How do you learn to see abundance where others see only poverty? In this excerpt from his new book, the Rev. Michael Mather writes about how his congregation shifted its focus from paying people’s bills to cultivating their talents and gifts.
The Rev. Matthew McNelly, far right, on the water with teens and a summer intern with GoFish!
GoFish! Ministries takes kids out on Washington’s Snake River to share life together and earn money through a state program that pays anglers to catch an aggressive species of fish.
Authors Dori Baker, first row, second from right, and Tobin Belzer, top row, far right, with the young adults trained as "holy listeners" who interviewed their peers as part of an initiative to attract young adults to church. Photo courtesy of Dori Baker
Sharing stories -- and listening deeply to one another -- is at the heart of a new research initiative that seeks to help churches launch ministries to attract young adults.
Gold Star widow Claudia Perez creates and serves free meals for military families at the monthly Work Day and Fun Day events at Rick's Place near Fort Bragg. It's one of the many ways the organization gives military families a break from the stresses of reintegration. Photos courtesy of Rick's Place.
The stresses of combat and frequent deployments take a toll on military families. A special park near a base in North Carolina -- supported by churches -- offers a new model to ease the transition from war to peacetime life.
Allen Woods, left, works with budding entrepreneurs involved in the MORTAR program in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. Photos courtesy of MORTAR
Too often, neighborhood revitalization leaves behind the people who already live in urban neighborhoods. A new model in Cincinnati seeks to train and support locals so they can benefit from the economic boom.
The Kusanya Cafe in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago was established five years ago by a partnership that included Canaan Community Church. Photo courtesy of Kusanya Cafe
The pastor of an inner-city Chicago church shares how he and his congregation have changed the way they work in their neighborhood -- and how that has changed the community itself.
Alexandria Andrews and the Rev. Dr. Argrow “Kit” Evans-Ford examine freshly cut bars of soap. The natural soaps are one of the bath and body products made at Argrow's House and sold to support the ministry. Photos by Greg Boll/Greg Boll Photography
Inspired by her own experience and that of her grandmother, the Rev. Dr. Argrow “Kit” Evans-Ford has established a safe space for women and a bath products business to help support it.
Image courtesy of New City Kids
The organization’s co-founder, Trevor Rubingh, identifies nine elements of the New City Kids after-school model that contribute to its effectiveness.
A middle-school student plays the drums during a New City Kids benefit concert. Photos courtesy of New City Kids
A Christian program called New City Kids uses tutoring, music, leadership training and spiritual formation to help children in three cities transform their lives. It has been remarkably successful: 100 percent of its graduating seniors have gone to college.
With Malcolm Smith on banjo and Mac Traynham on guitar, Appalachian music is a central part of worship at Wild Goose Christian Community Church in Floyd County, Virginia. Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis
Tuesday services, rockers for pews, a Mason jar chalice and mountain music -- Wild Goose Christian Community is an alternative faith community that celebrates local Appalachian culture.
Leadership Education at Duke Divinity teaches a way of thinking that holds the past and future in tension, not in opposition.
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