CHURCH LANDSCAPE REVIEW: GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Below are a glossary of terms to help you understand and read through the Church Landscape Review Reports:
Alpha Program: A course commonly used in churches to provide a space for people to explore questions about life, faith, and God in a non-threatening, open environment. See alpha.org.
Anthropological Thick Description: A research method used to provide detailed accounts of a group's cultural practices, values, and context, going beyond surface observations to offer deeper insights.
Applied Research: A type of research focused on practical problem-solving and real-world applications, rather than purely theoretical exploration.
Bias Declaration: A statement acknowledging any potential biases in the research process, including factors like the demographics of the research team or selective data reporting.
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color): An acronym used to refer to non-white individuals or communities, focusing on the racial diversity within leadership or congregations.
Bi-Vocational Pastor: A pastor who works another job outside of the church to supplement their income, in addition to their church leadership responsibilities.
Block Parties: Community outreach events, often held outdoors, where churches interact with their surrounding neighborhoods to build relationships and engage people outside of traditional church settings.
Boomer Generation: Individuals born between 1946 and 1964, often referenced in discussions about generational leadership shifts.
Burnout: A state of emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion caused by prolonged stress or overwork, particularly common among pastors and ministry leaders.
Celebrate Recovery: A Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program aimed at helping people struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups, often used by churches to support healing and transformation. See celebraterecovery.com.
Church Building Provision: Situations where churches receive a building, either through donation, purchase, or shared use, which allows them to continue ministry.
Church Cohort: A group of churches studied or grouped together based on specific criteria, in this study, churches that survived from 2014 to 2024.
Church Landscape Review: A study designed to explore how the church is evolving in a specific area (in this case, Boston), examining the changes in ministries, leadership, and community engagement over time.
Church Planter: A pastor or leader who establishes a new church, often from scratch, focusing on building a congregation and developing ministry from the ground up.
Church Planting Network: A group of churches or organizations that work together to support the establishment of new churches through resources, mentorship, and collaboration.
Church Plant: A newly established church, typically within the first few years of its formation, often founded by another church or a group of believers.
Church Split: When internal conflict or disagreement leads to part of the congregation breaking away to form a new church.
Church’s Operating Budget: The total financial plan for a church’s annual expenses, including staff salaries, building costs, ministry programs, and outreach.
Coaching: A relationship in which a pastor works with a coach (often another experienced leader) to receive feedback, guidance, and personal development, focusing on ministry and leadership effectiveness.
Cohort: A group of individuals or organizations studied over time as part of research; in this context, the cohort refers to the churches and pastors involved in both the 2014 and 2024 studies.
Collaboration with Other Local Ministries: Churches working together with other local organizations or ministries to enhance their community outreach and service efforts.
Community Impact: The influence a church has on its local area through outreach, service, and engagement with community needs, such as poverty, education, and social justice.
Confidentiality: The ethical principle of protecting participants' private information, ensuring that data is reported in ways that prevent identification of individuals.
Consistency of Attendance: A measure of how regularly individuals attend church services, beyond total attendance numbers.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of a church’s congregation that consists of new believers who have recently come to faith through the church’s ministries, compared to the church's overall size.
Conversion: The process of someone coming to faith in Jesus Christ, often measured by the church to assess the impact of its evangelistic efforts.
Corporate Church: A large church, typically with a weekly attendance of between 351 and 800, with more layers of pastoral and administrative staff, often characterized by complex ministries and multiple services.
Critical Mass: The minimum number of members or resources needed to sustain a church plant or ministry, often used in reference to church growth or stability.
Cultural Competence: The ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures, especially important for ensuring diverse perspectives are accurately represented in research.
Data Visualization: The use of charts, graphs, and other visual tools to represent data, making complex findings easier to understand and interpret.
Denominational Affiliation: The formal connection or relationship a church has with a larger Christian denomination, such as Baptist, Methodist, or Presbyterian.
Denominational Ordination Classes: Educational courses offered by a denomination to prepare individuals for ordination, which is the formal process of becoming a recognized pastor or minister within that denomination.
Denominational Support: Financial or logistical backing provided by a larger denominational body to help sustain a church plant or ministry.
Demographic Focus: The particular group of people (e.g., age, socioeconomic status, geography) a church targets for outreach or ministry.
Demographic Insights: Information and analysis related to the characteristics of a church’s congregation, such as age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status, which can shape the church’s ministry strategies.
Diaper Drive: A church-led initiative to collect and distribute diapers to families in need, particularly addressing a specific community challenge related to the cost and availability of baby supplies.
