| Merging two or more congregations is usually undertaken with a serious eye to achieving more effective ministry. Yet only a casual nod is given to achieving unity. Larger numbers of people mean higher attendance, stronger finances and more volunteers. So, in general, the goal of a merger is to enhance the bottom-line metrics in order to avoid closing struggling churches. But rarely does the merger process help the larger numbers of people (often strangers to the other congregation) build healthy Christ-centered relationships.;The purpose of this research project was to discover whether Christian unity was preserved during the merger of Indiana United Methodist congregations by surveying pastors and congregants who have experienced merger or merger attempts in order to identify best practices for promoting unity between members of the merging congregations. Out of the twenty-eight churches formed by merger, six became participants. From those six churches, six pastors and forty-nine lay persons were involved in sharing their experiences. The pastors were interviewed and each shared their endorsement for the nature of the project. The lay persons filled out a questionnaire and attended a focus group discussion.;This project resulted in two key findings and three best practices. The first finding was that church mergers tend to focus on growth and mission, giving little attention to building relationships. The second finding was that church mergers do little to identify and promote Christian unity. The research pinpointed three best practices that help merging congregations cultivate unity: working together in various ministries, participating in small fellowship groups, and utilizing positive leadership that advances a Biblical vision of unity. |
