Subscribe free to "Leading Ideas" at churchleadership.com/leadingideas. Every Wednesday, "Leading Ideas" delivers information, resources, and strategies for forward-thinking church leaders.

Lewis Center for Church Leadership
You are at:»Category: "Leading Ideas" (Page 11)

Browsing: Leading Ideas

Leading Ideas
Delivered every Wednesday, our free e-newsletter Leading Ideas offers articles by thoughtful, cutting-edge leaders on subjects you care about — navigating change, reaching younger people, financing your ministry, communicating effectively — to help you be the leader God is calling you to be.

The Lewis Center is committed to helping congregations and denominations thrive and grow by providing ideas, research, resources, and training for vital and fruitful leadership. Through Leading Ideas, we share vignettes of leaders and congregations, book reviews, leadership quotes, and helpful “right questions” built around the premise that leaders don’t need answers — they need to know the right questions.

Leading Ideas
0 Making Your Ministry Present in Its Physical Space

Does your church building express your congregation’s values and invite others to explore what you do? Does it communicate the gospel? Travis Norvell explains how your church’s physical presence in the neighborhood is a tool for communicating its mission and identity. City-neighborhood churches have an advantage over suburban and exurban megachurches: foot traffic. When you drive past a building at…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 4 Key Lessons for Vital Small Church Ministry

David Gilmore says the size of a congregation need not be a determining factor in its ability to connect with its neighbors. Small congregations who are intentional about finding their niche, empowering laity, focusing outward, and collaborating can be just as vital as larger congregations. Size would seemingly dictate the ability of a congregation to do missional ministry. But the…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Resurrection as a Call to Action

Many congregations that haven’t celebrated Easter in person since 2019 are relishing the joy of returning to the comforts of pre-pandemic church life. But Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says we can’t allow our Easter celebrations to divert attention from the challenge of renewing the church. Drawing on the biblical narrative, she writes that Easter is not an…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Positioning Your Church for Growth in a New Season of Ministry

How can your church reach new people in today’s evolving ministry context? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Tony Morgan, chief strategist for The Unstuck Group, about trends, perspectives, and strategies drawn from his work with scores of congregations across the country and abroad. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Ann Michel:…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 4 Critical Areas of Support for Virtual Worship

Olu Brown says virtual church has a specific set of needs whether it is part of a hybrid worship or a stand-alone worship service for streaming only. He outlines four core areas critical to formulating a successful virtual worship experience — team, technology, planning, and hospitality. 1. Online worship team Identify the staff and volunteers that will comprise your team…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Building Vibrant Community Connections in Digital and Physical Spaces

How can your congregation connect with new people in both physical and digital spaces? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. interviews Jordana Wright on strategies for transforming congregations into vibrant community hubs. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Douglas Powe: Before we delve too deeply into our subject, can you share a little…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Key Considerations When Leasing Building Space to Outside Groups

Domenic Dutra says not every potential lessee makes a good partner. He lists critical questions and consideration for any congregation considering renting space in their building that promote a fruitful relationship. Leasing space in your building could give your church new life. But it could also be part of your slow, painful death. Let me explain. While churches should seek…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Change and the Small Church

Roy L. Spore believes that decline and death are not inevitable for smaller rural churches. While smaller churches are often skeptical of change imposed from the outside, many find new life and energy for ministry when a new vision emerges from within the congregation itself. Countless studies of the local church in today’s society bear out a profound truth: churches…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Keeping Your Meetings from Getting Stuck in the Weeds

Blake Bradford outlines strategies to make sure your meetings stay focused and productive. They include practicing mutual accountability, managing time carefully, and having a clear decision-making process for each agenda item. I am emphatic in my belief that “meetings are not ministry.” But this does not mean that meetings don’t matter. Gathering in person or online for meetings is crucial.…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 How a Creative, Justice-Oriented Stations of the Cross Called a Community to Action

Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on one congregation’s unique approach to sharing the Stations of the Cross and the Stations of the Resurrection with its community and beyond. This creative, lay-led effort offers an example of sharing the Good News in visible, justice-oriented ways. Last year, as the worship team at New Paltz United Methodist Church…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 4 Keys to Moving from Online Worship to Online Ministry

Nicole Reilley says posting worship services online is just the first step in developing a holistic online ministry. She enumerates four keys to developing a digital ministry that engages people and moves them toward Christ and his church. Many of us think that we offer online ministry when we post our worship service on Facebook or YouTube. After all, we…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Anti-Racism 4 Reals

