Leadership and congregational vitality: an exploratory psychological network analysis of the Dutch Church Life Survey

Considering the complex and multidimensional nature of church health, the present study explored the value of a psychological network approach to investigate the role of leadership in congregational vitality. A network structure was estimated based on a vitality assessment among 4,829 members from 44 Protestant churches in The Netherlands using the National Church Life Survey. The results showed a closely connected vitality network. A visual inspection of the network structure indicated that church members’ evaluation of leadership was associated in this sample with their experiences during the worship services and their sense of belonging and involvement. Furthermore, the network topology indicated a mediation effect of leadership on personal faith via its link with worship services and a sense of belonging among members. The paper concludes by discussing its exploratory findings, the relevance of network-based tools for the study of religion and spirituality, and recommendations for future research and practice.