Philocrites pointed me in the direction of Ron Robinson's review of recent "progressive Christian" titles in which he notes the absence of any discussion for the need to start new congregations.
I'd love to see more focus on UU's starting churches. I think our existing congregations would do better within an environment of competition.
Boston & Providence, the larger cities in my area, have room for far more UU congregations. My home church in Providence has at most 400 members. It is practically ON the Brown University and RISD campuses. It should have 900 members easy.
How many people in your community would be Unitarian Universalists if they either knew about US or if your congregation made room for THEM?
If you're a UU in the middle of nowhere. Do me a favor, start a church. All you need to do is start with a healthy understanding of small group ministry. Other denominations use small groups, or CELL MINISTRY, as the foundation for building churches of all sizes. So here's what you do. Start a kick@$$ UU small group out of your home. Just you and your friends. Access all the great info from www.smallgroupministry.net. Read the start up info on this website .
The trick is to not only lead a great group, but from the start to uphold the vision of growing into more groups, developing more leaders, and through this process changing the world. In the process you may create a new church, but don't make that your top goal. Make your goal creating enough liberal groups for all the liberals and progressives on Earth. It is about life change, world change, leadership development, and upholding this vision. Cell ministry is a clearly articulated ministry model with plenty of available resources. Just couple that with a compelling vision of brining people together in community, service and action.
Presto! You're on your way.
