Every church wants to be healthy.
Pastors and congregants want better discipleship, stronger leadership pipelines, healthier finances, more volunteers, and greater unity. Those are all worthwhile goals, but none of them sit at the source. They are downstream realities.
The source is evangelism.
The Unchurched Next Door: New Tools and Insights to Really Reach Them
Join Thom and Sam Rainer on Thursday, July 16, at 1:00 PM Eastern for The Unchurched Next Door: New Tools and Insights to Really Reach Them. In this free webinar, you’ll discover why the mission field around your church may be larger and more receptive than you realize. Learn about the five levels of unchurched receptivity (U1–U5), uncover where your greatest outreach opportunities exist, and see how The Unchurched Report can help your church better understand and engage the people in your community. Save your spot today!
The Little White Church Is Empty
Jerry and Wendy Goldsmith’s church is dying.
Every Sunday, the congregation in Tipton, Iowa, draws about 30 of the town’s 3,000 residents to its morning service. The building, constructed in the late 19th century, is slowly falling apart. The church doesn’t have enough money to make repairs. Since the pastor retired last June, they’ve had an interim minister. Almost all the congregants are over 60.
Their story is a common one. Many rural churches like Cedar Street are suffering a major decline in attendance. Part of the problem is the gradually decreasing population in small towns. But many more traditional country churches also aren’t effectively reaching younger generations and are struggling to fill pulpits. That’s turned rural America into one of the next mission fields ripe for harvest.
7 Signs Your Church Is Dying (Even If Attendance Looks Fine)
These are seven signs most church leaders either don’t see or don’t want to say out loud. Read them honestly. If three or more describe your church, this isn’t a program problem. It’s a foundation problem.
Women Are Not God’s Backup Plan for Ministry
The deeper I have gone into the biblical story, the more I have found women woven throughout it. Not standing on the sidelines waiting for their opportunity, but actively participating in God’s redemptive work. Not as a concession or an emergency substitute. They were never Plan B.
Church of England adds annual commemoration for 21 Christian men martyred by Islamic State
The Church of England has voted to create an annual commemoration for 21 Christian labourers who were beheaded by Islamic State militants on a Libyan beach in 2015, marking the first change to its liturgical calendar in 16 years.
Mixed Blessings: Tracing the Life of Revival Faith in America
“Evangelical” has become a contentious term in the United States. Today we often hear about “exvangelicals” or “post-evangelicals.” Some who once owned the identification now regard the term “evangelical” as having been simply ruined. The primary reason for such contention is that pollsters have identified “evangelicals” as a major American political force. And politics — and with it, conflict and polarization — overwhelms everything else in our news and much of our discourse.
A pressing question, then, for those who would still own the term “evangelical” is how in these troubled times we might still think of evangelicalism as primarily a religious movement.
Voices: Bookworms must stave off our becoming a 'post-literate generation'
As somebody who has been immersed in books since I can remember, I struggle to imagine never reading at all. But all the evidence suggests I am on the wrong side of history. Surveys show that children’s appetite for reading is in freefall: fewer than one in five British youngsters between eight and 18 read every day, with the decline sharpest among teenage boys. Another recent poll found that fully half of all adults don’t read books for pleasure at all, with many turning to the bright lights of social media instead: what has been described as “post-literacy”.
The figures are even worse in the US. The proportion of American teenagers who “hardly ever” read has risen from less than 20 per cent in 1985 to almost 50 per cent today, while the proportion who read every day has fallen from almost 40 per cent to barely 10 per cent. Little wonder, then, that English literature degrees are in rapid decline, or that lecturers – even in the UK – have long complained that their students are incapable of reading a book.
Why this article? Three books--the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer since the sixteenth century Reformation and a hymnal since the eighteenth century--have played a central role in Anglican worship. Even in churches where the words of Scripture readings, prayers, and hymns are shown on a wall screen, congregations must be able to read to participate. How will Anglican churches fare in a post-literate world is a reasonable question to ask.What Unforgiveness Does to Your Brain
The problem is that unforgiveness doesn’t just keep you chained to the person who hurt you. It reshapes your brain chemistry in ways that make you more anxious, more forgetful, and more sensitive to future pain. Understanding what’s actually happening inside your head is often the first step toward finally putting it down.
