apostles.   A high expectation congregation that has decided to challenge disciples to be engaged in those transformational life-changing experiences that transform believers and disciples into apostles engaged in doing Christian ministry.

discipleship culture .   A congregation that has a distinctive role of challenging and enabling believers to become fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ and intentionally promotes a discipleship culture in the congregation.

discipleship program or ministry .   A congregation that has a distinctive role of helping believers (both new and long time) to become well informed and deeply committed believers through some organized discipleship program or ministry.

high expectation learning congregation .   A congregation that is organized as a “high expectation” learning community and includes such expectations in the membership process.

teaching church masters degree .   A congregation that is a self-identified   teaching church that does offer the classroom experiences required for an accredited master's degree.

teaching church no degree .   A congregation that is a self-identified teaching church that does not include an on-campus classroom program leading to a master's degree.

advocate ministries .   A congregation that has trained teams of volunteers to serve as advocates for people needing assistance in dealing with complicated American bureaucratic systems.   Advocate volunteers include social workers, retired bureaucrats, teachers, physicians, attorneys, pharmacists, parish nurses, counselors, paralegal specialists, and financial planners.

campus ministry .   A congregation that is a self-identified “university church” or that has an excellent campus ministry.

cell group ministry .   A congregation with a distinctive purpose of resourcing the new wave of house churches for adults under age fifty.   These groups of 7 to 35 adults are a natural size for a worshipping community and are found in retirement communities, on college and university campuses, in prisons and jails, in large office buildings housing scores of white collar employees, among immigrant congregations, and on other continents.

Christian college .   A congregation that has a Christian college at its hub and a voluntary relationship with several score or a few hundred congregations.

Christian unchurched .   A congregation who has identified Christian believers who do not have any active church relationship as their primary constitutency.

Continent other mission .   A congregation that enlists teams of 7 to 15 short-term missionary volunteers to work with members of a sister church on another continent.

dayschool/preschool .   A congregation with a Christian day school for ages four through eight or nine.

foundation > 10 M .   A   congregation with an affiliated foundation with assets of less than ten million dollars.

foundation 10+M .   A congregation with an affiliated foundation with assets of ten million dollars or greater.

house church ministry .   A congregation with a distinctive purpose of resourcing the new wave of house churches for adults under age fifty.   These groups of 7 to 35 adults are a natural size for a worshipping community and are found in retirement communities, on college and university campuses, in prisons and jails, in large office buildings housing scores of white collar employees, among immigrant congregations, and on other continents.

housing mission .   A congregation that owns and operates one or more specialized housing ventures (developmentally disabled, transitional housing for single parent mothers, retirees, homeless, political refugees, or for physically disabled).

marriage ministry .   A congregation with distinctive purpose of helping engaged couples and newlyweds discover how to build a healthy, happy, and enduring marriage.

new church plant .   A congregation that is a new mission founded within past 3 years.

peace ministry .   A congregation in which self-identified classical “pacifists” constitute the primary constitutency.

prison ministry .   A congregation with a distinctive purpose of resourcing the new wave of house churches for adults under age fifty.   These groups of 7 to 35 adults are a natural size for a worshipping community and are found in retirement communities, on college and university campuses, in prisons and jails, in large office buildings housing scores of white collar employees, among immigrant congregations, and on other continents.

Roman Catholic unchurched .   A congregation that has identified as their primary source of adult new members persons who were reared in the Roman Catholic Church and are seeking a more compatible church home.

seekers .     A congregation with self-identified “seeker sensitive” outreach or worship that focuses on adult nonbelievers as their primary constitutency.

video ministry .   A congregation with full time media specialist that creates videotapes or DVDs for use in worship, teaching, and in community outreach, and these media products are made available to other congregations.

workplace Bible studies .   A congregation with a distinctive purpose of resourcing the new wave of house churches for adults under age fifty.   These groups of 7 to 35 adults are a natural size for a worshipping community and are found in retirement communities, on college and university campuses, in prisons and jails, in large office buildings housing scores of white collar employees, among immigrant congregations, and on other continents.

