Should Churches Celebrate July 4th? (And How Much) Independence Day is a unique holiday for the American church. An overt Christian connection does not exist like with Christmas or Easter. July 4th is also specific to the United States, so churches outside of our country—as expected—would not recognize the holiday.
The Discipleship Crisis The discipleship crisis is not confined to the United Kingdom. It affects Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It is present wherever people identify as Christians and even go to church but only subscribe to a few of the core beliefs of Christianity. It explains
The Church and Mission in Europe Today: Changing the Narrative An extraordinary re-evangelization of Europe is underway. I think we can identify three primary dimensions of that re-evangelization. What follows is a summary but you can read much more in my Europe 2021 report. Evangelical Identity When is an evangelical
Why Making Your Church Multigenerational Is Worth the Effort Chuck Lawless says it is hard to be a multigenerational church, but it is worth the effort. He outlines some of the benefits of multigenerational ministry as well as the obstacles that prevent many congregations from embodying this ideal. Reaching the
The Great Dechurching Will Hurt Poor People Members of mainline denominations as a percentage of the US population have dropped to the single digits. That’s bad news for the poor and vulnerable. 3 Touchstones of Welcoming Newcomers Today What was once perceived as welcoming may no longer resonate with the
3 Steps to Reach Your Community If your local church struggles to reach the community, let me encourage you to pause, pray, and participate where God is leading. By joining with the community, the church can reconnect with lost people and help the people inside the church to see and
A Small Church Is Still Part of the Big Mission Don’t let the size of the mission overwhelm your church or distract you from it. The source of the mission is found in Christ alone. What happened in the ten days between Ascension and Pentecost? Between Ascension and Pentecost, the
20 Truths From ‘Attentive Church Leadership’ “A frog waits for food to come to him, but lizards seek out their food. Churches today need to be more like lizards and less like frogs. Now the call is to go where people live, work, and play with the Good News of