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These articles and resources offer much on the topic of congregational vitality.
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…
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.
The pandemic taught us that church happens in powerful and meaningful ways outside our buildings. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Dave Barnhart,…
The pandemic taught us that church happens in powerful and meaningful ways outside our buildings. Dave Barnhart describes how small, home-centered worshiping communities can connect with people who may never cross the threshold of your church.
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.
How can churches get ahead of the curve by learning to anticipate change rather than always responding to change after the fact? Ann Michel interviews…
How can we more effectively develop leaders? In this episode, Bishop Yehiel Curry of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, offers his insights on leadership development.
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.
Church planter and consultant Paul Nixon responds to the frequently asked question about the cost of new church starts drawing from his own experience and…
Two knowledgeable new church developers, Phil Schroeder and Dan Jackson, reflect on Paul Nixon’s six observations about “How Much Should It Cost to Plant a…
Research on rapidly growing churches helped Matt Miofsky and Jason Byassee understand that miracles are happening in all our churches and communities all the time.…
Dan Turner led an older, established congregation through a successful restart, reshaping its ministry to reach a changing neighborhood. He outlines five key steps in…
Dan Turner led an older, established congregation through a restart. The remnant of members from the previous church brought many gifts to the new church,…
Why would a church discontinue its ministry to start a new one in the same place? In this episode Dan Turner speaks with Lewis Center Associate Director Ann A. Michel about how his Washington, DC, church chose to do just that to become a more fruitful congregation.
A new type of congregation is emerging that combines religious practice with a distinctive element of local culture or community identity, such as artistic expression,…
Does your church have the “church plus” factor? Listen as Lewis Center Director Doug Powe speaks with Tim Shapiro and Kara Faris about their book Divergent Church. They examine innovative, alternative faith communities that combine religious practice with a “church plus” factor — a dedicated focus on some unique aspect of their church’s cultural DNA like gardening, table fellowship, artistic expression, and more.
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…
Christian Coon, co-founding pastor of Urban Village Church in Chicago and author of Failing Boldly, believes that a key to fruitful ministry is the ability…
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…
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…
Our church had hit a plateau. We continued to welcome new members, but worship attendance stubbornly remained flat. We were bumping up against what consultants…
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…
When I was appointed to pastor a new church start, I began to dream of what “my” new church would look like. By the time…
While many studies report on the work of church planters, few studies examine the experience of “second pastors,” those who follow founding pastors of new…
A new report by the Leadership Network reports on the current state of churches having more than one site. Below are some of the findings…
The experience across all denominations shows how critical establishing new congregations is to reaching new populations. The United Church of Christ (UCC) has embarked on…
Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts (Challis Press, 2008) by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum is a must-read for pastors founding new…
Amy Yarnall writes about the launch of a new satellite worship service by two churches on a two-point charge. Last spring, a new worshipping community…
Richard Hunter describes a church growth strategy that involves a strong parent church launching satellite congregations that share the parent church’s basic DNA in its…
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.