Thursday's Catch: ''10 Things Any Church Can Do to Grow' And More

10 Things Any Church Can Do to Grow
Here are 10 things that ANY church – no matter its size or budget, worship style or denomination – can do to help ensure it will grow numerically. I honestly can’t envision a scenario where any of these 10 could not be pursued and, if they haven’t yet been pursued, wouldn’t result in increased growth....

Leaning In To Difference: Zoomers and the Future of the Church
There’s an interesting phenomenon underway among a younger cohort of Christians in the West today. And it’s this: Faced with a plethora of challenges; a growing secularism, a hardening against the gospel, a rejection of a biblical understanding of humanity and sexuality, Zoomers are leaning in. They’re steeling themselves and saying “Okay, if I’m going to believe this thing, then I’m going to go all in.”

Archives: ‘The Way Forward Is Through Evangelism’ (1999)
This article first appeared in the July 4, 1999, issue of The Living Church.

"The Decade of Evangelism was largely deemed a failure in the Global North...." In the Episcopal Church a large segment of the clergy and laity had no appetite for church planting and evangelism. In my deanery my parish (the local government district in Louisiana, the equivalent of a county) was experiencing explosive population growth at both its eastern and western ends and could have supported more Episcpal churches than the existing three churches. However, when the diocese's new bishop launched a new church planting initiative, the deanery's clergy did not give it even their token support. Only one new church was planted and then in the bishop's old deanery. Later on a new work would be started in my deanery after the AMiA announced its plans to launch a new church in the deanery. This new work was supplied by clergy from the bishop's old deanery. Both church plants would fall victim to the events of 2003.

Does God Promise to Bless America?
There are two common mistakes regarding 2 Chronicles 7:14. The first is to abuse it, using it to justify a flag-wrapped form of prosperity theology. The second is to excuse it, as if it weren’t “written for our instruction” (Rom. 15:4). Because it’s God’s Word, it’s wise to ask, How should we apply 2 Chronicles 7:14? Here are four guidelines.

We Have Dual Citizenship
In the United States, the annual celebration of Independence Day on July 4th comes with all the cultural trappings—grilling out, gathering with friends and family, and blowing things up. Independence Day is as central to the American calendar as Easter is to the Christian one.

Church Tech Innovation – How Ministries Are Adapting
Over the past few decades churches around the world have increasingly embraced new technologies to expand their reach and better achieve their spiritual mission. Live video streaming, church management software, updated websites and communication tools have become commonplace. When applied thoughtfully, church tech innovation helps churches overcome barriers of geography and physical ability to foster more robust congregational community and connection with those seeking spiritual engagement.

5 Tips to Creating Energized Emails
Your number one way of communicating with your small group leadership and members is email. Invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965, email has exploded in use and distribution. Everyone has it, can navigate it, and they use it. And texting is just an arbitrarily shortened form of email.

Calvin University ordered to examine dissent on LGBT issues
The Christian Reformed Church of North America has instructed Calvin University to examine dissent among faculty and staff on the issue of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

PCUSA moves closer to requiring clergy candidates to answer questions about LGBT views
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is one step closer to requiring clergy candidates to be asked about their views on sexual orientation and gender identity, in a measure some believe will target theological conservatives. Known as the “Olympia Overture” after the presbytery from which it came, the proposal was divided into two parts, both of which were passed by commissioners at the 226th General Assembly on Wednesday.