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What can we learn about congregational revitalization, Fresh Expressions, and evangelism from the Methodist Church in Britain? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. interviews…
What can we learn about congregational revitalization, Fresh Expressions, and evangelism from the Methodist Church in Britain? Trey Hall shares insights on these subjects drawing from his experience in the United States and Great Britain.
What if you focused on making already-planned ministry events better rather than creating new events? Olu Brown offers three planning strategies for Doing Church Differently™…
How can your church reorient its posture toward its neighbors and neighborhood? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center Staff interviews Minnesota pastor Travis Norvell on…
How can your church reorient its posture toward its neighbors and neighborhood? Minnesota Pastor Travis Norvell decided to conduct his ministry by bike, on foot, and on public transportation. He shares how this revealed new people, new partners, and new possibilities for ministry.
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.
Kenda Creasy Dean writes that today ministry with young people often means finding young people where they live and work and embedding the church beside…
It’s easy to lose sight of the ways God is alive and at work in our communities without intentional efforts to know and understand our…
Vital churches find new and creative ways to engage their neighbors. But that doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning the best of what your church has always…
Does your church building express your congregation’s values and invite others to explore what you do? Does it communicate the gospel? Travis Norvell explains how…
How can your congregation connect with new people in both physical and digital spaces? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. interviews Jordana Wright on…
How can your congregation connect with new people in both physical and digital spaces? Jordana Wright shares creative strategies for transforming congregations into vibrant community hubs.
Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on one congregation’s unique approach to sharing the Stations of the Cross and the Stations of…
Travis Norvell, pastor of Judson Church in Minneapolis, describes the blessing and insight that flowed from his decision to schedule 110 one-on-one conversations with neighbors…
Elizabeth Mae Magill sought to create a food ministry that wasn’t a charity but a demonstration of Christ’s radical welcome. She did months of street…
Why do we feel comforted, healed, and enlivened in nature? Beth Norcross explains it is because God is so present there. In this episode we discuss how nature is our first way of knowing God and how individuals and churches can connect with this deep wellspring of spiritual meaning.
Andrew Ponder Williams says that these trying times provide an opportunity to advance a new way of being church. He offers ideas on how digital…
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.
Bishop Robert Schnase tells the story of a Texas congregation sharing worship with its homeless neighbors in relational and empowering ways. This powerful example of…
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.
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe and Associate Director Ann A. Michel outline some of the major trends evident in their research and interactions with…
Pastor Carey Nieuwhof says congregations need to break free of the mentality that people need to come to church at a set time and place…
What can church look like in your neighborhood? Listen as Lewis Center Associate Director Ann Michel speaks with Bishop Ken Carter and Reverend Audrey Warren…
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…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., writes that congregations all start not for themselves, but to serve other people. But with the passage of time, they tend…
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…
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…
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…
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.
