The Challenges and Opportunities of Intergenerational Leadership
Due to longevity, it’s not uncommon for four distinct generations of adults to be vying for leadership within our churches, says Melissa Cooper. She explores…
Browsing: Congregational Revitalization
Articles
Fresh Hope for Rural Churches
Rural churches are anchors in their communities and can use their property assets to bring new hope to their neighbors. Jennie Birkholz describes how creative…
Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transitions: An In-depth Interview with Mark Elsdon
Is your church facing the difficult decision to sell or repurpose property? This interview with Mark Elsdon, editor of Gone for Good?, focuses on how…
Risking Experiments for God’s Reign
Where is God’s movement taking place in new ways for new times? Cherished narratives, programs, language, and structures are no longer producing the fruit associated…
“Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transitions ” featuring Mark Elsdon
Podcast Episode 142 Is your church facing the difficult decision to sell or repurpose property? We speak with Mark Elsdon, editor of Gone for Good?,…
Healing Fractured Communities: An In-Depth Interview with Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz
How can congregational leaders be healers and agitators at the same time? In this in-depth interview, Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz reflect on the new…
Restoring Trust in the Institutional Church Requires Allegiance to Our True Purpose
Gil Rendle says all institutions eventually gravitate from serving their stated purposes to satisfying powerful institutional constituencies. The current deep mistrust of the institutional church…
“Healing Fractured Communities” featuring Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz
Podcast Episode 139 How can congregational leaders be both healers and agitators at the same time, especially given our fractured landscape and the diversity of…
Healing Fractured Communities
All proceeds support the Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Scholarship fund. Congregational leaders are charged with caring for those inside and outside of faith communities.…
Embracing Mutual Ministry: An In-Depth Interview with Lydia Bucklin
How can your congregation function as a community of ministers rather than a community gathered around a single minister? Lydia Bucklin of the Episcopal Diocese…
“Embracing Mutual Ministry” featuring Lydia Bucklin
Podcast Episode 136 How can your congregation function as a community of ministers rather than a community gathered around a single minister? Lydia Bucklin explains…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
“Funding Forward: How Congregations Can Develop New Revenue Sources” featuring Grace Pomroy
Podcast Episode 133 Is your congregation too dependent on Sunday morning offerings? Grace Pomroy from Luther Seminary shares research findings on congregations that are developing…
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…
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…
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…
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 —…
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…
Leading Faithful Innovation: An In-depth Interview with Dwight Zscheile
What if congregational change didn’t focus on setting goals or planning new programs? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center Staff interviews Dwight Zscheile, coauthor of…
“Leading Faithful Innovation” featuring Dwight Zscheile
Podcast Episode 130 What if congregational change didn’t focus on setting goals or planning new programs? Dwight Zscheile believes finding a faithful way forward involves…
5 Practices for Fruitful Congregations in a Post-Attractional Era
Robert Schnase’s five key practices — radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity — have helped thousands of…
The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches: An In-Depth Interview with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrand
What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt…
“The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches” featuring Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt
Podcast Episode 126 What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? We speak with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt of Partners for…
Small Church Big Impact
Blake Bradford shares how smaller congregations can use their unique giftedness to fulfill their mission. He says smaller churches can enhance their vitality by clarifying…
Breakthrough: Trusting God for Big Change in Your Church — An In-Depth Interview with Dawn Weaks
What happens when a congregation trusts God for big change? Doug Powe of the Lewis Center staff speaks with author and pastor Dawn Darwin Weaks…
“Breakthrough: Trusting God for Big Change in Your Church” featuring Dawn Darwin Weaks
Podcast Episode 122 What happens when a congregation trusts God for big change? We speak with author and pastor Dawn Darwin Weaks about the rebirth…
