Congregational innovation

A congregation renovates the old and builds something new to serve its members and community

Facing years of deferred maintenance and repair costs, a church in Lexington, Kentucky, looked outward as well as inward to make the best use of its historic space while expanding to meet a pressing local need.

By Kory Wilcoxson Pastor and journalist

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Why religious leaders need to understand agentic AI

To ignore or remain silent about the agentic revolution is to forfeit the ability to shape and speak into the moral framework of a world already being reshaped by agentic intelligence, writes a scholar.

By Heidi A. Campbell Professor, Texas A&M University

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Why are Christian congregations important today?

The Forum for Congregational Life will work to facilitate learning among all types of congregations in ways that strengthen and support them.

Alaina Kleinbeck David L. Odom

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Is your organization’s base strong enough to answer God’s call?

A painting must be created on canvas sturdy enough to support it. Likewise, congregations and organizations need a solid foundation if their ministries are to flourish, writes a director of programs and grants for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

By Mycal X. Brickhouse Director of programs and grants, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

Image link to article: Is your organization’s base strong enough to answer God’s call?

Entertaining angels can be harder than it sounds, but it’s also worthwhile and important

While the Bible encourages us to be hospitable to strangers, the possibilities can be frightening. Some churches provide models for bringing people together beyond weekly services or liturgical ties.

By Sarah E. Forsyth Associate Director, Thriving Congregations Coordination Program

Image link to article: Entertaining angels can be harder than it sounds, but it’s also worthwhile and important

The hard and surprisingly hopeful lessons for churches five years after COVID

Pastors share what they’ve learned about their congregations, about the work of the church and about themselves five years after the pandemic forced most to close their doors.

By Edie Gross Journalist

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When songs become sermons — a different way of preaching

No longer able to sustain a choral program and facing clergy overload, members of a Maryland congregation now tell the old, old story by leaning into music, their pastor writes.

By McKenna Wallen Pastor, Maryland Presbyterian Church

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Don’t miss the significance of congregational toads in your church’s ecosystem

If we pay attention, the presence or absence of certain indicators can help us assess the vitality of our faith communities.

By Victoria Atkinson White Vice President for Grants and Programs, Church Benefits Association

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What happens when the church is turned upside down?

Encountering a sculpture in a public square prompts a church innovator to reflect on the changes in our institutions — and how to react to them.

By Shannon Hopkins Co-founder & lead cultivator, RootedGood

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A Chicago church where discipleship begins with one person and emanates throughout the community

Lawndale Christian Community Church invests in its neighborhood with an “ecosystem” of programs, services and discipleship opportunities intended to help everyone who lives there thrive.

By Alison Bowen Journalist

Image link to article: A Chicago church where discipleship begins with one person and emanates throughout the community

A food ministry in a tiny, rural town has helped hold a United Methodist church together across denominational divides

Volunteers from a small North Carolina church feed their neighbors each week with a hot meal and companionship in an outsize effort to the community.

By Yonat Shimron Journalist

Image link to article: A food ministry in a tiny, rural town has helped hold a United Methodist church together across denominational divides