Top Leading Ideas Articles of 2020
Each December we take a look at the most popular Leading Ideas articles of the year and give our readers a second chance to glean…
Browsing: Worship
Articles
11 Creative Ways Your Church Can Observe Christmas in 2020
Looking for creative ways to observe Christmas this year? A group of Minnesota churches assembled this list of ways to celebrate Advent and Christmas safely…
Episode 67: “Virtual Advent” featuring Anna Petrin
How can Advent be special in a year when so much is different? Professor of Worship Anna Petrin shares ideas for bringing Advent from the sanctuary to the home and allowing its themes of longing and hope to speak to our current reality.
Connection is More Important than Content in Digital Gatherings
Zach Lambert of Restore Austin Church says that the move to digital gatherings reveals that content is important, but our connections are imperative. He believes…
Online Worship Makes Evangelism Less Intimidating for Many
One apparent advantage of an online worship format is that people seem to be more inclined to extend and respond to invitations to check out…
Committing to a Hybrid Model of Ministry
Tom Berlin says churches will likely need a hybrid ministry model with a mix of in-person and online ministry for some time. He shares thoughts…
Episode 56: “Online Worshipers: Moving From Viewers to Participants” featuring Orlando Evans
How can your online outreach grow beyond just streaming worship? In this episode, we speak with Rev. Orlando Evans, Online Pastor at Impact United Methodist Church in Atlanta, about how to build relationships with online worshipers and engage them in studies, small groups, and even membership classes.
Key Questions to Consider Before Resuming In-Person Gatherings
Many congregations are eager to reopen their buildings and resume in-person worship services, but it’s important to resist the temptation to rush back before it’s…
When You Don’t Know Who’s Worshiping
Lee Roorda Schott says that unseen people you don’t yet know are likely worshiping with you online. She says this is an opportunity to enlarge…
Digital Church Is Here to Stay
Carey Nieuwhof says the post-COVID-19 world will be a different place. The move to digital worship is here to stay, he predicts. Putting it back…
Preaching to an Empty Room
How can preachers maintain a sense of presence and engage their audience when COVID-19 has their congregants viewing worship via livestream? Read these tips on…
Episode 49: “What is Messy Church?” featuring Johannah Myers
Looking for a creative, new way to bring people of all ages into a space where they can meet Jesus? In this episode we speak with Johannah Myers about Messy Church, a global movement born of the desire to reach individuals and families not attracted to traditional Sunday morning services.
5 Emerging Trends Impacting Church Life
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe and Associate Director Ann A. Michel reiterate the importance of nine major trends they outlined last year. They also…
5 Reasons Why the Church of the Future Will be Online
With more and more people working, learning, and dating online, Paul Nixon predicts an explosion of online ministry. And rather than just broadcasting things meant…
We Can’t Compete with Sunday Sports if Worship is Boring
Krin Van Tatenhove and Rob Mueller say churches can’t complain about other activities encroaching on Sundays if our worship is boring. No matter the style,…
Preach Like TED
Charley Reeb says preachers should take a lesson from TED Talks — the 18-minute internet videos that have reached over a billion people worldwide. The…
Stop Telling People to Turn Off Their Smartphones in Church
Olu Brown says telling people to turn off their cellphones in worship sounds crazy to technologically progressive people who rely on their devices for just…
5 Keys to Great Online Worship Hospitality
Olu Brown says churches that livestream their worship need to be intentional about making online attendees feel welcome by showing love through hospitality. He outlines…
Affirming the Ministry of Lay Readers
Theodore May says reading scripture in worship is a profound and meaningful way to connect people with the Bible, worship, and the church. Congregations need…
Online Church is Your New Front Door
Carey Nieuwhof says that online church was once a back door for lazy or disengaged Christians, but it is rapidly evolving into the primary entry…
Episode 26: “Every Sunday is the Superbowl” featuring Bishop Robert C. Wright
How can you effectively change a church culture? In this episode, Bishop Robert C. Wright of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta shares insights with Lewis Center Director Doug Powe about leading struggling congregations through change.
50 Ways to Increase Worship Attendance
Vital worship strengthens other areas of ministry by inspiring faith, building community, and connecting people to the congregation’s mission. Because worship is at the center of…
Worship Under the Bridge
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…
6 Ways to Create a Guest-Friendly Worship Service
How can you position your church for increased attendance and growth? John Zehring, author of Get Your Church Ready to Grow, suggests six strategies that…
5 Lessons for Better Preaching
Charley Reeb, author of two books on preaching, says that preachers better connect with people in the pews when they realize they are in the…
Reaching People Who Don’t Look or Act Like “Church People”
Rev. Olu Brown started Impact Church in Atlanta 11 years ago with a group of 25 people. Now, it’s one of the 25 fastest growing…
The One-Point Sermon
Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized…
3 Ways to Extend the Impact of a Sermon
Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard describe ways to get more traction from each week’s sermon by layering its message into other materials that reinforce the…
Episode 6: “That’ll Preach” featuring Charley Reeb
How can you connect with more people and engage current parishioners better through preaching? In this Leading Ideas Talks, Lewis Center Director Douglas Powe speaks with Pastor Charley Reeb, author of That’ll Preach!: 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever (available at Cokesbury and Amazon).
Moving Beyond Church in A Box
Pastor Carey Nieuwhof says congregations need to break free of the mentality that people need to come to church at a set time and place…
