Bigstock/stuartmiles
L. Gregory Jones: Innovation and design thinking are necessary but insufficient
Both innovation and design thinking must be set within a broader context, one that focuses on our purpose and ends, writes the theologian.
Innovation
Most Recently Published
At Una Familia, mothers and volunteers work with children in a summer tutoring program on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Leaders of Una Familia took part in the Ministry Accelerator workshops to help them expand the size and impact of their ministry. Photos by David B. Hollingsworth
Ministry Accelerator helps organizations grow
Virginia United Methodists are helping established ministries expand by teaching them new skills in a two-day “accelerator” program.
The centerpiece of Simple Church, a United Methodist congregation, is a Thursday night dinner when 30 to 40 share the Lord's Supper. Photos courtesy of Simple Church
Simple Church blends dinner, worship and enterprise to create a new model
Congregants gather for a sacred weekly meal where the conversation serves as the sermon and freshly baked bread provides nourishment, communion and income. Other churches are using their template to replicate the experience.
Bigstock / Makc
Matt Overton: The three phases of launching a church-based social enterprise
A youth pastor who began a church-based social enterprise shares advice for others interested in this kind of ministry. The three initial phases are discernment, consulting with the community and testing.
Screenshot from ConverJent.org
Owen Gottlieb: Religious teaching can use gaming technology to reach people where they are
Technology offers different capabilities -- storytelling, problem solving, design thinking -- to engage learners in religious teaching, says a rabbi and game designer.
A golden labradoodle puppy helps a boy decompress at The Brain Kitchen. Photos by Jer Nelsen
Non-profit helps kids manage trauma and learn coping skills for life
With a mix of movement, soothing activities and cooking, The Brain Kitchen helps struggling kids learn skills to calm themselves and even rewire their brains to cope with challenges. It's a picture of how innovation happens -- with insight, small steps and experimentation.
The Abundant Harvest food truck is one of the many parts of St. Isidore Episcopal Church and its "offensively generous" approach to ministry. Photos courtesy of St. Isidore Episcopal Church
Church has no walls but many doors, accessible to seekers and skeptics
One body with many parts, a Houston “church without walls” brings together house churches, a food truck, pub theology, a laundry ministry and more. Its priest isn’t trying to do something old in a new way – he’s trying to do something brand-new in the old way.
Image courtesy of Level Ground
Stacey Toews: How a fair-trade business helps further the work of Christ
Level Ground Trading is dedicated to fair trade with farmers. But its co-founder also has a larger, theological vision: a system designed for the good of all.
The Columbia Future Forge, which trains and mentors students in faith, life and work, is one of the social enterprises created by the author. Photo courtesy of The Columbia Future Forge
Matt Overton: Why I started a social enterprise at my church
Social enterprises might be a risky and unusual form of ministry, but a youth pastor argues that they can bring new life to the church.
What was once the sanctuary of Asbury UMC is now home to Servant Church, where the Rev. Eric Vogt, left, leads worship -- and the church -- in a new direction. Photos by Brian Diggs
A dying Texas church gives life to a new congregation
After years of decline, Asbury UMC in Austin, Texas, faced a question steeped in resurrection theology: Would they be willing to let their church die in order to have new life?
Pages
Traditioned Innovation
Leadership Education at Duke Divinity teaches a way of thinking that holds the past and future in tension, not in opposition.
Learn more »