In this series, I want to walk through some best practices and principles for leading your church to grow. This first article will address two of the most powerful barriers that prevent churches from growing beyond 200. That said, the principles apply to churches of all sizes, and they start with church leaders and pastors.
This Pastor Started a Church for Gamers—and It’s Working
Mark Lutz pastored a regular church for a few years. Then, as a gamer, he opened up Lux Church, a 100% digital church created for gamers. He explains the model, why it's reaching people no one else is reaching, how online relationships are as real as IRL relationships and what other churches are missing and getting wrong when it comes to their digital ministry.
Judge rejects Johnson Amendment settlement, keeping ban on pastors endorsing candidates
The ruling caps a decades-long battle to overturn a ban on houses of worship endorsing candidates.
The demise of England’s great cathedral schools (and their choirs)
The most precious document held by Exeter Cathedral is its foundation charter. Written on parchment in elaborate Latin in 1050 by King Edward the Confessor, it orders the cathedral “to maintain pleasing melody day and night to the praise of God”. It has been doing so ever since, not least because, from 1179, the cathedral has been educating choristers to lift their voices to the heavens. No war, no flood, no plague, not even the Reformation could silence those pleasing melodies. But now the unthinkable has happened. Exeter Cathedral School has announced it will be closing its doors.
Church bells to ring for first time at Easter service in Betws-y-Coed
Bells at St Mary’s Church in Betws-y-Coed will rung for the first time at a church service this Easter, following the completion of a major restoration project.
Although the church was built with plans for a full ring of bells, that work was never completed. More than 150 years later, the tower now has a full set in place.
Religious people experience more mixed emotions than non-believers
Religious faith is often associated with happiness, peace of mind, and a sense of purpose. A new series of scientific analyses reveals that highly religious people also frequently experience a blend of positive and negative feelings known as mixed emotions. These findings were published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
How to Create a Culture of Recognition for Your Volunteers
As we build a volunteer team, we must also build a culture of recognition, taking time to notice and appreciate their work for the kingdom.
How to Protect Your Soul in Ministry: 6 Essential Strategies for Leaders
After almost four decades of ministry experience and coaching leaders around the U.S. and world, I have grown convinced that Satan spends a lot more time attacking effective evangelistic leaders than those who spend most of their time tending to sheep who are already following Jesus.
It’s a Risk To Be in Front of a Room
Few people have been canceled for what they have done in the pews, but a good many have been canceled for what they have done in the pulpit. Few gossip bloggers or discernment vloggers scan videos of the congregation to look for sins, nits, or anomalies, but many scan videos of the pastors. There is a whole industry of people who watch sermons in order to mock, rate, review, critique, or bring down the preachers. If it has always been a risk to be the person at the front of the room, how much more today, when a single errant word, embarrassing flub, or theological mistake can make its way around the world at the speed of social media? A sermon can become a meme before a pastor has even offered the benediction.
Connecticut woman’s passion for community helps provide people with hot meals and dignity
For almost 15 years, Dinner for a Dollar has been feeding hungry people in Hamden, Connecticut, with a focus on home cooking, dining with dignity and building community.
Allison Batson, a member of Grace and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Hamden, a town of about 61,000 people six miles north of New Haven, started the program in June 2011 because she knew there were people in need in a town that “has a reputation for being prosperous, but there is economic disparity,” she told Episcopal News Service.
Evangelism Is Not a Thing You Do
When Jesus gives what we call the Great Commission, he isn’t handing his followers a marketing strategy or a church growth program. He is describing a way of life. The command to “make disciples” is not a call to manufacture converts and move on. It’s an invitation to form people who learn not just information about Jesus but how to live in relationship with him.
