Whatever the church decides to do will determine the future of the church. Pastors may come and go, but those in the church will likely have to live with the answer for the remaining life of the church.
11 Tips for Cross-Cultural Church Planting
While we tend to associated cross-cultural church planting with planting a church in another country, it can involve planting a church in a community, district, or neighborhood whose dominant culture is different from our own. Te language spoke in that community, district, or neighborhood may also be different from ours. A number of the tips in this article can also be applied to church planting that is not cross-cultural.
According to Greear, "An important part of demonstrating the gospel is how we treat people in church, and that requires presence." He has a point.
Investing and Inviting to Achieve Maximum Impact
The core dynamic of evangelism is investing and inviting. Let’s start off with the invest part. Investing in someone is simply about building a relationship: getting to know them, spending time with them, entering into community with them.
Deuteronomy and the art of listening
Jewish academic and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster explores the concept of listening in Judaism and explains why it is so important to faith.
VOICES: Why bashing feminism for trans insanity is a misfire
...the point that needs to be made here is this: Regardless of how badly astray the movement has gone in recent years, and it has indeed gone astray, the original, early feminism was largely a necessary response to men behaving badly and abusing their power.
Why America Is Not a Christian Nation
Michael Horton explains why there is no such thing, in the new covenant, as a “Christian nation” apart from the worldwide body of Christ. “The problem with Christian nationalism is not that some Christians are taking a biblical idea too seriously,” says Horton, professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, “but that they are confusing America with Israel under the old covenant. From a biblical perspective, it’s actually heretical. It confuses the law with the gospel.”
Corporate Prayer Has Left the Church Building
Josh and Sam discuss a recent survey that reveals where people pray. Far fewer people pray in the church building than they thought. How can congregations teach corporate prayer and encourage people to pray more? This episode covers best practices for pastors and church leaders.
While liturgical churches have in their Sunday gatherings what are called the Prayers of the People, the Universal Prayer, the Prayers of the Faithful, the Bidding Prayers, the Prayers of Intercession, or simply the Prayers, these prayers in a number of churches might be less perfunctory and more particularized. The congregation might also be encouraged to add their own petitions and thanksgivings.Kids in Your Ministry Won’t Tell You These 10 Things: Listen Up!
How well do you know the kids in your children’s ministry? Do you ever wonder what those students are thinking but not saying? Here are 10 things kids won’t tell you but wish you knew.
FAQ: Do You Have a Job Description for a Small Group Director?
In this article Mark Howell identifies four things that he thinks ought to be on the job description for a small group director.
VOICES: Does your sinful nature still control you?
Whether you realize it or not, your life is controlled by one of two things: Your sinful nature, or the Holy Spirit. And in the case of the Holy Spirit, He is not a “thing,” but a Person.
Enter your new season with a new outlook
Do you want to enter your new season? How does God get us ready?
St. Brigid Oceanside
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is excited to announce plans for a new Episcopal community have taken root in the city of Oceanside, California. Under the leadership of the Rev. Brian Petersen, St. Brigid’s Episcopal Church will be a beacon of hope and transformation for the community of Oceanside.
From what I have observed church planting in The Episcopal Church appears to occur in 20 to 30 year intervals rather than on a ongoing basis. In my former diocese a number of new churches were planted in the 1950s and in the 1980s and in the early years of the first decade of the century. In the Diocese of Kentucky in which I now live two new churches were planted in the 1950s and one new church in the 1980s in my part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. No new Episcopal churches were planted in this region in the first decade of the twenty-first century. However, three breakaway churches were planted. Only one of these churches survives.
To grow, churches must not only replace members and attendees who die, become homebound or institutionalized, move away, migrate to another church, or drop out altogether, but also they must add new members and attendees. The same holds true for denominations. As well as replacing churches that close, disaffiliate, or break away, they must also plant new churches. Otherwise, they will become increasingly less viable.
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