Christmas time does not feel like a joyful time for everyone. What do you do when it does not feel like Christmas?
Don’t Let Deconstruction Become Deconversion
Review: ‘Set Adrift’ by Sean McDowell and John Marriott
Leading Topics: Enhancing your Church’s Hospitality and Welcome
Extending genuine hospitality to newcomers isn’t just good manners or a good membership recruitment strategy. It embodies the Gospel and expresses Christ’s love for all. And yet too many congregations overlook this critical need. Or they welcome people in ways that are off-putting or ineffective. In this eighth Special 20th Anniversary Edition of Leading Ideas we share some of our most helpful articles and resources on making church visitors feel truly welcome.
A Harmony of the Birth of Jesus: Matthew and Luke Here is a simple chronology to show how the events of Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2 fit together and what each of the gospel authors emphasize. Matthew tells things more through the eyes of Joseph and Luke (who perhaps interviewed Mary) tells the events largely through her eyes.
Why Small Congregation Worship Matters
Teresa Stewart has faith in the future of small congregations because she has faith in a God who shows up even in small and forgotten places. She believes that small churches are critical learning laboratories as the church navigates a future far too complex for one-size-fits-all patterns of ministry.
Teens and Church: 6 Things Young People Need From You
Asking what teens want from church is the wrong question. What teenagers desire from a faith community doesn’t compare to what they need. So let’s look at the topic from that angle.
FREE Download: Bible Reading Plan for the Families in Your Ministry
This weekly Bible reading plan will get families into some of the best-known stories and important lessons from Genesis to Revelation—and get them talking about it with simple questions/reflections for every reading. Whether families start this in January or some other time of the year, this plan will help them read, enjoy, and apply what they read.
8 Reasons to Pray for Your Small Group Leader
Whether your church has Sunday school or off-site small groups during the week, you likely have small group leaders who week after week facilitate the group...Here’s why we must cover them in prayer....
Why Your Mindset Will Matter in 2024
Before we know it, 2024 will be here—and the beginning of the year is a great time for a fresh start in your life and in your ministry. It’s when we try new diets, new budgets, and (often) new ministry plans. While there is nothing magical about the first few days of a calendar year, it can be a logical time to try something new. If you’re already eyeing a change in 2024, don’t overlook the most important place to start: All change starts in your mind.Here’s why.
4 Characteristics of Biblical Evangelism
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says biblical evangelism is characterized by four key practices — proclamation, community, service, and witness. Focusing on these practices can demystify the concept of evangelism and strengthen a congregation’s evangelistic efforts.
5 Essential Qualities of Effective Evangelism
Priscilla Pope-Levison’s book, Models of Evangelism, studies eight influential approaches to evangelism, everything from visitation and revivalism to social media. She finds that regardless of the method deployed, five qualities are essential to effective evangelism — hospitality, relationships, integrity, sharing the Christian message, and rootedness in the church.
The United Methodist reckoning
In following the developments over the past four years, one thing has been clear: The name United Methodist is not enough to hold together groups that no longer see one another as united.
Some traditionalist bishops revolt after Vatican allows ‘blessing’ same-sex couples
Pope Francis may have authorized non-liturgical blessings for same-sex couples, but not everyone in the Catholic hierarchy is going along. Traditionalist bishops, particularly in Africa and Asia, already are revolting and defying the pope’s supposedly unquestionable authority.
Americans are becoming less spiritual as well as less religious
But you'd never know it from the latest Pew survey.
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