At the 2012 General Assembly (GA), PC(USA) leaders encouraged Presbyterians to create 1,001 new worshiping communities (NWCs) between 2012 and 2022. Since then, across the PC(USA), 409 new and varied forms of church have been raised up by leaders seeking to ignite discipleship and transformation. Of these, 348 (85%) are currently active. These new worshiping communities have the potential to help the PC(USA) shift from an inward-focused, membership-maintenance model of church to a more outward-focused, creative, and disciple-making model.
This report compares responses from two waves of the 1001 NWC Survey of Presbytery Leaders (2014 and 2016). The goals of this research are to learn about: (1) familiarity with and presence of NWCs within presbyteries, (2) congregational support and oversight of NWCs, (3) presbytery oversight and support of NWCs, and (4) presbytery knowledge of 1001 NWC resources.