Friday's Catch: 'How to Level Up Evangelistic Growth in Your Church' And More

How to Level Up Evangelistic Growth in Your Church
"What fuels church health? Many factors contribute, but one of the most significant—maybe the most significant—is intentional evangelism. In this issue, we explore data from Exponential’s “Becoming Five Multiplication Study,” which surveyed more than 1,000 Protestant churches in the United States. The study evaluated churches on a scale from Level 1 (declining), Level 2 (stagnant), Level 3 (adding), Level 4 (reproducing) to Level 5 (multiplying). The results reveal reasons for both celebration and areas of concern."

4 Markers of the Early Church: Reclaiming the Vision for Biblical Community
Pastors and church leaders have the responsibility of bringing a compelling vision for biblical community to their congregations.

Learning to Disagree as Christians
"As the pandemic demonstrated repeatedly, we need to learn how to handle severe disagreements in healthy ways. I’m interested in how to disagree about non-creedal, non-confessional questions in ways that preserve Christian fellowship and commend Christian community to the surrounding world. How can we learn to get better at disagreeing so that we can avoid the painful consequences of being bad at it?"

The Significance of the Last Supper: Why It Still Matters Today
The Last Supper is one of the most iconic moments in Christian history. It was a meal that carried profound meaning, marking the final gathering of Jesus and His disciples before His crucifixion. Beyond being a historical event, it continues to hold deep spiritual and theological importance for believers today.

John Wesley, Anglican prist, leading figure in the 18th century Evangelical Revival, and founder of Methodism, had a high view of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper as an important means of grace and encouraged early Methodists to receive communion regularly and frequently. He himself received communion at least weekly and more often during the seasons of Christmas and Easter. Yet in the United States many Methodist congregations only celebrate the Lord's Supper once a month. This is not due to a shortage of ordained clergy as may have been the case in the past. The United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline permits the licensing of local pastors, lay persons, to officiate at the celebration of the Lord's Supper and consecrate and distribute the elements, as well as to preach sermons and provide pastoral care.

Three Key Principles of Biblical Interpretation
"There’s one thing you can do as a Christian that’s more important than anything else. Study the Bible. But sometimes it can feel overwhelming. With so many different authors, genres, and cultural contexts, how can we be sure we’re interpreting it correctly? That’s where hermeneutics comes in—a fancy word that simply means the method of interpreting the Bible properly. Here are three key principles of interpretation to help you study the Bible with confidence."

From flattening the curve to widening the circle: Zoom church 5 years later
"Five years ago, at Oakhurst Baptist Church we sounded the call that we would be joining many other churches in going virtual to help flatten the coronavirus curve and do our part to slow the spread of the disease. There was no way of knowing at the time that what we thought would be a two- to three-week retreat into social distancing to “flatten the curve” would turn into a years-long pandemic that would claim millions of lives and fundamentally change the way we move through the world. One thing that proved to be a positive change, though, is the way our community connection has grown through the continued use of Zoom for hybrid worship and other gatherings."

Measles cases pick up as RFK promotes unproven treatments
Cases of the incredibly contagious measles virus are continuing to rise in Texas and across the US as the nation's top health official promotes treatments not supported by health experts.

Related: Former Surgeon General: Unvaccinated Measles Outbreaks Show Why We Need Government Clarity on Vaccines, Health officials prepare for measles spread as disinformation threatens already low vaccination rates, and RFK Jr. has made several claims about measles. Here's what the science says

What Does the Bible Teach About Demons and Spiritual Warfare?
In this series, How to Teach Difficult Doctrines, we’ll be offering reflections about how youth workers can teach and talk about difficult doctrines and issues. Some are challenging because they’re confusing, others because they’re controversial, and some because they’re simply difficult for youth to accept.

If People Smarter Than Me Reject Christianity, Isn’t It Likely That They’re Right and I’m Wrong?
"...In 1962, the American philosopher Thomas Kuhn wrote a groundbreaking book titled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In that book he argued that science doesn’t work in this linear “just the facts, ma’am” sort of way. Instead, facts are collected, sifted, and interpreted in light of a person’s preexisting worldview—what Kuhn calls a 'paradigm.' And that worldview is not so much determined by the facts as it is controlling of what a person accepts as a fact in the first place."

VOICES: How spiritual maturity prevents Christian deconstruction
"Emotionally mature teenagers in loving families do not run away from home. Likewise, spiritually mature Christians who are filled with God's love do not run away from the Lord to deconstruct their faith."

8 Truths in Luke 10 That Could Change How You Share the Gospel
"When Jesus sent out the 72 in Luke 10, he revealed timeless truths about sharing the gospel. If we want to follow his example, we can’t miss these key lessons...."