Trusopplæringa sitt potensial i utvikling av menigheten

How can the church education become a factor in developing the congregations in the Church of Norway? This is the main question of the article, which takes its empirical material from interviews with staff members and leaders of parish councils in six congregations. The analysis is structured according to five proposed ecclesiological dimensions of what a Christian congregation ought to be and to do. The main findings are a consciousness of a larger “we” in the understanding of who belongs to the congregation, emphasis on the theological content, but also an ambivalence in relating the church education to other areas of congregational work. A challenge for the church education is to become more occupied with its task as sent to the world and a willingness to be in constant change.