Saturday Lagniappe: "Change Wisely, Dude" and More

Dude, Do Young Adults Really Want a Relevant Church?

A young writer has some advice for church leaders trying desperately to attract and retain young people: change carefully and wisely. What young people say they want in their 20s is not necessarily what they want 10 years later. Read More

The senior warden of my church was telling me how his daughter's college friends who attended a large evangelical church in the area when they were attending college are attending the local Episcopal church, now they are married and have children. The local Episcopal church has been experiencing modest growth and enjoys a good reputation in the community for its social ministries. This article was written five years ago and describes how its author and her husband, after moving from Phoenix Arizona to Austin, Texas, began to attend an Anglican church. According to Ed Stetzer, the research does not indicate that what we are seeing is a major trend among young people.  But the article does suggest that some young people as they grow older, are attracted to liturgical churches. I would like to learn more about the church that she and her husband are attending and the segment of the population that it is attracting. I have also noticed that a number of my friends whom I met while sojourning in a growing non-denominational church here in Murray are now expressing a desire to explore new spiritual alternatives. I do not sense that they would be interested in exploring Anglican spirituality . One has visited the local Episcopal church but she found the worship "too rigid." She comes from an Assembly of God background. 

In Ministry, Numbers Are Important (but they Aren’t Everything)

More often than not, church life is difficult, mundane, and different than we may have assumed. Its easy, if we are not careful, for pastors to grow disillusioned by a seeming lack of success. This happens, I believe, because we often lose site of a simple fact: We are not pastoring machines or processes, but people. Discipleship is not mass-produced, but hand-crafted. Read More

Laypeople and the Mission of God: Part III – Customers to Owners

I continue my series today about laypeople and the mission of God. Let me start with a crisis point in my ministry that helped me to see the issue more clearly. Read More

Why These 5 Safeguards May Help Protect Your Church 

While we’re not experts in church security, here are five safeguards that may make a difference at your church. Read More

8 Budget-Friendly Church Lobby Design Ideas

These budget-friendly updates will help turn your lobby into a space that invites both members and visitors to linger. Read More