:

• Focused on and faithful to their unique reason for being—their primary task—as congregations. Congregations are local expressions of the Body of Christ.
• Connected to and expressive of their unique ecclesial tradition, ethos, and character.
• Self-renewing and responsive to the challenges and opportunities before them.
• Sustainable or working toward greater sustainability in terms of a fit between the elements of their organizational life: vision for ministry, leadership, culture, size, property, finances, etc.
• Fostering a culture of transparency, courage, flexibility, collaboration, and forgiveness in which the congregation and its leaders have a greater sense of choice.