Five Practices

Five Practices for Fruitful Congregations
Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ
Options for 2022

Five Practices will help a congregation take practical steps to strengthen the quality of their essential ministries and reconnect with God’s purpose.  Our text is Five Practices for Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase, which focuses on these essential activities of vital, healthy congregations.

Radical Hospitality
Passionate Worship
Intentional Faith Development
Risk-taking Mission and Service
Extravagant Generosity

A congregation will assess each of these areas and consider what is going well and where they could be more faithful.  Then an action plan is created to strengthen the ministry.  The process includes an introduction, one session on each of the five practices and a final planning meeting for a total of seven sessions.  This can be done with a small team or with the whole congregation.

While this material has been used effectively using the model of seven meetings, there are other options available.  In each instance the congregation purchases a book for each participant.

5 Practices Options for 2022

1. Seven meetings with facilitator – a trained facilitator will lead a congregation’s team through the process from introduction to planning. $1,000
2. Seven meetings with limited facilitation – a trained facilitator will lead the introduction and planning sessions. The five sessions on the practices would be self-led using conversation guides provided by the Conference. $400
3. One Practice at a time – a trained facilitator will lead an introduction and the congregation selects one practice for self-study, using a conversation guide provided by the Conference. Each congregation creates a plan using their own planning tools. $100

For more information contact Bonnie Andrews (if you are in SE or SW) and Cathy Wille (if you are in the NE or NW)

The book, Five Practices for Fruitful Congregations (Revised and Updated) by Robert Schnase is available from several online vendors for around $15.