It’s time to get out of the (church) box, says the gifted and creative rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Mohegan Lake, NY. The Rev. Claire Woodley says the Matthew 28 command to ‘Go!’ has sent her to regular visits to local businesses where the offers to pray with employees, open up a coffee shop [...]

Kermit Moss, Sr says getting into the neighborhood, with the unchurched as well as the churched, is a key to his ministry at Manhattan Bible Church, in New York City. The gifted teaching pastor, an African American called to shepherd in a Spanish speaking neighborhood, says it’s even more important for him to work at [...]

Presbyterian pastor Byron Wade says one way he’s energized his mainline congregation is to change the vocabulary that speaks of maintenance to that which speaks of mission. Byron’s Davie Street Presbyterian (USA) no longer has committees, but Ministry Teams – that take ownership and intentionality toward the work they’ve been called to do. In this [...]

Ed Kruse’s consulting business is all about the Uninvolved, the Underinvolved, and the Unclaimed. Ed, a former pastor and stewardship executive, founded healthierchurch.org a few years ago to help congregations activate and reactivate their membership (in fact, if you hurry, you can still register for their April 11 gathering in Chicago – click here for [...]

Gifted retreat leader and speaker Suzanne Stabile says the Church, living in liminality, is best served by engaging in intentional spiritual practices. Her expertise in the enneagram and other spiritual disciplines as arranged through the Life in the Trinity Ministry office has her visiting many congregations, which she says, are hungry for intentional spiritual practices. [...]

Moving from a 400 member church to White Memorial Presbyterian Church, which is several times larger, has been an exciting adjustment for Pastor Christopher Edmonston. He’s found out what many church leaders discover when their ministries grow: the skills needed to run larger churches are markedly different from those of smaller congregations – yet the [...]

Valley and Mountain is not your typical church – in fact now, in its infancy, it is best described as a movement – which may be where the next generation of vibrant congregations is going. John, a gifted United Methodist Church minister, is a few years into this Seattle, WA plant, which meets in different [...]

You were made in the image of God – is it time for some restoration? That’s the tag line for Episcopal priest Christopher Martin’s latest project: The Restoration Project – which aims, through sequential classes, small group discipleship, and personal rules of life – to deepen the spirituality of local congregations. In this interview Christopher [...]

Fr. Jim Hamilton really thought the new Sunday night service he was hired to create would flop – but then God has a sense of humor. Out of Christ Church, Cranbrook‘s desire for a contemplative service for 20-somethings came Lex Orandi which, two years later, is a vibrant community that has far surpassed expectations. In [...]

It’s not that they’ve never been churched, it’s that they’ve been de-churched – says Foundry United Methodist pastor Dean Snyder – which calls for ministering in a whole new way. Pastor Snyder’s helped design a whole new worship service, with different time and liturgy, in hopes of capturing the attentions of Washington, D.C.’s young urbanites. [...]

Seems like a no-brainer: have the entire congregation read the Bible in one year. This was the epiphany Fr. Marek Zabriskie, of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh, PA had – so he mustered his congregation, had them do it, and now The Bible Challenge is an international movement. Marek says transformation is at the heart [...]

Theologian and author Bob Whitesel says ‘the missing middle’ of healthy congregational growth is transformation – which he sees as key for today’s church to accomplish God’s mission. Bob, founding professor of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and the author of several books on congregational growth, anchors his conviction on his idea of ‘missional’ [...]

David Emery serves the 100+ year old congregation at Middletown Christian Church which, ten years ago, had half the people on Sunday mornings that it has today. David says the old church ran by more of a ‘membership model’ than a ‘transformation model’ – which emphasizes the changed hearts and lives of its members. David [...]

Ten years ago Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. was near death’s door. With less than 40 people in the pews, nearly all well-past retirement, many thought the church would close. But, God had a different plan. Thanks to a new stadium built nearby, neighborhood gentrification, and a renewed sense to do ministry in context, [...]

Three decades ago John Wimberly came to Western Presbyterian Church and found 70 people near the age of 70. 3o years later that number is around 350 – and growing younger. No, there’s no silver bullet, just a great combination of preaching, pastoral care, and commitment to study – to name a few. Hear this [...]

Ask anyone at Pastor Martin Copenhaver’s Wellesley Congregational Church what their community’s purpose is and you’ll get, ‘Growing in faith.” That’s behind an increased emphasis on adult faith formation at Wellesley – it’s inspired an increasingly popular program called GIFT (Growing In Faith Together). In this interview, Martin, a noted author, speaker, and U.C.C. minister [...]

When Jeff Stark became pastor of Erin Church of the Nazarene, in Erin, TN (pop. 2,000) he knew ministry in this small town would take on a new character. Jeff, an Army vet, husband, and father, jumped right in, becoming assistant football coach at the high school and making the local diners his local diners. [...]

At too many churches, trying to get that one Sunday Morning takeaway is like trying to get a drink from a fire hose.  We’re bombarded with so many dissonant messages Dave Ferguson had to develop a way for his flock to focus on one central idea. Ferguson, pastor and founder of the Community Christian mega [...]

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 [...]

Very soon the demographics of America will see a major change: the European-American majority will become the new minority. Welcoming America’s new faces is an opportunity and challenge for U.S. churches, and one Jose Morales takes seriously. He’s an executive with the Disciples of Christ, which is committed to planting and transforming 2, 000 congregations [...]

It’s the literal meaning of the Greek New Testament word for hospitality: loving the stranger – and its implications for building healthy congregations are huge. Dr. Christine Pohl, an Asbury Theological Seminary professor, author, and student of hospitality says most congregations aren’t persuaded about the importance of this ancient practice. In this interview, Dr. Pohl [...]

Stan Ott, seasoned consultant with the Vital Practices Institute, says helping leaders get past the tyranny of the immediate is the most common challenge he sees in today’s churches. Ott and his team pull together groups of churches and walk with their leaders for three year stretches. During that time he says most leaders can [...]

The Armenian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest in Christendom (est. 301), and Fr. Garabed Kochakian says a key to its health is its close acquaintance with suffering. Garabed, pastor of the 3,000 member St. John Armenian Orthodox Church near Detroit, says his tradition bespeaks God’s faithfulness and gift of strength through adversity that [...]

For Christian Piatt and his Milagro Church bridging polarizing differences, which seem intractable in today’s contemporary society, is a job more churches should be putting on the front burner. Christian, an author blogger and pastor, co-founded the congregation with his wife (before recently moving), and thinks that the witness of just getting along with one [...]

It’s a problem nearly every church faces: how to motivate the beloved to making their faith community a higher priority. Longtime pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Texas George Mason wrestles with it like everyone else. While he admittedly has not solved the conundrum, he has found some things that work, including small groups and [...]