Positioning to be Part of a Missional Denomination

George Bullard offers a Typology of Denominations which is worth consideration. http://bullardjournal.blogs.com/bullardjournal/2008/11/typology-of-den.html

I think he is on to something that is helpful in understanding where a denomination is, and where it is headed. That can be a challenge for honest assessment of a local congregation, and significantly more challenging if you consider numbers of churches composing a judicatory or national or international denomination.

Bullard offers:

Emerging Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which was organized during the last 15 years, or has experienced a radical restart in the past 10 years, and is significantly empowered by its current vision. It is probably focusing on one of several emerging models for denominational organizations.

Institutionalized Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which focuses on the institutions, programs, and management aspects of being a denomination. It seeks to build long-term loyalty to the denominational organizations, and uses this as a test of fellowship for ministers and congregations.

Missional Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which has figured out how to be on a continual transformational mission that takes the denomination and its affiliated congregations into new frontiers of mission and ministry with a mission adjusted to meet the context it serves.

Preparing Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which realizes that it has been in decline and too institutional in its focus, and seeks to rediscover congregations and prepare for a new spiritual strategic journey in the direction of its full kingdom potential.

Para-Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which has determined to become a para-denomination which provides products and services to and beyond its affiliated congregations, and focused on a small, specific set of services that might appeal to various affinity groups of congregations rather than visualizing that it has a non-exit relationship with its affiliated congregations.

Pursuing Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which has prepared itself and it engaging in a new transformational journey. It is clearly on a new spiritual strategic journey where it is experiencing increased vitality in multiple areas. It is making obvious progress that attracts more loyalty to the denominational organization, and interest from congregations outside this organization.

Surviving Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which has diminished vitality in multiple areas of emphasis, and has difficulty sustaining a resource base to support whatever mission it continues to define. It may have been through several rounds of cut back and is in or approaching a permanent cut back syndrome situation.