Thursday's Catch: 'When Church Growth Isn’t Worth the Cost' And More

When Church Growth Isn’t Worth the Cost
When our energy is going into a better Sunday morning show we’re creating passive audience members instead of converts and disciples.

In small churches Sunday worship plays an important role in making converts and forming disciples. Those planning and leading Sunday worship will need to regularly evaluate that worship and how well it is fulfilling that role and to make necessary changes. They should not let Sunday worship become a sacred cow that cannot be touched if it is to fulfill that role.

Sarah Mullally celebrated as the Church of England's first female leader, in photos
Sarah Mullally waves as she leaves after the Enthronement Ceremony installing her as archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury, England, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the first woman ever to lead the Church of England.

Why the church’s ‘safe’ new archbishop may end up pleasing no one
For a woman who has risen to the top of two of Britain’s most prominent institutions, Dame Sarah Mullally has managed to remain remarkably tight-lipped about herself. As a result, the Church of England’s clergy and congregants know little about the woman who was officially installed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury this afternoon – other than the fact she will be a very different leader from Justin Welby, her predecessor.

Philip Larkin’s dark prophecy about England’s churches might be coming true
A recent survey by the National Churches Trust found that five per cent of all places of worship fear they will “definitely” or “probably” be closed by 2030. Many of these are rural; 900 such churches are threatened with closure in the next five years.

One in ten require urgent repairs within 12 months, and one in five say that their building has deteriorated over the last five years. Church of England parishes have a £1bn repair backlog, and need £150m a year for regular maintenance.

Prince William’s Christian journey: Big on the church, hesitant about God
n September 2022, the new Prince of Wales paid a visit to a church. It was his second of two engagements on a day out in Swansea, notable for being Prince William’s first trip to Wales under his new title.

He did not pray. There was no theological discussion of the Christian faith. Instead, he spent time at St Thomas’s “thriving community hub”, including a food bank, facilities for homeless people and a kitchen training up the next generation of chefs.

Also See: Brits Debate Prince William’s ‘Quiet Faith’

Mexico Elects First Female Primate
The Rt. Rev. Alba Sally Sue Hernández Garcia, Bishop of Mexico [City] was elected March 21 as the first female primate of the Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico, the Anglican Church of Mexico.

Already a pioneer, as the church’s first and only female bishop, Hernández assumes her new role against the backdrop of a bitter schism that dates to two disputed episcopal elections in 2022, including that of her successor, Archbishop Enrique Treviño Cruz.

Catholic converts reach 20-year high in US as Gen Z leads new wave of spirituality
Conversions to the Roman Catholic religion have overtaken Evangelical Protestantism in the USA, with Gen Z being behind the new spirit of religious feeling, according to a survey.

Data collected by the Cooperative Election Study (CES) shows that in 2023, 21 percent of Gen Z adults identified as Catholic compared to 19 percent who described themselves as Protestant. According to the Catholic news site Zenit, this is the first time in American history that any generation of Catholics has surpassed the numbers of Protestants, including Baby Boomers, Gen X or Millennials.

Bishop plans to ordain married men by 2028 despite Catholic rules
A Catholic bishop in Belgium has announced plans to ordain married men to the priesthood by 2028, despite the Roman Catholic Church’s requirement of clerical celibacy.

Bishop Johan Bonny of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antwerp recently released a pastoral letter claiming that “the consensus on this question is almost total” among Church leaders.

Far-right MAGA fundamentalist draws scathing rebuke from Christian pastors
On Sunday night, March 22, CNN aired reporter Pamela Brown's documentary "The Rise of Christian Nationalism." And one of the far-right Christian nationalists Brown examined was Pastor Doug Wilson, who preaches at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho.

For most of his life, Wilson — now in his early seventies — was a marginal figure within Christianity. And his views are extreme even by religious right standards. Wilson, a proponent of "Christian reconstructionism" and "dominionist theology," believes that women should never have been given the right to vote, that wives should be totally submissive to their husbands, and that the federal government should be a Christian fundamentalist theocracy based on strict biblical law.

It’s not just oil and gas. The Strait of Hormuz blockage is rattling another vital commodity 

Food insecurity warnings as Iran conflict constricts fertilizer supply and prices soar.

Around one-third of the global seaborne fertilizer trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Your Sermon Was Never Meant to End on Sunday
What if the Sunday sermon was never meant to be a moment? What if it was meant to shape the entire week?

Mystery humming noise heard across US states
Americans across several states are reporting hearing a strange humming noise in their neighborhoods, and residents think they know the culprit: data centers.

We have yet to fully appreciate the impact that AI is having on us!

Who Will Disciple Them? Practical Ways to Foster Special Needs Inclusion in Your Church
Church leaders often want to serve families raising children with special needs but don’t know where to begin. The good news is that meaningful inclusion doesn’t require a large budget or a fully developed special needs ministry. Small, intentional shifts can make an immediate difference.

Measuring Evangelism Health: Where Do You and Your Church Stand?
There are moments in history when God’s activity becomes unmistakable, not because the world is suddenly righteous, but because people are suddenly hungry. I believe we’re living in one of those moments right now.

We’re standing on the crest of a modern awakening, and it’s unfolding in plain sight. The tragedy would not be that the moment passed, it would be that the church didn’t see it. This isn’t hype. It’s measurable.