Search Results for: congregations

Is yours a ‘healthy’ congregation?

Theologian Emil Brunner famously stated, “The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning.” This didn’t quite sink in until I heard Darrell Guder, former dean and missiologist at Princeton Theological Seminary, put it more clearly for me: “The church does not exist primarily for the benefit of its own members. Instead, it exists for the benefit of those outside its walls.”

‘How do we want to live?’

Heritage Presbyterian Church in Muskego, Wisconsin, has a resurrection story to tell. At the beginning it might sound familiar to many Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations. The membership was graying and in decline. Of the 100 members on the rolls, only 30 to 40 came to worship.

Answering God’s call

John Etheredge has answered God’s call to become a long-term volunteer serving with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ghana.

An American celebration

While not the most widely known or celebrated holiday, Juneteenth is certainly one of the more significant holidays in the history of this nation.

‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus’

The 114th New Wilmington Mission Conference (NWMC), regarded as the oldest annual mission conference in the U.S., will be held July 19–26 on the campus of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Hope for Peace

A Letter from Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta, serving in Indonesia | June 2019

Mission Toolkit: The ties that bind us

Imagine a set of strings lying across a table, each one a different and vibrant color. Individually, the strings are beautiful — they are bright red, golden yellow, vivid green, chocolate brown, royal purple. Each has a different thickness, weight and texture; each was created in a different place, by different hands. Now imagine the strings woven together in a rich, multicolored pattern that creates a broad tapestry. The tapestry is even more beautiful; the interplay between the individual strings, their colors and textures, creates a work of art. Together, the tapestry is unique and strong.

Seven-person congregation did the math, switched to solar power

One was a former school administrator who had instituted energy-saving measures at schools he oversaw and brought that same passion to his work with the church. Another was concerned with climate change and felt that collective action was necessary to reverse the damaging effects of relying on fossil fuels.