HEAT WAVE WARNING: 5 Mistakes That Can Kill You
Every summer, extreme heat quietly kills more people than any other kind of weather, and the great majority of them are over 60. In this video I walk through five common mistakes that turn an ordinary hot day into a genuine emergency, and why your body's ability to cool itself changes after 60 in ways almost no one warns you about. You'll learn why some of the things people do to stay cool can actually make heat more dangerous, how common medications quietly raise your risk, the hydration mistake nearly everyone makes, and the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke that families most often miss until it is too late. Most important, you'll know exactly what to do instead, starting today, to get yourself and the people you love safely through the next heat wave. It is mechanism-first, sourced, and made for anyone over 60 who wants to stay safe in the heat.
Also See: This simple frozen water bottle trick can make your fan feel colderCryptosporidium ("Crypto")
This may help but it is no substitute for air conditioning when a room's temperature is in the 90s. Among the things that churches can do is check on older members of the church and residents of the community and open an air-conditioned sanctuary or fellowship hall as a cooling center. A church can also provide transportation to a cooling center for those who have no transportation of their own.
Learn more about the "crypto" parasite which has sickened people in a growing number of states this summer.
Maps show states at risk as US monsoon arrives
A major shifting weather pattern is set to bring the first widespread monsoon storms of the summer to the parched Southwest, offering relief from weeks of triple-digit heat but introducing severe risks of flash flooding and lightning-sparked wildfires.
Forecasters track the arrival of the annual North American monsoon as a massive high-pressure system alters regional wind directions, drawing deep tropical moisture northward into the interior West. Thunderstorm activity is expected to intensify across Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas, threatening major metro areas including Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas.
We have been experiencing thunderstorms every day for more than a week in western Kentucky. The rain has helped to reduce the heat but has caused high water in some areas and we are under a flash flood alert. I strongly advise against attempting to drive through high water. Either take a different route to your destination or wait until the water has gone down. I speak from experience.8 Signs of a Dangerous Pastor Every Search Committee Should Know
I’ve spent decades watching search committees do this work, and I’ve watched some of them miss warning signs that were sitting in plain view. What follows are eight patterns worth knowing before you extend a call, not after.
7 Signs a Pharisee Spirit Is Leading Your Church
Here’s an uncomfortable question. What if the Pharisee isn’t the guy down the street or the church across town? What if it’s you?
Most leaders assume they’d have recognized Jesus instantly. But read the Gospels closely and it gets harder to be so sure. When Jesus called Matthew away from his tax booth and then sat down to eat with him and his friends, a lot of good, Bible-believing people were offended. If you’d have raised the same objection, you’d have been standing with the Pharisees.
That’s the worry worth sitting with. Not whether a Pharisee is running your church. Whether it’s you.
Should Pastors Engage in Online Fights?
In this episode, Josh and Sam tackle a question many pastors quietly wrestle with: Should I respond to that post… or just scroll past it? Social media makes it easy to jump into theological skirmishes and digital debates, but Scripture calls pastors to something higher than winning arguments. Online quarrels often produce more heat than light, drain emotional energy, and distract from the real work of shepherding people face-to-face. While there is a time to contend for the faith, most comment-section fights are poor stewardship and rarely change hearts. Sometimes the most pastoral response is silence... and logging off.
How to suck the power out of your preaching and teaching...
Of all people, preachers should have real and great expectations from preaching or teaching, not because of anything on their part, but because of what they have to work with...
Why Prayer Is Necessary for You
The Heidelberg Catechism slots prayer in the gratitude section (not in guilt or grace). Prayer is a vital part of our Spirit-prompted obedience to God. God saves us in order for us to commune with Him. Our Father commands us to offer Him sacrifices of thankfulness, and we will if we are truly thankful. Ungrateful people don’t take time to thank God for His rich blessings.
But notice the second part of 116: “Moreover, God will give His grace and the Holy Spirit only to those who constantly and with heartfelt longing ask Him for these gifts and thank Him for them.” That’s important to understand.
Can AI replace vocation?
For many, the uncertainty is about more than employment — it's about meaning and purpose.
Psychologists warn of a sycophancy trap as patients increasingly turn to AI chatbots for therapy
More than three-quarters of psychologists report that their patients are turning to artificial intelligence for mental health support, ranging from self-diagnosis to seeking companionship. This trend provides evidence that people are increasingly looking beyond traditional psychotherapy to manage their psychological well-being. These findings were published in a recent survey report by the American Psychological Association.
3 Ways to Ensure Programs Are Making Disciples
Making disciples doesn’t happen by accident. It requires attention, intention, and the right conditions over time.
