There's nothing like writing a timely, ground-breaking, and best-selling book to make an author pay attention to changes that occur in his or her field after the book achieves "classic" status. Carl S. Dudley paid attention and updated his Making the Small Church Effective (1978). He understood the dynamics of life in the small congregation then, and he's only gotten better. In this new book, a heavily revised edition of the classic, Dudley revisits the small church, posing new questions that reflect the significant changes in small churches in recent decades. Possibly the most significant developments are shifts in institutional loyalty and the individual's sense of identity in relation to the larger organization. Dudley explores the components that create a small congregation's sense of unity and motivate its members to live out their faith.