Discipleship: The process of nurturing individuals in their Christian faith through teaching, mentorship, and spiritual growth, with the goal of fostering mature followers of Jesus.
Echo Chamber: A situation where individuals or groups only engage with others who share similar views, limiting exposure to diverse perspectives or critical feedback.
Entry Points: The ways in which newcomers first connect with a church, such as worship services, small groups, online platforms, or community events.
Entrepreneurial Gifting: A skill set characterized by creativity, problem-solving, and the ability to initiate new ventures, particularly helpful for pastors in church planting and innovative ministry approaches.
Established Church: A church that has moved beyond its initial formation phase (church plant) and is now a stable or growing congregation.
Faith Communities: Groups of people united by shared beliefs and spiritual practices, such as churches or congregations. In this study, it refers to the diverse churches in the Boston area.
Faithfulness Over Fruitfulness: The idea that remaining committed to the mission and trusting God, regardless of visible success, is more important than measuring ministry outcomes by numbers or growth.
Family Church: A small church with fewer than 50 members, often operating like an extended family where everyone knows each other.
Fisher Exact Test: A statistical test used to determine if there are nonrandom associations between two categorical variables, often used when sample sizes are small.
Financial Sustainability: The ability of a church to maintain its financial health and continue paying for its operations, including staff salaries, building costs, and ministry expenses, over the long term.
Flex-Use Space: A building that can be adapted for different purposes, such as a space that can serve as an office, event hall, or worship venue.
Friendship Evangelism: A mode of evangelism in which personal relationships are the primary means by which individuals are introduced to the Christian faith and invited to church activities.
Fruitfulness: A measure of ministry success based on tangible outcomes, such as church growth or conversions. Often contrasted with faithfulness, which emphasizes remaining committed to the mission, regardless of visible results.
Generational Leadership Needs: The evolving leadership requirements of a church as its congregation ages, often involving shifts in the demographic focus of ministries and outreach.
Generational Shifts: Changes in the dominant age group attending a church over time, which can indicate trends in leadership needs, ministry focus, or long-term viability.
Generational Work Trends: Observations or stereotypes related to how different generations (e.g., Boomers, Gen X, Millennials) approach work hours, work ethic, and work-life balance.
Gen X: Individuals born between 1965 and 1980, also referenced in leadership discussions, representing a middle generation between Boomers and Millennials.
Gig Economy: A labor market characterized by short-term or freelance work, often referenced in discussions of younger generations (e.g., Millennials) who might pursue part-time jobs or side gigs in addition to their primary work.
Gospel Goodbyes: The emotional and spiritual act of sending off members of the church community to plant new churches or engage in other ministry work, often involving sacrifice for the sake of the gospel.
Grounded Theory Thematic Coding: A qualitative research method where data is categorized into themes based on recurring patterns. This method helps researchers identify key ideas or trends from interviews or other qualitative data sources.
Grit: A quality of perseverance and resilience in the face of challenges, often emphasized as essential for long-term ministry success.
Holistic Well-Being: A focus on supporting the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of individuals, often a goal of church outreach efforts.
Holy Defiance: A strong, faith-filled determination to persevere in ministry, trusting in God’s provision and power, especially when faced with obstacles or discouragement.
Hybrid Services: Church services that combine both in-person and online participation, often used during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to reach a broader audience.
Informed Consent: The process of informing research participants about the purpose, methods, and potential impact of the research, and obtaining their voluntary agreement to participate.
Internal Church Training: Leadership development programs or events organized within the church to equip leaders with skills, knowledge, and spiritual maturity for ministry roles.
Keyword Trend Analysis: A method of analyzing the frequency of specific terms or phrases over time in collected data to detect shifts in focus or priorities.
Leader: A leader in the church is more than those with pastoral roles. Leaders include those taking responsibility for a ministry, group, or purview of oversight. It includes pastors, advisory boards and elders, life/community group leaders, ministry leaders, or those spearheading new initiatives in the church. Leadership can be collaborative, where the leader gathers and empowers a group to move something forward together. Leadership may also at times involve roles with levels of initiative and accountability that others do not hold.
Leadership Capacity: The ability of a church's leadership to guide, influence, and manage the church's growth and sustainability, often requiring training and development.
Leadership Development: The process of training and equipping individuals with the skills, knowledge, and spiritual maturity needed to take on leadership roles within the church.
Leadership Stability/Lead Pastor Stability: The consistency of church leadership over time, particularly the length of time a lead pastor remains in their role.
Living Out the Faith: The practical, everyday expression of Christian beliefs and values in daily life, often highlighted as a priority in churches' mission or vision statements.
Logistical Challenges: Practical difficulties faced by churches, such as meeting space, technology for online services, or volunteer availability, which impact church operations.
