How do you get families who don’t come to church, to come to church? Introduce them to Messy Church! After a listening campaign involving young families around Lucy Moore’s church, volunteers crafted a new way to do church that’s be welcoming, accessible, and inclusive of families who don’t regularly attend church services. The basic structure, [...]

Please excuse the riff of the infamous James Carville line (‘It’s the economy, stupid’) – but for Anglican Benedictine Chris Webb, in a world where churches are tempted to major in so many things – from social justice to education – they must never forget that spirituality is their first call. Chris, who recently wrote, [...]

One of the advantages to leading a church in a country where few people go to church is that you can be creative. That’s what’s behind the Fresh Expressions movement in the U.K. – where David Male has the job of training ‘pioneer missionaries.’ These are folks are entrepreneurs and innovators who listen for the [...]

Gone are those church planting days of door to door questionnaires and neighborhood polling. Anglican Church of Canada minister Ryan Sim is starting his church with an iPhone app. It will be called ‘Redeem the Commute’ – and it’s stage one of a process to introduce Christianity to unchurched residents of Ajax, Ontario. Enjoy the [...]

We’re living in an Augustinian moment – says Evangelical Christian, author and speaker Os Guinness – a key time in history that brings both threat and opportunity to the Church. Guinness says now, more than ever, Christians need to recapture the essence of the Gospel: knowing Jesus, following Him, and evangelizing – that will allow [...]

Sure, it’s a cheeky way of putting it – but Wycliffe College Evangelism Professor John Bowen has some very serious things to say about how Christians witness to their faith. His helpful definition for evangelism is: ‘Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, helping people take steps toward discipleship.’ In this interview, this seasoned academic [...]

Inspiring people about the wonders of the Bible has been Bishop NT ‘Tom’ Wright’s sustaining passion – which he believes is at the heart of congregational health and vitality. The former bishop, New Testament Scholar, and author (the new one is How God Became King) says Christian leadership has always been about the same four [...]

Founded as ‘the Voice of Evangelicalism,’ Christianity Today is recasting itself as a media ministry, ‘for the church’ says senior managing editor Mark Galli. This comes at a time when denominations are more willing to cooperate – and the Church is in serious need of that. I first heard about Mark from his thoughtful blog [...]

The image of God, from which you and I are made, has much to do with imagination – so says photographer, blogger, Proost director, and Christian Missionary Society leader Jonny Baker, whose worship resources and creative insights have made him one of the go-to guys in today’s missional church movement. Jonny trains Christian pioneer workers [...]

Duke Chapel dean Sam Wells says a first step toward inspiring health in a congregation is to affirm the people who are there and stop lamenting the people who aren’t. Dean Wells, a world-class preacher, prolific writer, gifted theologian, and devoted pastor who’s worked in a variety of ministerial settings, is incredibly hopeful about the [...]

Reports on the death of the Church of England are greatly exaggerated, says the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Missioner, Bishop Graham Cray. The bishop is the C of E’s head church planter – and leads a movement called Fresh Expressions, which consolidates the evangelism efforts of several UK denominations into a united front that majors on [...]

It’s the classic missional question: if your church closed would anyone in the neighborhood notice? Years ago Judy Paulsen posed it to the good folk at Christ Memorial Church in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada and when too many people hesitated, the congregation took on a challenge that has reinvigorated the church. Judy Paulsen is an incredibly [...]

The North American Church is broken and you can’t fix it. These are tough words from seasoned author and consultant Alan Roxburg of The Missional Network. He says it’s high time Christians realize that God is the one disrupting the settled assumptions of Christendom and pushing us to new, unpredictable places. The good news is [...]