Helping Rural Congregations Thrive
Rural congregations are often overlooked yet are vital to their communities, offering relational, volunteer-driven support. They thrive on strong relationships, emphasizing belonging and community well-being.…
Browsing: Small Membership Churches
Articles
Leading the Small Membership Church
Small membership churches thrive on self-reliance, requiring leaders with strong relational skills. Lew Parks writes that preaching in these churches reinforces corporate identity, tells the…
The Future of the United Methodist Church: An In-depth Interview with Doug Powe and Lovett Weems
What does the post-pandemic and post-disaffiliation United Methodist Church (UMC) look like? Jessica Anschutz speaks with Lewis Center Director Doug Powe and Senior Consultant Lovett…
“The Future of the United Methodist Church” featuring Doug Powe and Lovett Weems
Podcast Episode 160 What does the post-pandemic and post-disaffiliation United Methodist Church (UMC) look like? In this episode, Jessica Anschutz speaks with Lewis Center Director…
11 Characteristics of Effective Smaller Churches
What are the qualities of effective smaller churches? David Ray explores eleven key qualities of dynamic and faithful smaller churches that he observed across 21…
Is a Simplified Leadership Structure Right for Your Church?
Many churches are adopting a unified board structure to minimize layers of committee work and free time for hands on ministry. Ann Michel of the…
5 Ways Forward for Very Small Congregations
The percentage of U.S. churches with attendance of 100 or fewer increased from 45 percent in 2000 to 70 percent in 2020. Lovett H. Weems…
Should a Church Close?
Sustainability is increasingly difficult for the ever increasing number of churches worshipping small numbers each week. Lovett Weems captures the dilemma for church leaders and…
Fresh Hope for Rural Churches
Rural churches are anchors in their communities and can use their property assets to bring new hope to their neighbors. Jennie Birkholz describes how creative…
5 Delegation Lessons for Church Leaders
A balanced delegation of tasks may necessitate doing fewer activities and doing better discipleship training. Drawing on his own experience, Karl Vaters offers five delegation…
Embracing Mutual Ministry: An In-Depth Interview with Lydia Bucklin
How can your congregation function as a community of ministers rather than a community gathered around a single minister? Lydia Bucklin of the Episcopal Diocese…
“Embracing Mutual Ministry” featuring Lydia Bucklin
Podcast Episode 136 How can your congregation function as a community of ministers rather than a community gathered around a single minister? Lydia Bucklin explains…
The Stone Soup Recipe for Vital Small Church Worship
Teresa Stewart says that small congregations have a powerful worship planning option that expands participation, emphasizes lay leadership, ends the burnout of meetings, invites local…
The 5 P’s of Sustainability for Small Churches
Rebekah Simon-Peter says small churches cannot succeed by emulating the megachurch model of programming for every stage of life. She believes that five P’s —…
The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches: An In-Depth Interview with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrand
What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt…
“The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches” featuring Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt
Podcast Episode 126 What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? We speak with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt of Partners for…
Small Church Big Impact
Blake Bradford shares how smaller congregations can use their unique giftedness to fulfill their mission. He says smaller churches can enhance their vitality by clarifying…
Why Small Congregation Worship Matters
Teresa Stewart has faith in the future of small congregations because she has faith in a God who shows up even in small and forgotten…
When the Pastor Is Your Plumber
Lovett H. Weems Jr. writes about the long and rich history of bivocational ministry in the Bible, throughout the generations of American history and around…
The Rural Church’s Gifts
Michael Adam Beck and Tyler Kleeberger describe how the unique demographics of rural churches bring not only the potential for intimacy and neighborliness but also…
5 Hospitality and Stewardship Lessons from a Homecoming
How are visitors to your congregation greeted and welcomed? Ken Sloane outlines five lessons for extending hospitality and engaging new givers. While traveling earlier this…
The Resilient Small Church
We often think of large churches as strong and small churches as weak. But Lovett H. Weems Jr. shares a powerful example of how size…
4 Key Lessons for Vital Small Church Ministry
David Gilmore says the size of a congregation need not be a determining factor in its ability to connect with its neighbors. Small congregations who…
Change and the Small Church
Roy L. Spore believes that decline and death are not inevitable for smaller rural churches. While smaller churches are often skeptical of change imposed from…
Creating Powerful Worship in Small Congregations
Do you want amazing worship on a small church budget? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. interviews Teresa Stewart, a blogger and creator of…
Episode 92: “Creating Powerful Worship in Small Congregations” featuring Teresa Stewart
Do you want amazing worship on a small church budget? Teresa Stewart, a blogger and creator of the website Paper Bag Cathedrals, shares ways small congregations can enliven their worship.
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…
3 Indicators of a Thriving Rural Congregation
Allen Stanton says rural churches need better indicators of what it means to thrive. He outlines three characteristics of vital rural congregations able to lead…
3 Unique Gifts of the Rural Church
Allen Stanton says rural churches are uniquely positioned to be agents of change within their communities. Most are trusted long-term community stakeholders, and on any…
Is Closing a Church Ever a Good Thing?
Tim Snyder of the Lewis Center Staff writes that closing a church often brings conflict, denial, and shame. But death is a natural passage in…