Worship and Mission Should Go Hand in Hand
Evangelism Professor Mark Teasdale says that an essential function of worship is to undergird a congregation’s missional identity. In worship, God consecrates us to carry…
Browsing: Evangelism
Articles
Missional Engagement: It’s All About Relationships
Junius B. Dotson says that church outreach has generally taken the form of community service or evangelistic efforts. But real missional engagement entails the building…
Helping Families Embrace the Importance of a Church Funeral
Sarah Dorrance describes the pastoral challenge of helping surviving family members who do not attend church to understand that a Christian funeral is appropriate for…
4 Clues for Inviting Others to Church Effectively
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says many people just don’t like inviting other people to church, in part because faith is so personal and in…
Does Your Church Need an Online Campus?
Multisite ministry expert Jim Tomberlin says having an internet campus involves more than just offering a video sermon online. It involves offering a full, virtual…
Networks and Third Places are Today’s Mission Field
Where is community discovered in our time? In their book Fresh Expressions, Ken Carter and Audrey Warren argue that people today are less likely to…
Preparing for the Shift
Incoming Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says that demographic shifts will bring increased diversity to the neighborhoods around most churches in the coming decades. Rather…
Stories — Your Website’s Secret Sauce
Stories of transformation inspire people to engage in matters of faith. But people rarely hear these stories unless they’re already sitting in the pews. Will…
6 Simple Tips to Get More Likes on your Church’s Facebook Page
Your church Facebook page is a huge opportunity for opening your doors to your community, says Jeremy Steele. He shares six strategies to increase your…
The Good Neighbor Church
Sue Nilson Kibbey, who works with missional church initiatives in Ohio, shares the story of a church that engaged the mission field immediately around its…
6 Ways to Turn Your Church Inside-Out
To connect with people, you need to meet them where they are, says Ben Ingebretson, the director of new church development for the Dakotas and…
Organizing a Missional COMMUNITY
Hal Knight and Doug Powe discuss nine characteristics of transformative Christian communities that allow them to nurture spiritual growth while also remaining open to others…
A Spiritually Inviting Food Pantry
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…
10 Ways to Reach Unchurched People at Christmas
Pastor Carey Nieuwhof says unchurched people want to celebrate Christmas, so there is no better time to connect with friends and neighbors who rarely, if…
Adopting a Missionary Mindset
Douglas Ruffle, who works with the Path 1 church planting initiative, says the role of church leaders in a culture that is increasingly estranged from…
Blessing of the Bikes
Pastor Daniel Kerlin’s Pennsylvania congregation wanted to reach people who wouldn’t normally come to church. They came up with a novel idea — a motorcyclist worship…
Coffee Shop Conversations
Scott Chrostek, pastor of Resurrection Downtown, visited thirty-three coffee shops during his first month in Kansas City with a daily goal of having thirty-five conversations…
Building Attendance through Special Focus Sundays
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Tom Berlin discuss how congregations can reach more members and visitors through Special Focus Sundays that emphasize a particular cause…
7 of John Wesley’s Practices Can Change Hearts Today
Roger Ross, author of the book Meet the Goodpeople, looks to the Wesleyan Revival for examples of effective ways of sharing faith. He says seven…
Community Outreach Essential to Launch New Worship Site
Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, recently launched a new worship service at a second campus in southeast Wichita that became part of…
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…
Fostering Conversations That Connect
Does it seem that you still see the same people in worship on Sunday but not as often? For a number of years, declines in…
The Power of Laity in Connecting to the Community
For much of my ministry, I had a recurring fantasy each time I was moving to a new church as pastor. I would imagine myself…
Connecting with “Those People”
For four years, I’ve been the pastor of Women at the Well, a congregation within a women’s prison in Mitchellville, Iowa. I meet some amazing…
What if Your Church Had No Building?
On the weekend of my first Easter as a church planter in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, I made the drive from my house to a local…
Taking Church to the Community
How can everyday places in your neighborhood become sanctuaries where people receive blessing? Increasingly, churches find they can extend their spiritual presence beyond their own…
Not Safe for Church: Ten Commandments for Reaching New Generations
Reaching a new generation requires a new conversation. Congregations say they want to reach new and younger people, many of whom are simply turned off…
The Power of Recommendation
We attend dozens of worship services in different churches every year. Way too often we hear the preachers implore along the scripted lines: “Come back…
Create New Entry Points
Churches have long assumed that new people would engage their congregations by first attending worship. When they are not growing and attracting new people, people…
What’s Your Church’s “Ladder”?
When people think of your church, what comes to mind? Is your church seen as similar to other churches? Different? How would church members answer…
