Funding remains an issue for the national level survey. Surveys on Specialized Issues in Congregational Ministry . Congregations depend on the work of specific ministries, whether conducted by the same person or not, whether conducted by volunteer or paid, professional staff. CARA plans to begin web surveys of parish DREs this year. CARA has also completed diocesan level studies of youth ministry and stewardship, and plans to follow those studies up with parish-levels surveys.
Most Catholic parishes consist of several congregations in one.
Levels of participation in Church life vary more by generation than the life course, and religiosity is poorly measured by examining attendance patterns. Parishioners are generally content with the quality of parish life they experience, and rank the sense of community they feel and quality of worship as key, along with activities that help pass on the faith to the next generation. Specialized ministries are often most successful when they share resources across congregations and bring in family and community based alternatives to traditional classroom models.