The Stories Congregations Tell - Paperback

by Joel Thiessen (Editor), Arch Chee Keen Wong (Editor), Mark D. Chapman (Editor)

Congregations are story-telling communities. The stories they tell, which link a community's past, present, and future, can play an important role in whether a congregation flourishes or not. The Stories Congregations Tell features detailed case study research from seven dynamic Canadian congregations across theological traditions and geographical regions. Readers will encounter narratives that congregations tell themselves through a myriad of congregational and social transitions, accounts that shape how congregations interpret, frame, approach, and ultimately flourish in ministry. On the surface congregational descriptions appear specific to local contexts. Yet, cultural analysis reveals several commonalities across distinct congregational cultures that appear resilient in the face of challenge and change. These factors include visionary leadership, clear congregational identity rooted in spiritual formation, hospitable community among members, and intentional systems and structures oriented toward a congregation's mission. This book offers social scientific analysis and theological reflection on the stories congregations tell and the function those stories play for a congregation's culture, along with practical and hopeful applications to arise from this research.

Author Biography

Joel Thiessen is professor of sociology, director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute, and chair of the social sciences department at Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has authored five books and nearly twenty articles related to religion in Canada, religious nones, congregations, Christianity, and millennials. For more, visit www.joelthiessen.ca.



Arch Chee Keen Wong is professor of practical theology and associate director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has authored two books and over 20 articles and book chapters related to pastoral leadership, congregational studies, spiritual formation and discipleship, theological and teacher education, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.



Mark Denis Chapman is director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and professor of research methods at Tyndale University. He is also lead researcher for the Tyndale Intercultural Ministry Centre. He has published articles on multivocational ministry, religion and immigration, new Canadians who are starting churches, the relationship between faith communities and the settlement sector, an exploration of the role of churches in immigrant settlement and integration, and participatory action research.