Cooperating Congregations: Portraits of Mission Strategies

By William Avery and Gilson A.C. Waldkoenig

Based on an intensive study of five cooperative ministry ventures, this thought-provoking book looks at how each takes a unique approach in addressing its own mission context. From rural ministries in North Dakota and West Virginia, to ambitious community development projects in Alabama and Maine, to intensive urban mission in Milwaukee, these engaging stories will stimulate readers to take a fresh look and new approaches to parish and community issues.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566992257
• ISBN13: 9781566992251
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

"Cooperating Congregations" Share to Survive

Transitioning communities are challenging congregations to develop unique and creative mission strategies so that they may remain open as viable ministry centers. Gilson A. C. Waldkoenig and William O. Avery examine the strategy of cooperative ministry ventures in Cooperating Congregations, a new book from Alban Institute Press. The book takes a close look at cooperative congregations that have joined together to engage in common mission and to share resources while maintaining their autonomy. Based on an intensive study of five cooperative ministry ventures, Cooperating Congregations focuses on how each partnership takes a unique approach in addressing its own mission. Through the stories of rural ministries, community development projects, and urban missions, Waldkoenig and Avery describe new approaches to parish and community issues. "In getting to know these congregations and then introducing them to us, Gilson Waldkoenig and William Avery have given all those who care about American congregations a great gift," writes James W. Lewis, Executive Director, Louisville Institute, in the foreword. "They remind us that cooperative parishes can be remarkably creative in discovering how to be the church in mission, adapting in the process to the challenging circumstances around them. Their story, then, is partly an account of institutional ingenuity. But, in the end, Cooperating Congregations is mainly a story of adaptation and of hope." "As rural economic situations deteriorate in many parts of the country, some congregations are unable to afford a `fulltime pastor.' While this is usually thought to be a detriment, the cooperative parish is one solution to this limitation which might, instead, increase the effectiveness and faithfulness of those parishes," says Shannon Jung, Director, Center for Theology and Land, Wartburg and University of Dubuque Theological Seminaries, Dubuque, IA. "Cooperating Congregations is the guidebook that we have needed for some time. Avery and Waldkoenig give us a vivid portrait of five cooperative parishes. Beyond that, however, they supplement their interviews and stories with an assessment of why these cooperatives hum and overall conclusions that direct others who might be considering such arrangements." "It is delightful to read a book that profiles how the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the church and specifically in rural ministry. This book affirms my belief that it is through the rural church that the whole church will be led," asserts Sandra A. LaBlanc, Director, Rural Ministry Resources and Networking, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chicago. "Not only does this book contribute to the scholarly literature on the rural church but it also provides models that can be used in other ministry settings and offers examples of how church can be lived within specific cultural and community contexts. Cooperating Congregations is a must-read for seminarians, lay lea