Some Old Handbells Became Our Fish and Loaves
Pastor Rosario Picardo tells how selling two old sets of silver handbells that hadn’t been used for 20 years provided a surprisingly large infusion of cash…
Browsing: Congregational Revitalization
Articles
Do Your Church Events Serve a Healthy Purpose?
Is your church calendar crammed with one event after another? Church consultant Tony Morgan says many congregations just keep scheduling the same events without ever…
The 75 Percent Rule to Reach Younger People
Lee Kricher, pastor of Amplify Church in Pittsburgh, says it’s unlikely that younger adults will be drawn to a service where the people in visible…
The Power of Core Values
Anthony Hunt, pastor of Epworth Chapel in Baltimore, describes how discerning and naming core values can help a church stay focused and on track. Clear…
6 Ways to Jumpstart Leadership Formation
Pastor Mike Slaughter says one of the key factors determining the effectiveness of a congregation is the presence of principled leaders who demonstrate a vital…
Living Through a Church Renovation
Daniel Hilty says that any large-scale facility renovation requires a congregation to tolerate a tremendous amount of change and disruption. It’s critical to share information,…
Four Questions for Congregations
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says vital congregations are clear about their mission, outwardly focused, oriented toward the future, and concerned more with results than processes.…
A Simple Planning Process
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., outlines a simple planning process that churches can use to identify issues and concerns and develop realistic plans to address them. Key…
11 Characteristics of Effective Smaller Churches
Some years ago, I traveled across the United States, west to east and north to south, and back north, visiting twenty-one smaller faith communities that…
Changing Congregational Trends
Every five years Faith Communities Today provides a marvelous service to all churches through their very thorough survey of religious congregations across the United States.…
Cool Church Isn’t What It Used to Be
In a rapidly changing culture, churches cannot stay relevant by simply adopting the latest trend, says Carey Nieuwhof, especially as indifference to church grows. The…
Becoming a Leader Who Says Yes!
During my tenth year as pastor of a large multi-staff church, the laity offered me a twelve-week study leave for rest, renewal, and learning. I…
Fresh Expressions
“Fresh expressions” is a movement that began in the Church of England and British Methodist churches but soon spread to other denominations in England and…
Could Your Church Have Developed WD-40®?
The church today requires innovation, not improvement. Making things better through improvements is always welcomed, but we are past the time when merely improving what…
Sifting Our Inheritance: What to Keep and What to Let Go
A few years ago, my mom passed away after having lived a good life. Dad asked us to help him sort through my mother’s possessions.…
Celebrate to Build Your Church’s God-Esteem
Dying churches are often churches with low self-esteem. Your task as a leader is not to build up the church’s self-esteem but to build up…
When is a Proposed Change a Deal Breaker?
God told Jeremiah “to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” These biblical directions are the definition…
Lovett Weems Briefly Reviews Three Books of Interest to Church Leaders
Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, Making Church Matter by Michael White and Tom Corcoran, Ave Maria Press, 2013. This book will surprise…
Levers of Change for Congregations
Bishop Robert Schnase, author of the popular Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Abingdon, 2007), has inspired thousands of congregations to focus on what is most…
REdesigning Churches: Creating Spaces for Connection and Community
Kim Miller’s REdesigning Churches: Creating Spaces for Connection and Community (Abingdon, 2013) provides valuable how-to advice on reviving tired church interiors and offers inspiring examples…
What Church Leaders Can Learn from Other Enterprises
I believe church leaders have much to learn from prayerful and careful consideration of a broad range of management and organizational practices. And based on…
Wide Welcome: How the Unsettling Presence of Newcomers Can Save the Church
Jessicah Duckworth’s book Wide Welcome speaks to the question of how congregations can best welcome newcomers, engage them in Christian practices, and nurture their faith.…
Church Renewal Requires Property Renewal
We might want spiritual concerns to be the drivers of the revitalization of a parish. However, in my observations and experience, if there is one…
Mission-driven Church Mergers
In their book Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work (Jossey-Bass, 2012), Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird examine the recent wave of church mergers. The book makes…
Gaining Commitment
How do you reignite a church when it seems that no one wants to lead? In every space and place, God wants transformation to occur.…
Leading in Challenging Times
What if you knew that your congregation were on a collision course with its demise? What would you do? Whom would you tell? How would…
Worshiping at Two Vital Congregations
Readers of Leading Ideas are familiar with the Lewis Center’s focus on the church’s challenge to “reach more people, younger people, and more diverse people.”…
Getting to Know the “Mayors” of Your Community
Congregational revitalization happens when the community and the church come together to make it happen. But it can’t be the church saying, “This is what…
Turning Church Spectators into Active Participants
The story told in John 21:15-19 is almost too familiar. Three times Jesus asks if Peter loves him, three times Peter says yes, and each…
Ask Bigger Questions
In June 2011, Steve Jobs made a twenty-minute presentation to the Cupertino City Council to introduce Apple’s plans for a new corporate headquarters, affectionately known…
