Andrew Hopper saw his church plant grow to 1000 in two years, and almost nobody understood how hard that actually was. Especially when you planted at 28 years-old. In this conversation, he tackles church growth critics and he opens up about the tightrope of leading crazy growth in public.
US Episcopal Church membership falls below 1.5 million as decades-long decline continues
The US Episcopal Church has reported a further decline in membership and worship attendance, with new data it has fallen below 1.5 million members despite signs of post-pandemic stabilisation.
According to its 2025 Parochial Report, the Church’s membership now stands at 1,425,065, compared with nearly 2 million in 2015, continuing a downward trend that has persisted for decades.
Immigration Restrictions Keep Deputies From General Convention
Immigration restrictions and the threat of arrests by ICE are two reasons several deputies will not be able to attend the 82nd General Convention, which will be held in Phoenix next summer, House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris told Executive Council on October 19.
The governing body, which functions as the board of directors of the Episcopal Church, meets several times annually during the triennium before General Convention. Its members gathered at the Church Center in Manhattan for their fall session.
Appeals court sides with Episcopal Church, interfaith partners in immigration enforcement lawsuit
A federal appeals court panel has ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church and 26 ecumenical and interfaith partners in a lawsuit contesting the Trump administration’s removal of “sensitive locations” protections for houses of worship in immigration enforcement.
The three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled, 2-1, that a lower court judge erred in finding that the faith-based plaintiffs lacked standing to file their lawsuit. The plaintiffs have argued that the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement actions have driven some worshippers to stay home.
Episcopal Church finds potential buyer for NYC headquarters
Four months after announcing plans to offload the 12-story building that houses its headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Episcopal Church leaders say they have found a potential buyer for the building, which is valued at nearly $52 million.
The church’s Executive Council authorized officers to negotiate a purchase agreement to sell the Episcopal Church Center at 815 Second Ave. during a regular meeting Monday, the denomination said in a statement. The council also passed a resolution adopting the Episcopal Church’s strategic plan, which includes the sale of the building.
Also See: Executive Council authorizes sale negotiations with potential buyer of church’s NYC headquartersProminent members weigh in on HPUMC vote
As the nation’s wealthiest United Methodist church readies to vote on a proposed split with its denomination, some church members are weighing in publicly with their opinions.
Members of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas will vote this coming Sunday and Monday on whether to sever ties with The United Methodist Church amid a dispute over changes to governing documents. Church leaders claim to want more control over their assets and property and clergy hiring, while denominational leaders say that’s not the way the UMC works.
Belonging and belief: Why evangelical churches draw many migrants in the US
Many migrants find community in evangelical churches in the U.S. – part of wider shifts in the country’s religious landscape.
More Americans believe Trump is ‘dangerous dictator’
An increasing number of Americans consider Donald Trump a threat to democracy and even more believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new study by Public Religion Research Institute.
Also See: White Evangelicals backing GOP midterm candidates, but other religious groups favor Democrats: Pew pollAmericans who go to church and trust science are also more likely to believe in ghosts and curses, new research shows
Belief in science and belief in magic can coexist.
Michael Roberts: Ghosts, Witches, and Apparitions
There was a time when Wesley was particularly interested in what we might call paranormal phenomena. And he made some interesting spiritual connections. He corresponded with family about ghosts in his childhood home. One was even given a name – Old Jeffery. John was away at school at the time but trusted that there was something to the stories. In addition, he spoke of people who believed they were possessed by the devil and received deliverance through prayer. He heard other stories with caution but not dismissal. Then comes the leap, where this interest led to a critique of the Enlightenment.
Wesley laments how “men of learning” had “given up all accounts of witches and apparitions.” To do so, in his reasoning, is also a step away from giving up the Bible. If they admit any “intercourse with separate spirits,” then “their whole castle in the air (Deism, Atheism, Materialism) falls to the ground.” Wesley does what he does so often. He tries to find middle ground between extremes. In his Journals, as he reviews a book about apparitions, Wesley admits how hard (and necessary) it is “to keep the middle way; not to believe too little or too much!”
Trump tries shifting child care funds to stay-at-home parents
The Trump administration wants to change a Clinton-era program designed to help working single mothers afford child care to instead help married, stay-at-home parents offset the cost of staying home.
The planned shift is part of the administration’s goal of adopting pro-family, pro-natalist policies proposed in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 that prioritize married couples over single mothers, who head about 20% of U.S. families.
Vice President JD Vance, the Heritage Foundation and Focus on the Family support changing guidelines for the Child Care and Development Fund, which was enacted by Congress in 1996 to help low-income parents afford child care so they can keep working to support their families.
Such a change would not only adversely affect working low-income parents but also churches and other NPOs that operate child care and early childhood development programs for the children of working low-income parents.5 Signs Your Church Might Be Too Seeker Sensitive
Is it wrong for a church to be seeker sensitive? Pastor Adriel Sanchez expounds on the differences between seeker-sensitive and seeker-driven churches, and why ordering our services to be palatable for certain demographics is a way of domesticating the worship of God.
Evangelicals Must Reform Their Worship
Church isn't meant to be a dull routine or an entertainment-driven spectacle. It's a weekly heavenly ascent that transforms us to live the Christian life here on earth. Adriel Sanchez joins Michael Horton and Bob Hiller to discuss his book, Why We Worship: Experiencing Heaven on Earth at Church.
4 Steps for Deeper Scripture Meditation
To be sure, it’s a mistake to make “experience” the ultimate measure for whether or not our Scripture reading is “working.” And yet, we should acknowledge that there’s something wrong with being completely unmoved at God’s self-disclosure in his Word.
How can we move forward?
Discipleship Is Messy Because Relationships Are
Healthy, intentional relationships aren’t simply a means of discipleship; they’re an expression of it, as we grow in Christlikeness.
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