The work of church renewal can have a tremendous emotional impact on members of churches, in particular its pastors and “older” folks, many who’ve been members of the church for most of their lives. For many …
Is Church Decline Over?
New surveys show the rise of the “Nones” may be coming to an end, but it’s not all good news. This month, the Cooperative Election Study published new findings, showing that 36 percent of people now identify …
A Tailor-Made Approach to Change
How do ideas spread? That is the question behind Everett Rogers’ classic book, The Diffusion of Innovations. As church renewal leaders, learning the art and science of change is crucial to our work. Developing those skills by reading …
Pastoring the Local Community
What do high impact congregations have in common? That is the question the developers of the REVEAL Survey (REVEAL measures the discipleship health of a congregation) wanted to answer when they asked pastors from the highest …
Prayer In Church Renewal
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul…” -Hebrews 6:19 All of us need anchors in our lives, to keep us centered, grounded and attached. As the writer of Hebrews points out, Jesus …
How to Structure for Renewal
Good governance is essential for healthy renewal. Governance is about how we decide things and how we get things done. It is about the relationship between boards, staff, teams, and volunteers. Governance is like a …
New Church Renewal Statistics Offer Insights and Spark Questions
Last week, I shared five podcasts that can help church renewal leaders continue to learn and grow. One of them was Tony Morgan’s Unstuck Church Podcast, which releases original research into church health and growth trends. …
Podcasts for Church Renewal Leaders
Church renewal leaders never stop learning. Reading is an important part of that process, as Kris Vos mentioned in a recent article. However, pastors can use other types of resources to continue growing as well. For the …
Dealing With Doubt and Deconstruction
As church renewal leaders, we dream of building vibrant, growing churches, but the trend of deconstruction reveals that infrastructure may be fracturing. Young people are increasingly leaving behind the faith in which they were raised, …
Pastor, How Are You Doing?
An unlikely post on X went viral last week when Elmo posted: “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” The simple question from Sesame Street’s lovable red Muppet quickly received almost 20,000 replies. People …
