Overview

The future of the church At a time when overall church attendance is dropping, many Catholics are becoming not less involved but more. This is due in large part to the phenomenal growth of small Christian communities. A wide-scale sociological study headed by the authors examined who these community members are, what they did in their groups, why they joined, and what difference the groups make. The findings are summarized in this book, as well as considerations of what the findings mean. Small-group members, the study concludes, are apt to be more aligned with the parish, more social, more vocal, and more active than other Catholics, making their impact on the church of undeniable importance. The book-- --gives an overview of the phenomenon's recent history --shows how small Christian communities connect Word to world --includes a theological reflection on this U.S. experience --offers practical pastoral recommendations for working with small Christian communities --investigates groups on college and university campuses as well This is important reading for-- o pastors o diocesan offices o sociologists o small group leaders

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9780809139378

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Bernard J. Lee, S.M directs the Institute for Ministry at Loyola University and is the author of Paulist books The Galilean Jewishness of Jesus and Jesus and the Metaphors of God. He lives in New Orleans. Dr. William V. D'Antonio was the principal researcher of the small Christian community study. He is a sociologist with a special interest in family, religion, ethnicity, and politics.

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