It's been over 20 years since The Leaders' Box was first produced, and it has been a hugely popular resource. Much of the core material is still useful today. In response to ongoing requests, Parish Life and Leadership has made available some of these perennially useful articles, slightly modified, in PDF format. Some of the content is no longer current (for example, the section on newsletter production described making mimeograph stencils, and the entire box contained nary a mention of computers or websites). Over time, other material is now dated in its approach to organizational life. But the history of the offices of the church remains helpful, and much of the structuring of church offices and tasks has not changed dramatically.

For most of its life the Leaders Box has been an actual box, with hundreds of letter-size, card stock "cards" meant to circulate from the church's library. Today's technology creates an easier way for church leaders to have immediate access to all of this information (just as printing costs have made the resource prohibitively expensive in its original format). Basing this revised resource on the web will make it simple to add new content over time.

For more current materials in all areas of church life, browse the ministries represented on ucc.org. And if you have an old favorite from the Leaders Box you don't see here, let us know.