Thursday's Catch: 'Demographics and the future of the church' and More

Demographics and the future of the church
Authors Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson argue that far from having another 80 years or so of uninterrupted growth ahead of us, we are quickly entering into a stage where populations are set to level off and diminish, and in some regions of the world, implode. If so, it will have massive implications not just for the world in which we live but also for the church and its mission. But how could that be?

Small Churches Struggle to Grow Because Of The People They Attract
A new study by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, shows that there are both demographic and theolographic reasons why small churches stay small and large churches grow larger. While some church growth can be attributed to geographic location and population growth, the Barna study indicates that there are fundamental dynamics at work that keep small congregations from growing numerically as well as several basic factors that contribute to the numerical expansion of mid-sized and large churches.

7 Statistics That Predict Church Growth
These seven statistics from a recent study give a picture of the churches bucking the trend of decline across U.S. churches.

Should Churches Target a Defined Demographic as a Strategy for Church Growth? Casting a wide net vs. narrowing your focus
In this issue’s Perspectives, we look at whether a church should target a defined demographic, such as a specific age group, and leverage it as a church growth strategy at the risk of alienating or ostracizing others. That may mean going all in on one particular characteristic of your surrounding area. Or it may mean shaping service times, locations and elements to reach a specific subgroup.

4 Themes in Lausanne’s ‘State of the Great Commission’
This week, the Lausanne Movement released “The State of the Great Commission,” a compendium of dozens of charts, graphs, and essays from more than 100 contributors around the globe, looking at world Christianity in light of current trends, with an eye to enhancing evangelical mission efforts in both declaring and displaying Christ in the world.

How to Leverage Existing Ministries for Outreach
Most churches could start three to five new outreach ministries in the next six months with almost no cost, no new staff and no new volunteers. The key is not to begin new ministries but to rethink your existing ministries. Let’s be honest: Most churches do plenty of good things for their own people. Most of the money, time and energy in local churches are invested in taking care of those who already call our church their spiritual home. We invest far less in reaching out to those who are still outside the church.

Evangelism in Ordinary Life
...how do you expand your evangelistic repertoire?

The Church must do its part to end plastic pollution
It's been decades now since that first Earth Day in 1970, and despite the environmental movement's efforts and achievements, we must acknowledge that we have not done enough to fully prevent the ecological crisis. How did we get here? When did we lose sight of our responsibility to care for God's creation, and for our neighbours, whether near or far?

The Least of These: A Guide To Practicing a Faith Without Margins
Angie Ward suggests four key practices, based on biblical principles, that can help us better show God’s love to “the least of these.” Following each practice, she provides questions to move you and your church toward concrete action in that area.

Understanding God's Unconditional Love
Have you ever found yourself questioning whether God still loves you? It may seem like a silly question, but let's be honest - we've all had moments where we've done or said something foolish and wondered if God's love for us could waver. However, as believers in Christ, our position is that of sons and daughters of God. This means that our perspective when we look towards heaven is that of heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

What Type of Leader Are You?
Leading in church is challenging already, but today, members and the community closely watch pastoral leadership under a microscope. The pastor’s leadership style can create a nurturing place to grow in faith or a toxic environment that fosters unhealthy relationships. The ability to more closely align with the leadership traits of Jesus makes a pastor more effective in reaching others.

VBS Opens Doors for Discipleship
VBS is a discipleship starting point for kids and families and a missions opportunity for more seasoned disciples.