world hunger mission .   A congregation that is organized around the central principle of alleviating world hunger.

agricultural industry .    A congregation, usually rural, with persons working in agriculture as their primary constitutuency.

entertainment industry .   A congregation with workers and guests in recreation and entertainment industry as their primary constitutency.

grandparents .   A congregation with the distinctive purpose of reaching persons who are grandparents.

homeschooler families .   A congregation that has decided to resource home-schooling families.

immigrant adults .   A monocultural congregation consisting largely of adults born in the same foreign country and who were adults when they emigrated to the United States.

immigrant adults second generation .   A monocultural congregation consisting largely of adults who were born in America to parents of foreign ancestry.

immigrant child Americanized .   A monocultural congregation consisting largely of adults born in another country who came to the United States as children and were reared in an immigrant family but educated in American public school system.

intercultural marriage .   A congregation with large numbers of couples in an intercultural marriage, e.g. Asian-Anglo, Hispanic-Anglo, Black-Anglo, and Black-Hispanic.

multicultural .     A congregation that believes it is called by God to become a multicultural worshipping community in which no one ethnic or cultural or nationality group constitutes more than one-third of the constitutency and that is self-governing, self-expressing, self-financing, and a self-propagating congregation.

recreational industry .   A congregation with workers and guests in recreation and entertainment industry as their primary constitutency.

retiree ministry . A congregation with retirees as their primary constitutency.

senior adults .   A congregation with a distinctive ministry to senior adults 60+.

singles and marriage .   A congregation that attracts singles interested in Christian marriage partner.

urban commuters .   A nonmetropolitan congregation with persons commuting to an urban job as their primary constitutency.

young adults .   A congregation focused on reaching and serving young adults (ages 25 to 35) both never married and childless couples.

young adult couples .   A congregation focused on reaching and serving young adults (ages 25 to 35) primarily childless couples.

young adult singles .   A congregation focused on reaching and serving young adults (ages 25 to 35) primarily singles.

city/suburban .

county seat rural .   Often a congregation averaging 125 to 350 in average worship attendance in a rural county seat community with a population in the 2,500 to 10,000 range.

county seat town .   Often a congregation averaging 125 to 350 in average worship attendance in a town/city county seat community with a population in the 10,000+ range.

downtown first church .   A congregation that is an “old first church” downtown type averaging at least 700 average worship attendance.

exurban .   A nonmetropolitan congregation responding to the change from rural to exurban in local economy and culture.

multisite.   A congregation that is multisite.

one pastor, 2+ congregations .   A congregation that shares one full-time pastor with one or two other churches.

pastor part-time .   A congregation served by a dual career pastor with full-time secular employment who is also a part-time congregational pastor.

pastor part-time & homemaker .   A congregation served by a dual career pastor with one career as a part-time pastor and the other career as a homemaker.

pastor part-time & seminary .   A congregation served by a part-time pastor who concurrently is a seminary student.

pastoral plateau .   A congregation 5 to 10 years old that has plateaued in size with an average worship attendance in the 125 to 250 range.

rural congregation .   A small rural congregation with worship attendance less than 150 persons with persons working in agriculture as their primary constitutency.

contemporary worship liturgical style .   A congregation that schedules a contemporary worship organized around holy communion every week with a sermon or homily, perhaps projected visuals, ensemble singers and guitar or band music as the principal worship service of the week, and this is the only or at least the most well-attended service of the week.   

contemporary worship style .   A congregation that schedules a contemporary worship every week organized around a sermon, homily or drama, perhaps projected visuals, ensemble singers and guitar or band music as the principal worship service of the week, and this is the only or at least the most well-attended worship service of the week.

traditional liturgical worship .   A congregation that schedules a traditional liturgical worship organized around holy communion every week with a sermon or homily, a vocal choir, and organ music as the principal worship service of the week, and this is the only or at least the most well-attended worship service of the week.