Wednesday's Catch: 'How Did We Get Here? Where 70 Years of Church Growth Took Us' And More

How Did We Get Here? Where 70 Years of Church Growth Took Us
...somewhere in the middle of the growth, a question started following me around that I did not have the courage to say out loud.

Are we making disciples? Or are we making church attenders who need us to keep producing for them every single week?

10 Dangerous Myths About Church Growth That Are Quietly Destroying Congregations
Most church growth advice assumes one thing: a bigger crowd is the goal, and anything blocking it is a problem to fix. That assumption quietly drives a lot of bad decisions. Pastors copy a model that worked somewhere else, pour money into a building or a program, and still watch the room stay half empty. The issue is rarely effort. It is the myths underneath the effort.

These ten beliefs about church growth sound spiritual, even obvious. Read closely and most of them fall apart. Some are merely unhelpful. A few are dangerous enough to wreck a healthy congregation while everyone congratulates the leader for trying.

Why Your Church Needs Senior Adults: 8 Roles Older Believers Fill
Some of the most committed people of prayer in any congregation are older. They have prayed through decades of crises, answered prayers, and long silences, and they have stayed faithful anyway. That kind of endurance is rare and worth building around.

If your church does not have a prayer ministry, this is the place to start. Invite senior adults to lead it and most will say yes. Pair that conviction with a clear discipleship pathway and you give their prayers a structure that shapes the whole body.

Church Payroll Mistakes To Avoid: Employee vs. Independent Contractor Explained
Churches often rely on a mix of paid staff and outside workers to carry out ministry.

Musicians, custodians, bookkeepers, and technology and other specialists may serve a church in different ways.

But an important question arises whenever someone is paid for their work: Is the person an employee or an independent contractor?

It’s a critically important question because it addresses how income taxes are handled under federal tax law.

How Christians Can Celebrate Juneteenth
Church leaders are often called to shepherd their congregations through complex cultural conversations. Nathan A. Finn encourages us to see the holiday as an opportunity for discipleship, helping believers reflect on America’s history while pursuing Christ-centered reconciliation and service.

Utah bishops oppose massive federal immigrant detention facility in their state
The Episcopal bishop in Utah has joined with her counterpart in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in opposing plans to build a massive immigrant detention facility in their state.

Also See: Trump empties Florida’s alligator Alcatraz amid soaring costs

Episcopal Network Partners with AME Church to Open Community House
A network of intentional communities connected with Episcopal parishes in the Boston area has launched a new community house in connection with an African Methodist Episcopal church. Christened Jubilee House, it received its first eight residents over Memorial Day weekend.

Gloucester churches come together to bless River Avon amid pollution concerns
Churches in the Diocese of Gloucester have taken the concept of praying for good health, but also taking one’s medicine, into a whole new realm.

On Sunday Tewkesbury Abbey and St Mary’s Magdalene, Twyning will be gathering to bless the River Avon as part of a broader campaign against river pollution.

Should the ACC Endorse the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals? Answer 3 of 3
The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-19) will convene in Belfast, Northern Ireland from June 27 to July 5, 2026. This essay is the third of three essays each responding to the same question, Should the ACC approve the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals? Covenant hosted Answer 1 and Answer 2 earlier this week. Each essay brings a very different perspective and a different answer. Readers may also wish to see a series of essays on the NCPs which appeared on Covenant in 2025 and another series evaluating the Abuja Affirmation which appeared on Covenant in Spring 2026.

New poll: 250 years in, Americans prefer religious diversity
A new poll by PRRI shows two-thirds of Americans still prefer a nation made of many different faiths, despite the growth of Christian nationalism in the public square.

Are Altar Calls Biblical? 4 Mistakes That Quietly Distort the Gospel
Walk into most churches and the altar call feels like the natural close of a sermon. People come forward, the music swells, and the moment feels holy. But that familiar scene hides a question many pastors never stop to ask. Is the altar call helping people trust Christ, or is it quietly putting something in front of the gospel that does not belong there?

Used well, an altar call points people to Jesus. Used carelessly, it can confuse the very message it is meant to deliver. The difference is not small, and most of the danger hides in habits we rarely examine. Here is what the altar call gets right, where it goes wrong, and how to invite people to Christ without tripping over your own method.

Is AI Out of Control?
As AI quietly integrates into everyday tools and church practices, ministry leaders are finding that their choices are increasingly shaped by forces outside their control. A survey by researcher A. Trevor Sutton on technology use in congregations points to how quickly new technology can be adopted, both willingly and not.

One flu shot change may have big consequences for older adults
Receiving a higher-dose flu shot may reduce hospitalizations for older adults, according to a new study.

6 Ways to Prepare Men in Your Church for Fatherhood
The local church has a role to play in developing men into godly fathers. Here are six ways the church can help prepare men for fatherhood.

Who Should Disciple Children: The Church or Parents?
A few summers ago, my son tagged along with a friend to another church’s Vacation Bible School. When my wife picked him up on the final day of VBS, we assumed that would be the end of our family’s connection to that local church. Instead, it was just the beginning.

Every week after the VBS, the kids’ ministry team sent parents a simple email—not just reminders about upcoming church events, but practical resources to help us continue spiritual conversations at home. As a parent, that meant a lot to me.

They understood something many churches miss: Church programming is an important part of a child’s faith formation, but discipleship of the next generation can’t stop there. Children’s ministry should be a partnership between the church and the home.

When It Comes to Outreach, Where Is the Fruit?
There are between 350,000 and 400,000 churches in the United States. Imagine if every one of these communities of believers was equipping each congregation member to share their faith in natural ways?

Sadly, the vast majority of churches aren’t engaged meaningfully in outreach. A small percentage of churches are seeing people come to faith in Jesus on a regular basis. An even smaller number are discipling these new believers into Christian maturity.

I have the honor of talking with top evangelism leaders, denominational executives and pastors around the world, and I keep hearing similar themes. Almost every church leader desires to see healthy growth through people coming to faith in Jesus. Most of them live with ongoing disappointment in this area of their church ministry.

I’d like to clarify some of the primary roadblocks to consistent and effective outreach in the local church, and suggest a practical step for each to begin reversing this trend of loss in evangelistic fervor.