- Description
- 1 online resource (x, 326 pages)
- Summary
- "Starting a new organization is risky business. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, most startups fail; half of them do not reach the five-year mark. Protestant churches are not immune to these trends. Most new churches are not established with denominational support-more than 50% are actually non-denominational-and, therefore, have many of the same vulnerabilities other infant organizations must overcome. Research on both congregants and congregations has shown that millions of Americans are leaving churches, half of all churches do not add any new members, and thousands of churches shutter their doors each year. These numbers suggest that American religion is not a growth industry. Yet, more than 1000 new churches are started in any given year. What are the forces that move people who might otherwise be satisfied working for churches to the more risky role of starting one as a religion entrepreneur? In Church Planters, sociologist Richard Pitt uses more than 125 in-depth interviews with church planters to understand their motivations. First, he uncovers themes in their sometimes miraculous, sometimes mundane answers to the question: "why take on these risks?" Then he examines how they approach three common entrepreneurial challenges-recognizing opportunities, marshalling resources, and framing success-in ways that reduce uncertainty and lead them to believe they will be successful. The book combines their evocative stories with insights from research on commercial and social entrepreneurship to explain how these religion entrepreneurs come to believe their organizational goals must be accomplished, that they are capable of being accomplished, and that they would accomplish them over time"--
- Uniform Title
- Church planters (Online)
- Alternative Title
- Church planters (Online)
- Subject
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [313]-322) and index.
- Access (note)
- Access restricted to authorized users.
- Contents
- Church planting : a birds eye view -- "God, if you want me to" : the "spiritual" origins of church planting -- "Pack up your office and go" : social structure and religion entrepreneurship -- "Missions and momentum" : recognizing social change opportunities -- "Time, talents, and treasure" : mobilizing social change resources -- "Butts, budgets, and behaviors" : framing social change success, failure, and competition -- De-sacralizing religion entrepreneurship.
- LCCN
- 2021023155
- OCLC
- ssj0002516189
- Author
Pitt, Richard N.
- Title
Church planters [electronic resource] : inside the world of religion entrepreneurs / Richard N. Pitt.
- Imprint
New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022]
- Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [313]-322) and index.
- Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
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