Advantages of a Covenant Group - Part Two

This is a continuation of a previous post about clergy peer groups. ABCNW is heavily invested in these. We call our groups, "Leadership Learning Communities." Two recent studies provided concrete evidence that such groups yield many positive benefits for pastors and their churches. I listed several of these in a previous posting.

The study also investigated whether there was any correlation between congregational growth and peer group involvement. The resounding answer was "yes." Participation in a group correlated with congregational growth.

There were two caveats, however. First, longevity in group involvement was a factor. The longer the pastoral leader participated in a group the more likely it was that his or her congregation would experience growth. The most productive years seemed to be in the fourth year of participation and beyond.

Second caveat, the peer group had to have structure, usually marked by a trained facilitator and an established curriculum.

The researchers discovered a strong relationship between congregational health as marked by growth and peer group involvement. Much stronger than they anticipated. This factor was as important as other, more obvious predictors of church growth. For the record, the other predictors of church growth, according to their research, included a youthful congregation, broad hands-on participation in ministry by the laity, little or no congregational conflict, spiritual vibrancy and clear mission. The researchers noted this consistent thread in their study: Pastors involved in structured peer groups tend to be missional leaders and are personally involved in their communities. Growth is one predictable result.

Based on their investigation the researchers also listed the practices of effective peer groups:

• A high level of contact between group members (including meetings but especially emails/phone calls)
• A leader/facilitator who inspires confidence
• A group that provides accountability and practical help with some attention to intellectual challenge & spiritual refueling
• A group that is cohesive, "like a family"
• A group whose practices focus on ministry improvement through exploring innovative ideas & resources as well as sharing/getting feedback about personal & ministry problems.

They summarized these characteristics with this comment: "peer groups that renew their members' ministries provide a stimulating mix of the practical, the intellectual, and the spiritual along with a certain amount of 'holding each others feet to the fire' in terms of accountabilty."

The results of this study impressed upon me that we are on the right track in providing Leadership Learning Communities for our pastors. LLCs are a great resource and they are working for us. I encourage every pastor to be an active participant in one. The next step for us in this journey with leadership clusters is the extension of their benefits to lay leaders. Concepts for doing this are being considered. So, stay tuned.

The study I reference in this posting was financed by the Lilly Endowment and conducted by the Austin Presbyterian Seminary. Title: "A Study of the Effects of Participation in SPE Pastoral Leader Peer Groups." Published, April, 2010.