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Growing congregations today are exploring new horizons in mission and service, to better connect with neighbors and to grow in faith and discipleship. The Lewis Center’s Serve Your Neighbor resources help you reach and serve others in the name of Christ.
What if you focused on making already-planned ministry events better rather than creating new events? Olu Brown offers three planning strategies for Doing Church Differently™…
Anne Mathews-Younes writes that faith leaders and faith communities are in a unique position to prevent suicide. She shares information about how to recognize the…
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…
What practices can help church leaders learn from failures and address conflict in ways that lead to fruitful ministry? We speak with 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.
Dan Pezet believes churches can forge meaningful connections with their neighbors through impactful community ministries. But only if the church’s motives are perceived as genuine,…
Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on how a Connecticut church has made the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a time for intergenerational…
The local church is often the first place people go for help in addressing mental health challenges. Matthew Stanford sees this as a divine opportunity…
Elizabeth Mae Magill sought to create a food ministry that wasn’t a charity but a demonstration of Christ’s radical welcome. She did months of street…
Kevin Harney describes how his church transformed their successful food pantry ministry to attend to spiritual as well as physical needs. Volunteers are offering conversation,…
The church is the first place most individuals with mental illness seek help, even those with serious mental illness. We speak with Dr. Matthew Stanford about the scope of the mental health crisis and the divine opportunity given to churches to respond in constructive ways.
The church is the first place most individuals with mental illness seek help, even those with serious mental illness. Ann Michel interviews Dr. Matthew Stanford…
How can pastors be on the frontlines of community activism while also being faithful to their call? In this episode we speak with Heber Brown, III, pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church and founder of the Black Church Food Security Network, about his work for racial justice in Baltimore and beyond.
Editor’s note: This information adapted from an article by Joy F. Skjegstad which appeared previously in Leading Ideas. This To the Point version has been edited for…
Sometimes churches get so preoccupied with their own programs and a get-it-done approach to mission that they lose sight of their ultimate purpose. Lee Roorda…
Many congregations find that reaching out to their local schools is an important way to serve children and their families and strengthen ties with the…
Bishop Robert Schnase tells the story of a Texas congregation sharing worship with its homeless neighbors in relational and empowering ways. This powerful example of…
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center Staff outlines four ways a church can lay a solid foundation for a church-school partnership before jumping in headfirst.…
Thinking of launching a church-school partnership? Or looking to strengthen an existing partnership? In this episode Jake McGlothin, author of The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and School Partnerships, speaks with Lewis Center Associate Director Ann A. Michel about how churches can build effective, transformative relationships with children and teachers in their community.
Dan Wunderlich says that mission trips can be life-changing mission endeavors, but they also raise serious issues and questions. He names a series of considerations…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., writes that congregations all start not for themselves, but to serve other people. But with the passage of time, they tend…
Jake McGlothin, author of The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and School Partnerships, explains how compelling messages that align your congregation’s vision to the task of…
Do you wish your church could do more to support mission? Pastor Lisa Kipp gives tips for how special fundraising for mission can be done…
When Rev. Nathan Adams was invited to become a Lewis Community Leadership Fellow it was like being asked to come home. “I was a Lewis…
The idea of a Blessing Box, shared widely on social media, has inspired many congregations to take direct action to meet community needs. Amy Forbus…
Rather than creating new programs that reinvent the wheel, Rosario Picardo says congregations can multiply the impact of their outreach by seeking out the people…
Sue Nilson Kibbey, author of the new book Flood Gates: Holy Momentum for a Fearless Church, describes how a food pantry ministry provided the opportunity…
Jamie D. Aten and David M. Boan, who head the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, say that you may never have thought about your…
Pastor Daniel Kerlin’s Pennsylvania church hosts a free summer lunch program. When kids who were on their own or couldn’t tell time were having difficulty…
Mission and service activities are increasingly the entry points through which people, particularly younger people, first connect with our churches. We hope that mission participation…
The gifts of the Magi make perfect sense theologically, but the presents certainly weren’t practical. The arrival of a child requires diapers and bottles, cribs…
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.
