Educational, medical, and other services in rural areas have been undergoing a consolidation and centralization process to bring about more efficient operation. A research project sponsored by the United Methodist Church was designed to assess the position of the church as a decentralized unit in a small community relative to its leadership responsibility and its assumption of that responsibility within its community. This two-volume document contains 14 research studies designed to measure the economic and social structure of 3 small Indiana communities. Demographic data are presented and methods of inquiry and measurement are explained. Appendices provide census data and examples of the instruments used in the study. (DK)