Tag «Congregational Revitalization»

God is Already in Your Neighborhood

Incredible things happen when congregations commit to being present in and praying for the spaces around them. The authors of a new book, Leading Faithful Innovation, share how a neighborhood prayer walk led one church to life-giving relationships and new ways of demonstrating God’s love. Incredible things happen when congregations commit to being present in […]

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7 Questions to Determine if Your Advent Traditions are Still Meaningful

Meghan Hatcher says planning for Advent is the perfect time to assess whether a ministry tradition is still serving its intended purpose. She suggests seven questions to help determine if a long-standing ministry is still offering people a transformative encounter with the Gospel, or if it’s time for a change. At the United Methodist church […]

The post 7 Questions to Determine if Your Advent Traditions are Still Meaningful first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post 7 Questions to Determine if Your Advent Traditions are Still Meaningful appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

What’s Wrong with Thinking of Church as Family?

Lee Ann M. Pomrenke says the beloved metaphor of church as family can stand in the way of a congregation being truly open and inclusive. The church is a movement defined by shared values, commitments, and actions, not a household family linked by a shared heritage or appearances. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we […]

The post What’s Wrong with Thinking of Church as Family? first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post What’s Wrong with Thinking of Church as Family? appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Innovating Faithfully through Action Learning Experiments

The authors of a new book, Leading Faithful Innovation, explain how engaging in simple, repeatable, and affordable learning experiments can create an environment where people feel safe trying new things. They provide seven simple steps to help your church employ simple practices to get outside your comfort zone and connect with neighbors in new ways. […]

The post Innovating Faithfully through Action Learning Experiments first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Innovating Faithfully through Action Learning Experiments appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Funding Forward: Developing New Revenue Sources for Your Congregation — An In-depth Interview with Grace Pomroy

Grace Pomroy from Luther Seminary shares research findings on how congregations are developing new and creative funding sources. In this in-depth interview with Ann Michel of the Lewis Center Staff, she explains how congregations can lessen their dependence on Sunday morning offerings in ways that can bolster the bottom line while also building connections with […]

The post Funding Forward: Developing New Revenue Sources for Your Congregation — An In-depth Interview with Grace Pomroy first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Funding Forward: Developing New Revenue Sources for Your Congregation — An In-depth Interview with Grace Pomroy appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

There Is No Such Thing as Church Revitalization

William Chaney says revitalization is the wrong goal for churches in decline, since it implies a return to the past. Churches need to instead rewrite their DNA by rediscovering their mission, reengaging their neighborhood, and refocusing their resources. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we are highlighting Leading Articles — some of our most popular […]

The post There Is No Such Thing as Church Revitalization first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post There Is No Such Thing as Church Revitalization appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The Stone Soup Recipe for Vital Small Church Worship

Teresa Stewart says that small congregations have a powerful worship planning option that expands participation, emphasizes lay leadership, ends the burnout of meetings, invites local gifts, and heightens anticipation. It’s called Stone Soup worship planning. Maybe you’ve heard it said that for lavish worship, congregations must have a “Worship Design Team” — experts gathered to […]

The post The Stone Soup Recipe for Vital Small Church Worship first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post The Stone Soup Recipe for Vital Small Church Worship appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

4 Key Characteristics of Missional Congregations

Congregations that want to move forward and live more missionally need to understand and embody four key characteristics, says F. Douglas Powe, director of the Lewis Center and the James C. Logan Chair in Evangelism (an E. Stanley Jones Professorship) at Wesley Theological Seminary. Missional congregations must be connected to their context, bound as a […]

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The post 4 Key Characteristics of Missional Congregations appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The 5 P’s of Sustainability for Small Churches

Rebekah Simon-Peter says small churches cannot succeed by emulating the megachurch model of programming for every stage of life. She believes that five P’s — people, prayer, provision, partnership, and presence — are key to the sustainability of smaller churches. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we are highlighting Leading Articles — some of our […]

The post The 5 P’s of Sustainability for Small Churches first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post The 5 P’s of Sustainability for Small Churches appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Does Your Church Really Need All Those Committees?

Are your church members kept busy doing committee work they are neither gifted for nor excited about? Andy Lunt and Ted Brown say congregations can free people to serve more fruitfully in ministry by reassessing the role of any committee not essential to their mission or required by their polity. Church committees can be the […]

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The post Does Your Church Really Need All Those Committees? appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.