6 Essential Elements of Fruitful Small Groups
What are the essential elements of a fruitful small group? Scott Hughes names and explains six elements that characterize effective small groups — prayer and…
Browsing: Discipleship
Articles
Lessons from the Fresh Expressions Movement: In-depth Interview with Luke Edwards
What can we learn from the Fresh Expression movement’s novel approach to forming new faith communities? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Luke…
“Lessons from the Fresh Expressions Movement” featuring Luke Edwards
What can we learn from the Fresh Expression movement’s novel approach to reaching people unlikely to attend church on Sunday mornings? Luke Edwards discusses a process of listen, building relationships, and forming community that can lead to deepening discipleship and the formation of new, nontraditional worshipping communities.
4 Audiences for Digital Engagement
Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff shares how congregations can begin to reach four groups of people through ministry on digital platforms. As…
Thanking God It’s Good Friday: Intergenerational Children’s Ministry
Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on an intergenerational ministry that teaches children about the significance of Holy Week and Easter. She…
How to Organize an Intergenerational Morning of Service for MLK Day
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…
4 Approaches to Keeping Small Church Worship and Education Vibrant During the Pandemic
Rebekah Simon-Peter outlines four models small churches have used to survive the pandemic — the church at home model, the shut-in model, the never shut…
Imagining a Hybrid Future
How can a church develop hybrid ministry that connects both with those in the room and those who will never enter your church building? Ann…
Episode 76: “Imagining a Hybrid Future” featuring Rosario Picardo
How can a church develop hybrid ministry that connects both with those in the room and those who will never enter your church building? Rosario Picardo, one of the authors of a new book on ministry in the digital age, discusses how churches can continue to develop online ministry while resuming in-person ministries in the post-pandemic age.
Courage, Faith, and Resilient Leadership
What gives Christian leaders the courage to persist in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Tom Berlin…
Episode 74: “Courage, Faith, and Resilient Leadership” featuring Tom Berlin
What gives Christian leaders the courage to persist in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges? Tom Berlin shares how courage emerges through faith, hope, and God-inspired convictions as we deepen our commitment to walk with Christ.
Giving for the Right Reasons
The Christian faith invites us to think about giving in new and countercultural ways. Giving faithfully and for the right reasons puts us in alignment…
4 Ways to Measure if Your Ministry Is Working
In changing times standard measures of a congregation’s health may not tell the whole story. Naomi Annandale suggests a need to expand and adjust our…
5 Essential Practices of a Hero-Making Leader
Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird say that effective leaders focus less on being the hero themselves and more on making other people heroes in God’s…
Episode 60: “How to Be a Hero Maker” featuring Dave Ferguson
How can you activate the gifts of others and multiply the impact of your ministry? In this episode we speak with Dave Ferguson about becoming a “hero maker” by focusing on making those around you great leaders.
Discipling People in Midlife and Beyond
Older adults are leaving or downsizing church involvement at rates comparable to that of younger adults, says Michelle Van Loon. Churches that typically focus most…
Episode 57: “Is the Church Ignoring the Spiritual Needs of Adults in Midlife?” featuring Michelle Van Loon
Churches often put a lot of emphasis on nurturing families, children, and those at the start of their faith journey. But what about others? In this episode we speak with Michelle Van Loon about how churches can better help people in midlife continue to grow in faith as they navigate their unique life challenges.
Episode 51: “Developing a Discipleship Pathway” featuring Kay Kotan
Do you have a discipleship pathway at your congregation? In this episode we discuss discipleship and developing disciples with Kay Kotan the director for the Center for Multiplying Disciples in the Arkansas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Are You Teaching People about Faith? Or How to Practice It?
Johannah Myers describes a paradigm shift in how we form disciples with a move away from Christian education toward an emphasis on forming people in…
4 Ways to Multiply Disciples the Way Jesus Did
Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird explain that for our ministries to have a truly exponential impact, we need to be mentoring, developing, and multiplying disciples.…
What Question is Your Church Trying to Answer?
Quincy Brown says most churches are focused on answering questions related to their own survival rather than answering the life questions that people beyond the…
Friendship as a Means of Discipleship
Befriending others was the early church’s method of evangelism, discipleship, and worship. Greg Moore, who works to create new faith communities, says it is critical…
5 Ways to Engage People the Way Jesus Did
Looking for ways to connect with new people, organize them for action, and lead them to a deepening commitment? Joe Daniels and Christie Latona remind…
4 Ways to Create Accountability for Discipleship
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says it’s common for many individuals within a congregation to be responsible for discipleship. But often, no one person is…
8 Things Your Christian Educator Wants You to Know
The work of faith formation leaders in a congregation is expansive and vital, yet often undervalued and misunderstood. Virginia Callegary lifts up the need to…
Fostering the Courage to Lead
David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary, sees courage as essential to church leadership. He explains how courage is formed not through study or proclamation,…
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…
Developing an Intentional Discipleship System
The late Junius B. Dotson says that churches cannot do the hard and intentional work of making disciples unless they are clear about what a…
16 Signs Your Church May Need a Renewed Focus on Disciple Making
Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard say too many churches are driven by structure and programs, not the imperative of making disciples. They outline 16 symptoms…
7 Steps for Making Disciples Through Relational Mentoring
Kenneth H. Carter and Audrey Warren describe a simple, step-by-step process for making disciples and mentoring friends to be closer to Jesus — a process…