How can church leaders counter racism in real time? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff interviews Sheila Beckford about strategies for equipping church leaders to do the hard work of anti-racism to bring about real change. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Jessica Anschutz: Your book, Anti-Racism 4REALS offers real action steps for…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Thanking God It’s Good Friday: Intergenerational Children’s Ministry

Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on an intergenerational ministry that teaches children about the significance of Holy Week and Easter. She shares insights for how congregations might launch a similar effort to educate children and reach new people. “Thanking God It’s Good Friday” (TGIGF) is a ministry developed by Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church and…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 How One-to-One Conversations Reintroduced a Church to its Neighbors

Travis Norvell, pastor of Judson Church in Minneapolis, describes the blessing and insight that flowed from his decision to schedule 110 one-on-one conversations with neighbors and community leaders. The result was ministry more focused on what people actually need and want instead of what the church thinks they need and want. I have tried door-to-door evangelism and found it wanting.…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 6 Touchstones of Financial Integrity for Churches

Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Ann A. Michel of the Lewis Center explain the importance of systems that guard against financial impropriety. They outline six major touchstones that maintain sacred trust by creating an atmosphere of trust and transparency in stewarding a church’s financial resources. Sadly, cases of pastors or parishioners who embezzle church funds are too often in the…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Leading through Conflict

David Woolverton says there are two types of church conflict — conflict that destroys teams, ministries, and congregational vibrancy and conflict that cultivates growth by driving toward a transformative end. The key variable is a leader who sees their leadership role as not merely resolving the conflict but rather developing healthier ways for the congregation to carry out its mission.…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Understanding Conflict

How can leaders respond to conflict in healthier, more productive ways? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. interviews Brian Brown on perspectives and practices that can help keep conflict from diverting too much energy from our churches. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Douglas Powe: Can you share a bit about how you…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 How to Get People to Follow You When the Way Is Uncertain

How do we lead in a time of chaos, confusion, division, and uncertainty? Carey Nieuwhof suggests five practices that can help leaders maintain focus and influence. How do you get people to follow you when you don’t know where you’re going? That’s the new leadership paradigm we’re in. As the pace of change accelerates and the chaos continues, it’s hard…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Should Your Church Consider Selling Property?

Real estate expert Domenic Dutra outlines factors to be considered in determining whether selling church property might be a faithful course of action. The ideal selling situation, he explains, isn’t rushed by fiscal emergencies but is generated out of a careful planning process aligned with the ultimate mission of the church. Chances are, if you’re thinking about selling church property,…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Moving Forward With Hybrid Worship

Effective hybrid worship requires that churches ascribe high and equal value to in-person and online worshipers. Olu Brown outlines key steps a congregation should take to assure that their worship is accessible and welcoming to those not in the building. Leaders in a post-COVID-19 world have the new challenge and opportunity of managing worship on dual platforms: virtual and in-person.…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 4 Truths About Ministry Revealed by the Pandemic

Tom Berlin says that two years of global pandemic have revealed some key truths about the nature of ministry. Serving in this difficult time has raised the challenge of embracing new skill sets, forced a renewed reliance on the Spirit’s sustenance, brought the centrality of Christ-filled relationships to the fore, and magnified the importance of our foundational callings. I took…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Centering Marginalized Voices to Lead Change

What practices can help church leaders learn from failures and address conflict in ways that lead to fruitful ministry? The Lewis Center’s Jessica Anschutz interviews Tyler Sit about centering marginalized voices, meeting the needs of the community, managing conflict, and other leadership lessons he has learned as a church planter. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 People Support What They Help to Create

David McAllister-Wilson describes how a style of leadership that engages others not only engenders support and buy-in but also promotes better decision making and more effective outcomes. While top-down solutions are tempting in these uncertain times, investing time and effort in collaboration is ultimately more effective. The best leadership advice I ever received is “people support what they help to…

Read More
Leading Ideas
0 Why Church Leaders Can’t Afford to Wait and See

Tony Morgan says churches can’t wait passively to see if things return to normal. Nor should they long for the return of old systems and strategies that often weren’t working even before the pandemic. The task of leaders in this moment is to create urgency, embrace change, and bring clarity to the mission God calls us to. The next season…

Read More
1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 56

Shop



This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.