Church Worship Attendance Is… Up! (For the First Time in Years) A new Hartford Institute report shows median in-person worship attendance increasing from 65 to 70 since just before the pandemic. That five-person gain may sound small, but it represents a 7.7% increase and moves the median congregation above its
Welcome back to Steeple People! Hosts Amy Jo Gerardier and Michelle Dyer are kicking off season two with a couple whose story starts with a simple, honest question: What if the Bible is actually true? Buck and Laura Thompson moved to Brentwood, Tennessee, 11 years ago from the Philadelphia suburbs,
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 holds some of the most familiar words in the Bible, the ones many people know from the Byrds’ 1965 song “Turn, Turn, Turn” long before they know where they come from. In this episode of the Sermon Notes Podcast, Jay Strother and Brian Ball pick up that passage
Starting a new school year is very exciting for youngsters, but it can also be intimidating, frightening, and even lonely. I have compiled some great books that address learning, getting along with others, and dealing with feelings. The following books are all picture books and best for ages four through
A successful cardiac surgeon once told me he realized he had mastered time when he could perform a life-saving operation with complete focus, then walk into his daughter’s piano recital fully present. He did not carry the operating room’s urgency into the auditorium. “Time,” he said, “is not about doing
Alex spent three years building his home from nothing. Seven days after the work was finished, Hurricane Lane hit. An 18-foot wall of water came down the river and grounded everything on his farm, eventually rising 38 vertical feet. In a matter of hours, everything he owned was gone, and
It’s Time For A Church Transition: Should The Pastor Leave? Hand Off? Or Reboot? No church should be so reliant on one person that it’s at risk of collapse when that person leaves. Even if that person is the pastor. Diocese of Washington church plant offers outdoor worship on the
Editor’s Note: This is the next-to-last essay in Richard’s 18-article series on the insights and benefits of viewing the Restored Gospel through a familycentric lens. Meridian is grateful for this illuminating perspective and for the many comments and responses from our readers. (to see all of the earlier articles in