Loss of Margins: The reduction in available time, financial resources, or energy due to increased demands or pressures, impacting both church members and leaders.
Marginalized/Poor/In Need: A group of individuals who are economically disadvantaged or socially excluded, often the focus of outreach and service ministries in churches.
Marginalized People: Individuals or groups who are excluded from mainstream society due to factors like poverty, race, or social status. Churches often focus on serving these groups as part of their mission.
Mega Church: A very large church, typically with a weekly attendance of over 800, featuring complex staff structures and multiple services, often across different locations.
Mental Health: The emotional and psychological well-being of individuals, often a growing concern in ministry as pastors and congregants deal with stress, anxiety, and other challenges.
Mentoring: A personal relationship in which an experienced pastor or leader guides and supports another leader’s spiritual and professional growth.
Merging With Another Church: A process where two congregations combine to form one church, often as a strategy for addressing challenges like leadership vacancies or financial difficulties.
Missional Communities: Small faith-based groups focused on living out the mission of the church by engaging with their local communities, practicing outreach, and embodying the teachings of Jesus in practical ways.
Missional Living: A lifestyle where individuals integrate their Christian faith with everyday activities, serving as witnessing to their beliefs in their personal and professional lives.
Missional: A term referring to churches or ministries that focus on engaging with and reaching out to their local community or beyond, often with a focus on evangelism and service.
Mother Church: The original church that starts or sponsors a new church plant, providing support and guidance during its early stages.
Multiplication: The process of planting new churches or ministries, often seen as a healthy sign of church growth and expansion, driven by a desire to spread the gospel.
Multi-Ethnic Church: A church where less than 70% of the congregation belongs to a single ethnic group, indicating a diversity of racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Narrative Analysis: A qualitative research method that focuses on the stories shared by participants, analyzing how they convey meaning, values, or identity through their experiences.
Networks: Groups or associations of churches that collaborate or share resources, often beyond formal denominational ties, for purposes like church planting or shared ministry efforts.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): A legal contract that requires individuals involved in a project to keep certain information confidential, ensuring that personal data or sensitive information remains private.
Outlier: In statistics, a data point that differs significantly from other observations. In this context, it refers to churches whose attendance growth or decline was dramatically higher or lower than the average trends.
Pandemic-Related Attendance Change: Variations in church attendance directly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including shifts due to lockdowns, restrictions, and changes in how people engage with church communities.
Parachute-Drop Model: A method of church planting where a pastor or leadership team moves into a new, unfamiliar area to start a church with no pre-existing congregation or support base.
Participant Selection: The process of choosing individuals or groups to be included in a study, based on certain criteria such as availability, relevance, or willingness to participate.
Partnership: Collaborative efforts between churches, ministries, or community organizations to achieve shared goals, such as church planting or community outreach.
Pastoral Church: A church with 50-150 members where the pastor knows all congregants, and there may be additional pastoral staff.
Pastoral Isolation: The feeling of being alone or unsupported in ministry, often due to the pressures and responsibilities unique to pastoral leadership, which can be especially challenging in difficult ministry contexts.
Pastoral Overwork: A state in which pastors work long hours, often beyond what is sustainable, leading to burnout, fatigue, or emotional distress.
Pastor Family Sustainability: Refers to the ability of a pastor to maintain a healthy family life while balancing their ministry responsibilities, financial needs, and personal well-being.
Pastors' Consultation: A meeting or discussion with a group of pastors to provide insight into research data, allowing for collective interpretation and reflection on findings.
Peer Group: A support network of fellow pastors or leaders who meet regularly to share experiences, challenges, and advice, providing emotional and professional support.
Pentecostal: A Christian movement emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and often dynamic forms of worship.
Pivot Points: Key moments or decisions in ministry that can lead to significant changes in direction or impact, often influenced by societal shifts, spiritual insights, or practical challenges.
Prayer Team: A group of individuals who meet regularly to pray for the church, its leaders, and the community. For pastors, this team can provide spiritual support.
Pre-Post Study: A research design that measures outcomes at two points in time: before (pretest) and after (posttest) an event, time period, or set of conditions. The goal is to evaluate the effect or impact of the conditions by comparing the pretest and posttest results. They typically involve data collection points from only two points in time.
Priesthood of All Believers: The theological belief that all Christians, not just clergy, have a role in ministry and can be used by God to serve and lead in various capacities.
Program Church: A large church, typically with a weekly attendance of between 151 and 350, where the church offers more structured programs, but where the pastor likely doesn’t know all attendees personally.
