Anthony B. Robinson: The pastor (and Jesus) as cage-fighter
Maybe the new, counter-intuitive formula for church growth is this: be a stark alternative to whatever the dominant culture offers.
Growth & renewal
Most Recently Published
James Howell: Church growth via luck
I grew a church big by being placed near a new housing development and bumping into a good-looking, gregarious couple that had just moved in.
Prince Raney Rivers: What comes after "contemporary" worship? The return of "traditional"
The usual story is of a pastor who staunches a church’s decline by introducing “contemporary” worship. But Macedonia Baptist in Pittsburgh capped its growth with a return to “traditional.”
Will Willimon: Anything worth doing for God is worth counting.
There may be churches that don’t care about growth. But these can’t possibly be Methodist.
Love God, love your neighbor
A new vision of a historic tradition. A Baptist church in Washington, D.C., with a history of commitment to social justice leverages its real estate assets to help revitalize the congregation and engage community partners.
Will Willimon: Churches can love their denominational heritage and also grow
Purpose-driven approaches to church growth say we should ditch the denominational label. This is exactly the wrong way to go.
Tom Arthur: How do I integrate a mainline heritage with church growth?
I became a Methodist on purpose. But church growth strategies want me to leave the label behind.
Michael Jinkins: The abba replies with a word
Last week we posted Tom Arthur's questions as a young pastor in a start-up congregation modeled on megachurches to his elder, Michael Jinkins, about his "Letters to New Pastors," which assumed a very different pastoral context. Here is Jinkins' reply.
Illustration by iStock/John Woodcock/Jessamyn Rubio
Riding the roller coaster of new church ministry
Success rates for new churches in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have shot up. The key? Using experienced pastors as coaches for new-church pastors.
Rock solid
A dead church is resurrected. On a stretch of road in North Carolina’s Sandhills region, the Rev. Gil Wise’s entrepreneurial leadership and clear vision have helped create a thriving community.