Organizations:  The Meros Center

Background/Context:

Faith communities play a powerful role in people’s lives. They build trust. They create belonging. They support people through illness, recovery, and hardship. Many congregations want to help improve health and strengthen their communities. 

But here’s something we don’t fully understand: 

Why do some congregations thrive when launching health or support programs, while others struggle—even when they have similar size, resources, and enthusiasm? 

The missing piece may be readiness. 

Some congregations are deeply prepared—culturally, relationally, and organizationally—to support health and connection. Others may need different kinds of preparation before programs can succeed. Yet “readiness” has never been clearly defined or carefully studied.  

This project builds the foundation for stronger, more effective faith-based health and community work. It is not a program trial, but a crucial first step—creating the shared understanding that all future work depends on. 

Download printable details (pdf)

Funded by: Donors like you.

Research Question:

1. What does it actually mean for a congregation to be “ready” to engage in health, recovery, and flourishing work? Instead of assuming the answer, we are listening directly to congregations. We will: 
   • Interview clergy, lay leaders, and congregants across diverse faith communities 
   • Survey hundreds of participants nationwide 
   • Identify common patterns of what helps—or hinders—engagement 
   • Clarify the real-world factors that make programs sustainable 
   • Map how readiness shapes participation, flourishing, and long-term impact 

Study Aims:

1. Elicit Congregational Engagement Readiness – To empirically define congregational engagement readiness using a parallel qualitative-survey elicitation design that captures both depth and breadth of congregational perspectives.

Impact:

• Define congregational readiness in clear, practical terms
• Identify key facilitators and barriers 
• Create a shared language for faith-based health engagement
• Develop tools that can guide future program design and evaluation

Open Positions:

(3) Research Assistants – Assist with participant recruitment, ~10 interviews, survey data management, and preliminary analysis.

Timeline:  When Funding is available

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