How do the unchurched really feel about the American church? Do these feelings differ from those who regularly attend church? The Church Answers Research team just completed a new, significant study to answer these questions.
How to Respond When Your Church’s Attendance (and Growth) Is Stuck
Here are seven things you can do when your church hits a growth wall and some ideas on how you might be able to break through.
Can a 'parallel province' in the Church of England actually work
The Alliance coalition of orthodox Anglicans opposed to same-sex blessings in the Church of England says it has begun to set up its own structures in a "de facto parallel province". But the practical reality is that the powers-that-be in the C of E are able to shoot this "parallel province" down before it even gets off the ground.
Prominent Texas church quietly quits the SBC
One of the most prominent Baptist churches in Texas quietly quit the Southern Baptist Convention Oct. 27 — part of an unnoticed trend that’s hard to document on a national level.
In Vatican summit's final document, delegates call for more lay and female church leaders
Pope Francis signed the final document of the synod, suggesting that it constitutes official church teaching.
What Do Churchgoers Want From Pastors This Election Season?
When someone shows up to church in the weeks surrounding the election, here’s what they’re likely to be seeking concerning politics.
Lost
In so many ways, our world thinks that it knows better than previous generations. It clearly displays what CS Lewis called ‘chronological snobbery’. However, there is rarely any awareness of lostness. There is little recognition in our culture of where we have come from, where we are, or where we are going. There is a refusal to admit that we might be lost....
The Church Should Sing for Heaven’s Sake: When and Why We Stopped Singing about Heaven, and How to Start Again
American evangelical churches aren’t singing about heaven as often or as well as they used to. And this isn’t just my personal opinion. As part of a larger research project, I compared two large selections of worship songs.[1] The first selection was the most commonly sung congregational songs in the United States from 2000–2015; the second group was the most commonly published congregational songs in the United States from 1737–1960.[2] Among many similarities, one difference was striking: the topic of heaven, which once was frequently and richly sung about, has now all but disappeared.
Building a Vibrant Hybrid Church Community
Remember when church was just about opening the doors on Sunday morning? Those days feel like ancient history! Building a thriving church community today is less about choosing between online or in-person worship and more about mastering the art of "both/and."
Bringing Intercession Back
Congregational prayer is being pushed out of Protestant worship services in America.
Even in liturgical churches which typically include some form of general intercessions in their services, these intercessions are prayed in an often hurried, perfunctory manner.For Us, In Us, And By Us: Intercessory Prayer in Action
The pressures to cut back on the time given to congregational intercessions have followed the church throughout most of its history. Sadly, for reasons that articles later in this series will dig into, congregational leaders have tended—at least in some times and places—to view congregational intercessions as optional.
4 Must-Know Church Marketing Secrets
I once had the opportunity to share at a gathering of United Methodist Church leaders near Washington D.C. I shared four things I think church leaders need to know about church marketing. Below are some notes and videos I shared with them. Enjoy!
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