Reflexivity: The practice of reflecting on one's own role and influence as a researcher within the research process, acknowledging potential biases and their impact on the findings.
Regression to the Mean: A statistical concept that describes how extreme data points tend to move closer to the average over time, mentioned in the context of pastor age trends.
Relational Connection Points: Specific opportunities within ministry activities to build deeper relationships with people, often seen as key to fostering community and spiritual growth.
Relational Discomfort: The unease that arises in multi-ethnic or diverse congregations when dealing with issues of race, justice, or cultural differences, requiring intentionality to address and overcome.
Relational Discipleship: A form of spiritual mentoring where the focus is on building deep, personal relationships through which individuals grow in their faith and understanding of God.
Relational Networks: Social connections and relationships that serve as a key factor in how a church grows or engages with its members and community, often emphasized in outreach and pastoral care.
Remnant: A small, committed core group of people who remain dedicated to the church during difficult times, helping sustain its ministry.
Resilience: The ability to recover from difficulties, adapt to change, and continue moving forward in ministry, often viewed as a critical trait for church leaders.
Right Time, Right Place, Right People: The alignment of factors needed for successful church planting, often seen as the combination of divine timing, appropriate leadership, and a receptive community.
Sacrificial Attitude: A mindset of willingly giving up personal comfort, resources, or relationships for the greater good of the church and its mission.
Seeker-Sensitive Model: A church model aimed at making services and environments welcoming and accessible to people who are not yet Christians or who are exploring faith.
Seeker: An individual who is exploring faith or Christianity, often attending church services or events but not yet fully committed to the faith.
Self-Care: Practices that focus on maintaining one’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being, particularly important for pastors who face the demands of ministry.
Self-Sustaining Church: A church that generates enough financial support from its members to cover all its expenses, independent of outside funding or denominational support.
Selective Reporting: The practice of focusing on certain parts of the data that are deemed most relevant or actionable, while omitting other parts, which may introduce bias into the study.
Skyrocketing Property Prices: A reference to the rapid and significant increase in real estate prices, particularly in the Boston area, impacting church operations, particularly building ownership.
Social Issues: Larger societal or cultural topics (e.g., politics, justice, race) that may cause tension or division within a church, even if they are not directly related to church operations.
Socioeconomic Status (SES): The social and economic standing of individuals or groups, often categorized by income, education, and occupation. In church contexts, this can shape ministry strategies.
Spiritual Attack: The concept of being targeted by evil spiritual forces that seek to disrupt, discourage, or harm a pastor’s ministry and personal life.
Spiritual Direction/Soul Care: Practices or guidance focused on nurturing a pastor’s spiritual health and well-being, often involving deep reflection, prayer, and personal spiritual growth.
Spiritual Formation: The process of growing in Christian faith and maturity, often through practices like prayer, worship, and Bible study, with a focus on transformation by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Rest: A state of peace and renewal found through reliance on God, often recommended as crucial for pastors to avoid burnout and maintain spiritual health.
Sustainability: In a church context, the ability of a church to maintain its operations, mission, and outreach over time, ensuring both financial stability and the well-being of its congregation.
Thematic Reflections: Insights drawn from recurring themes observed during the research, highlighting common challenges, opportunities, or patterns within the churches studied.
Theological Tradition: The set of beliefs, practices, and historical roots that shape a pastor’s or church’s faith, which may or may not align with their denominational affiliation (e.g., Reformed, Pentecostal, Baptist).
Therapy: Professional counseling aimed at helping individuals address emotional, psychological, or relational issues. Some pastors find therapy beneficial for personal growth and ministry effectiveness.
Top Five Leaders: Refers to the five most influential leaders in a church, including the senior pastor(s) and other key ministry or leadership positions.
Transfer Growth: Growth in a church’s attendance that occurs when individuals transfer from another church, as opposed to new conversions or people coming to faith for the first time.
Vision, Mission & Values (VMV) Statements: Documents or declarations outlining a church’s purpose (mission), future goals (vision), and core beliefs or guiding principles (values).
Vision, Mission & Values Statement Trends: Shifts or developments in how churches articulate their core purpose, identity, and future goals, often reflecting broader cultural or theological shifts.
White-Collar: Refers to individuals working in professional, managerial, or administrative roles, typically with higher education and income levels.
Work-Life Balance: The ability to maintain a healthy balance between work responsibilities (such as church leadership) and personal life, including rest and family time.
Working Class/Blue-Collar: Refers to individuals in manual labor or industrial jobs, often with a focus on practical skills rather than formal education, sometimes a target group for church ministries.
Wraparound Care Teams: Groups of church members who provide holistic support to individuals or families, meeting practical, emotional, and spiritual needs.