10 Discoveries: The Latest Research on Church Mergers, Part 1

Fletch talks with Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin about the preliminary findings on “Church Mergers” for those who participated in their online survey. Bird and Tomberlin write:

Have you experienced a church merger first-hand? If your answer is yes, then we want to learn from you – whether you’re a pastor, board member, denominational leader, or anyone else who knows the pros and cons of a Protestant church merger.

Church mergers are happening left and right. Did you know that church planters are finding welcome homes in merger churches? That 40% of multisite campuses come through a merger? That healthy mergers are working in many other ways, such as pastoral succession strategies and denominational revitalization/replant strategies? We’re convinced God is up to something, and we’d love to hear your take on it.

About the Author: Warren Bird

Warren Bird, Ph.D., is a fulltime church researcher and author, and his current focus is a landmark national study named “The Future of the Large Church.” He’s the author or co-author of 35 books for church leaders including Hero Maker (leadership development), Next (pastoral succession), Better Together (church mergers), and How to Break Growth Barriers (church health and growth), and most recently, Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders. He draws from a background as lead pastor, seminary professor, lay leader, and research director for Leadership Network (13 years) and ECFA (7 years).