Why Worship Attendance Matters and Clues for Improving It
This 10-minute video by Lewis Center Director Lovett H. Weems, Jr., provides an overview of the importance of worship attendance and ways you can improve it. Download this video free….
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This 10-minute video by Lewis Center Director Lovett H. Weems, Jr., provides an overview of the importance of worship attendance and ways you can improve it. Download this video free….
This five-minute video by the Lewis Center’s Lovett H. Weems, Jr., provides an overview of how new people are coming into church communities in different ways than previously, what it…
…to inventory your monthly building maintenance costs — pest control, landscaping, snow removal, security, boiler maintenance, insurance, and so on. One way to help calculate this may be to think…
This five-minute video by Lewis Center Director Lovett H. Weems, Jr., provides an overview of the importance of community engagement to the church. Download this video free….
…eight-minute video by Lewis Center Director Lovett H. Weems, Jr., provides an overview of the importance of congregational giving and ways you can improve it. Download this video free….
…Belonging. Another example is: Searching. Seeking to make sense of life: asking questions like, “What gives my life purpose, joy, and fulfillment?” Exploring. Attend, but not belong; may not be…
…is a strong positive correlation between spiritual vitality and financial health. Increasing financial health leads to greater giving to mission. A free download of the report can be found athttps://faithcommunitiestoday.org/research-based-products-congregational-leadership….
…a park, diner, or coffee house. Ask simply, “What are your challenges, hopes, longings and dreams?” Get to know the major public officials. They are people with tremendous influence. They…
…3,000 multisite churches in 46 U.S. states, plus D.C., and six Canadian provinces. Two-thirds of multisites are denominationally connected, with the most represented being Baptist, United Methodist, Christian Church, and…
…into the life of the congregation is school or sports-related activities among young children and teens,” the report finds. This is true for rural, small town, urban, and suburban settings,…
…Percentage 2008 2012 American Baptist 44% 50% Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 44% 53% Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 44% 54% Episcopal 59% 59% Presbyterian Church (USA) 42% 53% Reformed…
…care team, not the pastor) to anyone who has missed three Sundays in a row. Say, “Looking through the attendance slips, we’ve missed your name! Hope to see you next…
…and more effective communications, and providing a variety of well-structured and regular means of giving. “Pay the bills” or “live the vision” Congregational culture is also a determinate of giving….
…therefore, the best size for a military company, a village, a nomadic tribe, a social networking website, or an office. And of course, as validated repeatedly in history, if it…
…their work made a difference? 6. Help people pursue passion. Too many volunteer jobs are just plain boring. Too many meetings. Too many restrictions based on “how we’ve always done…
…the grass ain’t always greener on the other side. It’s green where you water it.” (I know…. I can’t believe I just quoted a Justin Bieber song.) In a world…
…terminology (such as the difference between a “profile” and a “page”) and describes the essential elements of a congregational Facebook page. Facebook for Pastors, a free ebook by nonprofit marketing…
…CDC website: “Reopening Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools, and Homes.” It might be beneficial to allow a buffer of time between the departing pastor’s move…
…what am I going to do now?” Then I said, “Oh, I know. I could apply for her job.” So, that’s what I did. I was hired, and for the…
…of ways that we talk about ourselves. So, I’m Puerto Rican, so I’m Puertorriqueña. There’s Cuban, there’s Mexican, Chicano, and so on and so forth. Jessica Anschutz: Thank you for…
…conjunction with your annual appeal. (See “Now Is the Time to Ask Contributors to Set up Recurring Online Gifts,” Leading Ideas, April 22, 2020). 7. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. A commitment…
…football field, so kids are walking by twice a day,” says church member Patrick Brown. “And there’s a lot of hungry kids in Arkansas.” It’s not just food, either; there…
…people’s passions. Listen for the way God is calling people to live their faith — at work, home, and/or in the church. Set people free to follow God’s call. Enable…
…the church responds. Offering these carefully framed giving opportunities is a “both/and” approach that honors people’s desire to help others in a way consistent with the church’s broader priorities. Some…
…alone confront evil in our communities. The article is adapted from David McAllister-Wilson’s book A New Church and A New Seminary: Theological Education Is the Solution (Abingdon Press, 2018). Used…
…practice, he came up on the stage, looked around, and then sat with the choir. He was surprised and said, “Nana, it’s really different up here!” When he got tired…
…in the newcomers who will come and “be-come” members of the congregation. Love becomes tangible as newcomers appear on the threshold of the congregation, weary, broken, and worn, searching for…
…Marden’s book, Church Finances for Missional Leaders: Best Practices for Missional Leaders (Wesley Foundry Books, 2019), available at Cokesbury and Amazon. Related Resources Assuring Financial Integrity, an online course from…
…pastors and local churches together. It is the process by which a bishop and district superintendent “confer” with the pastor and the committee on pastor-parish (or staff-parish) relations (SPRC). The…
…during the pandemic and haven’t come back to worship yet are only “one invitation away from returning.” She says one sincere, guilt-free, person-to-person invitation can make all the difference. And…
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.