A quiet shift is taking place among senior adults.
Instead of moving into retirement communities or assisted living facilities, more are choosing to remain in their own homes as long as possible. The common phrase is “aging in place,” but for churches, “ministering-in-place” may be a better description.
Most Americans believe in God, but many rarely attend worship, study finds
Most adults in the United States believe in God and engage in some form of religious practice, but nearly half seldom or never attend religious services, according to data from the Pew Research Center that offers a snapshot of American faith by scaling the population down to a hypothetical town of 100 people.
From first dropping church attendance, then religious identity: How countries lose religion
For leaders of congregations, understanding how secularization works may point to a central challenge in halting it — how to create religious communities where more young people feel that they belong.
The Challenge of Cultural Attrition in Your Church
What comes to mind when you think of attrition in your church? Perhaps you think about the attrition of membership or attendance. Maybe you think about financial attrition. However, I want to draw your attention to a different and often overlooked category: cultural attrition.
6 Moves Churches Must Make to Reach and Disciple Young Adults
In this moment, many congregations feel stuck, unsure where to begin, unaware of the cultural and developmental complexities shaping young adults, or simply resigned to discouraging trends. But there’s hope. We identified “magnetic churches” across the country—congregations experiencing unusual fruitfulness in their ministries to young adults. Their witness is clear: Reaching emerging adults is possible when churches embrace a prayerful, biblical, and gospel-centered posture.
From this study, we found six strategic moves that offer a path forward for young-adult ministry in your church.
Importance of “Shallow” Christian Friendships
Danny D’Acquisto emphasizes the value of all relationships within the church, including those that are less intimate. While we cannot know every member at a deep personal level, the fact that all members belong to Christ and have committed to carrying out the church’s responsibilities and mission together means that every relationship is worthwhile and spiritually significant.
Trump's new fury farming crusade is pushing America toward the inevitable
A January 2026 Gallup poll showed that 89% of all Americans expect high levels of political conflict this year, as the country heads toward one of its most decisive midterm elections ever.
Russell answers a listener question about how we should perceive seemingly harmful political beliefs in our church congregations.
When Lent feels...empty
The tradition has a word for this—acedia, the ancient monks called it. A spiritual torpor, a flatness of soul, the noonday demon. It's not depression, exactly, though it can feel like depression's quieter cousin. It's the specific exhaustion of someone who has given their life to something holy and temporarily can't feel the holiness of it.
The worst part is the performance. The expectation that because you're the pastor, you have arrived somewhere spiritually that the congregation is still traveling toward. You haven't. You're traveling too. Some years you're ahead of them. This year, you're not sure you're even on the same road.
3 Benefits of Teaching the Hard Passages of Scripture
You’re doing yourself and those you disciple a disservice if you shy away from teaching the more complex passages of Scripture.
Random Thoughts and Tips on Prayer
No one apart from Jesus has ever mastered prayer, and no one apart from Jesus has ever fully understood it, so don’t be discouraged if you find praying difficult or perplexing. Be heartened that almost every book on prayer begins with the author admitting he is overwhelmed by his subject and convicted that he has not yet mastered it. It is more important that you obey than that you figure it out. You can pray with confidence, even if you don’t fully understand prayer.
How (and How Not) to Fast
If we want to seek closer communion with God through this often neglected means of grace, we’ll need to start with the Bible’s instructions about the wrong way to do it. Once we’ve been warned off that path, we’ll see the better way.
Creativity in Context: St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach I noticed a couple of things in particular about this legacy congregation when I gathered with them last fall. This is a church that is leaning into the needs of its context while also leveraging creativity for ministry.
Sharing the Gospel Starts with Meeting the Lost
Here are some practical ideas for how to pop the “Christian bubble” and invite more lost people into your life.
Also See: How ‘Rage Bait’ Surged to Word of the Year in 2025Why Do Faithful Christians Defend Harmful Things?
Russell answers a listener question about how we should perceive seemingly harmful political beliefs in our church congregations.
When Lent feels...empty
The tradition has a word for this—acedia, the ancient monks called it. A spiritual torpor, a flatness of soul, the noonday demon. It's not depression, exactly, though it can feel like depression's quieter cousin. It's the specific exhaustion of someone who has given their life to something holy and temporarily can't feel the holiness of it.
The worst part is the performance. The expectation that because you're the pastor, you have arrived somewhere spiritually that the congregation is still traveling toward. You haven't. You're traveling too. Some years you're ahead of them. This year, you're not sure you're even on the same road.
3 Benefits of Teaching the Hard Passages of Scripture
You’re doing yourself and those you disciple a disservice if you shy away from teaching the more complex passages of Scripture.
Random Thoughts and Tips on Prayer
No one apart from Jesus has ever mastered prayer, and no one apart from Jesus has ever fully understood it, so don’t be discouraged if you find praying difficult or perplexing. Be heartened that almost every book on prayer begins with the author admitting he is overwhelmed by his subject and convicted that he has not yet mastered it. It is more important that you obey than that you figure it out. You can pray with confidence, even if you don’t fully understand prayer.
How (and How Not) to Fast
If we want to seek closer communion with God through this often neglected means of grace, we’ll need to start with the Bible’s instructions about the wrong way to do it. Once we’ve been warned off that path, we’ll see the better way.
Creativity in Context: St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach I noticed a couple of things in particular about this legacy congregation when I gathered with them last fall. This is a church that is leaning into the needs of its context while also leveraging creativity for ministry.
Sharing the Gospel Starts with Meeting the Lost
Here are some practical ideas for how to pop the “Christian bubble” and invite more lost people into your life.
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