Reports and study guides

Download a children's lesson from the World AIDS Packet 2013 by Erin Hasslinger.

“Lessons from the Table” is a study for children centered around the communion table. Each session talks about a different aspect of the communion table. The topics are:

• Table of Transformation or Change
• Table of Welcome
• Table of Grace
• Table of Peace
• Table of Love.

Download an educational resource from the World AIDS Day Packet 2013 by Erin Donovan.

Download this resource from the World AIDS Day Packet 2013, that gives ideas on how to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS at your seminary or college. 

• The ‘Dark Side’ of Congregational Context:  Small Groups and Civic Engagement, by Andrew Whitehead (Ph.D., Baylor, 2012).  Church-goers are widely thought to be more civically engaged than their non-church-going counterparts, but little is known about how the popular phenomenon of small groups factors into this equation.  What consequences does small group participation at individual and congregational levels have for civic engagement?  The answer may surprise you.

Yeast Makes the Bread Rise:  How the Great Banquet Renewal Movement Could Help Revitalize Mainline Congregations, by Deb Coe (Ph.D., Purdue, 2011).  Like its better-known cousins, Cursillo and Walk to Emmaus, the Great Banquet is a program designed to bring about personal and spiritual renewal.  Learn the intriguing findings from this in-depth study of two participating PC(USA) congregations.

The interview reports are based on individual interviews with NWC leaders and participants. They help track the impact the 1001 initiative is having on lives and communities. This report, part of a 10-year longitudinal research project, tracks the progress of the 1001 New Worshiping Communities initiative.

The Leaders Report is based on an annual survey of 1001 New Worshiping Community leaders. It provides the most in-depth research on the demographics of new worshiping communities. This report, part of a 10-year longitudinal research project, tracks the progress of the 1001 New Worshiping Communities initiative.

New worshiping communities are bringing people to Christ by successfully reaching out to the unchurched (those who have never been religious), to the dechurched (those who used to be religious but have given up on church), and to individuals from other religions: About half of NWC participants were not churchgoers before participating in a NWC. In fact, for 12 percent of participants, the NWC is their first foray into any sort of religious gathering.

The objectives of this panel were to (1) identify how aware today’s Presbyterians are of the 1001 NWC initiative, (2) assess how engaged they are in the initiative, and (3) compare current panelists’ awareness of and involvement in the 1001 NWC initiative to panelists from 2014. (A similar survey was given to Presbyterian Panelists in the spring of 2014.) Specifically, we wanted to know the answers to three main questions:

1. Have Presbyterians become more familiar with the 1001 NWC initiative since 2014?
2. Are congregations partnering with NWCs in new or more varied ways?
3. What opinions do Presbyterians have about ...