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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 —…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
Editor’s note: This information adapted from an article by Joy F. Skjegstad which appeared previously in Leading Ideas. This To the Point version has been edited for…
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…
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.