Churches play a vital role in their communities, offering salvation, guidance, support, and outreach to those in need. However, to remain relevant and effective, churches must actively engage with their local communities in meaningful ways. Church community engagement goes beyond Sunday services and can take many forms. Here are ten impactful ways churches can foster deeper relationships and serve their local communities.
Seattle cathedral helps nonprofit turn former classrooms into homeless shelter for women
St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, recently opened its doors to a shelter for homeless women. It is one of the latest of a growing number of Episcopal congregations partnering with local organizations and developers to address a nationwide shortage of affordable housing.
Related: Affordable senior housing complex opens at Los Angeles-area Episcopal churchArctic diocese forms development corporation to offer housing, community spaces on church land
Moving forward with a plan nearly 40 years in the making, the diocese of the Arctic has announced the formation of a body tasked with redeveloping buildings on church-owned land into housing and multiuse community centres.
Most Americans reject claim that church is irrelevant: survey
A new survey has found wide generational differences in socialization patterns of churchgoers as most Americans reject the idea that the church has become irrelevant. The Barna Group released a State of the Church report in conjunction with Gloo on March 13. The data included in the report is based on interviews conducted with 1,532 adults in the U.S. between Feb. 4-26.
America stands at a moral crossroads, faith leaders warn
The nation is at a political and moral crossroads with the fate of its most vulnerable communities hanging in the balance, according to Vashti McKenzie, president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches. McKenzie participated in a recent vigil with other faith leaders urging Congress to enact policies that protect and nurture at-risk families and immigrants. Held on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the gathering also warned that policies and laws benefitting the rich at the expense of the poor will set the U.S. on a perilous, downward trajectory.
Little Rock UMC Hosts Packed, Emotional Town Hall
The sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark., was standing-room-only for a town hall at which Arkansans spoke about the devastation caused by federal officials' policy decisions.
How are these policy decisions going to affect your community? What affects your community will affect your church.My Kid’s in the Basement—Help!
To understand the modern reality of kids living in their parents’ basement, we must consider both their upbringing and external factors.
The Sons of Sceva and Gen Z’s Spiritual Anxiety
Christianity will only become compelling to a post-Christian culture when people realize that Jesus’s demand for exclusive worship comes coupled with Jesus’s demand to trust him for security amid life’s threats. This powerful Jesus melts away the spiritual anxiety that animates our religious pluralism.
The Religion of Wellness
For all the people who are spiritual but not religious, what’s replacing organized religion? Ironically, new forms of organized religion.
Am I Too Lonely? A Free Self-Scoring Tool for Pastors and Church Leaders
The problem among pastors (and others) is not feelings of loneliness, which we should expect to occur occasionally. The real issue is chronic loneliness, leading to social isolation. Frequent loneliness is linked to dissatisfaction with one’s family and community. In short, the longer you stay lonely, the more likely you are to be dissatisfied with life, pushing you further away from the people who can help you.
Three Pastoral Tasks More Important Than Preaching
Pastoral ministry is often associated with preaching, and rightly so. The proclamation of God’s Word is a central responsibility of any pastor. However, while preaching is essential, it is not the only or even the most important pastoral duty. There are crucial pastoral tasks that build relationships, provide care, and sustain a healthy church community. If a pastor focuses solely on the pulpit, they risk neglecting the very people they are called to shepherd.
Applying Scripture
Applying the Bible requires the skill and discipline to avoid incorrect as well as predictable applications.
Creating a meaningful and impactful set list for a Sunday morning service is both an art and a spiritual responsibility. A well-crafted set list flows seamlessly, engages the congregation, and leads people into a deeper encounter with God. Thoughtful song selection and intentional structuring help create a worship experience that is both powerful and cohesive.
AI and the visual interpretation of Scripture: A new era of biblical storytelling?
The relationship between faith and storytelling has always been central to Christianity. From the parables of Jesus to grand cinematic adaptations of biblical narratives, each generation has found new ways to bring Scripture to life. Today, artificial intelligence presents an unprecedented opportunity: the ability to generate detailed visual interpretations of biblical stories at a fraction of the cost of traditional filmmaking. But while AI holds great promise as a tool for evangelism, it also raises serious theological and ethical questions about the nature of divine revelation, artistic integrity, and the role of human interpretation.
Evangelizing Through Music
In 2013, the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, began Great Sacred Music, a weekly Thursday offering. This offering featured choral works and hymns to “begin a movement that changes the way people approach sacred choral music, the way people think about making faith accessible to seekers and the lapsed, and the way people think about what church really is.” The success of Great Sacred Music has led Samuel Wells and Andrew Earis (vicar and director of music of St. Martin’s) to publish Great Sacred Music as a guide for other communities that might wish to duplicate these efforts.
No comments:
Post a Comment