It’s been said of one mainline denomination that its average member brings a friend to church once every 27 years. Think of the impact that denomination would have if that number was doubled, or tripled! Sharing our faith can be so uncomfortable that we avoid it – yet we know that there are people in [...]

In an age of advertising, hype, and publicity overload – faith communities are often wary of jumping into the fray – and are rightfully apprehensive about ‘marketing’ their churches. However, as we all know, we swim in a water that is ‘the market’ – and our failure to speak up and ‘get the good news [...]

Cranks, bullies, and nags – does your congregation have one (or more)? Relax, you’re not alone. Churches can be magnets for these kinds of people and behaviors. But acclaimed author and consultant Peter Steinke says there are ways churches can live into health and vitality, especially with a knowledge of Family Systems Theory.

Celebrating the gifts of young people is one of the best ways to build a healthy congregation. The average age of members of most North American Churches is higher – and sometimes way higher – than the rest of the population. And experts say congregations where a majority of members are age 50 or older [...]

Yesterday’s theory, that all young adults leave church but come back to get married and have kids, may be a thing of the past. For a variety of reasons, journalist Drew Dyck says ‘Generation Ex-Christian’ (the name of his book) sees church a whole lot differently. Drew spent years seeking out and documenting the stories [...]

You can’t cure cancer by putting on a new dress. Yet many of our churches amble along as if all they need to do is dress up in the latest trend to stem decline. Alban Institute Senior Consultant Dan Hotchkiss knows better.  He’s consulted with dozens of churches (even written a book called Governance and [...]

It’s one of the most common problems churches face: how to interest, welcome, and incorporate younger people into their fellowship. Yet there are a lot of older congregations who’ve been able to ‘grow younger.’ American Baptist Pastor Steve Youd’s First Baptist Church of Hansen, MA is one of them. During his 13 year tenure he’s [...]

If making it to my website stretches the bounds of your digital expertise, then this class may be for you. You’re probably aware that 98% of 18-35 year olds are active on social media at least once a day. This means that if you have people from this age group in your congregation – or [...]