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Posts Categorized: Church Growth

August 22, 2016

TLC: Think like a Christian

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Churches never die Transforming grump into gratitude  Jeffrey A. Schooley “Depressing” was the only observation from one of my elders after a recent session meeting. We had just reviewed demographic and sociological information from the remarkably helpful data aggregation web company, MissionInsite. The data revealed that much of our immediate community is “irreligious.” In fact, even… Read more »
July 20, 2016

Not quite right

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Lessons from Disney World Five things the church could learn from the place “Where Dreams Come True” By Joshua Bower Three weeks ago my family took a vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. Was it the most magical place on earth? Not exactly. We spent a small fortune on sunscreen (on everything, really), I… Read more »
June 22, 2016

TLC: Think like a Christian

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Desired Distractions? How attention to national “issues” might just be an excuse to avoid local realities by Jeffrey Schooley A congregant recently talked to me – at length – about the bathroom bill in North Carolina. A friend was told by the clerk of his presbytery that he should be prepared for five to six… Read more »
June 3, 2016

Swell

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Creating Direction How to spark growth this fall in your congregation by David Collins Congregations that are stuck have many things in common with each other. The externals are obvious: declining membership, lack of energy, majoring in the minors, etc. But they also share many internals, beliefs and attitudes, which keep them from growing. One… Read more »
April 21, 2016

One Church, Many Voices

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We are living our love of Christ out loud. Our faith may be personal, but it’s not private. How we live it and wield it publicly matters.

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April 14, 2016

Swell

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Church growth is not about the easy externals of church life. It is about communicating and embodying the good news of Jesus Christ, sharing it with your community in ways that they will hear it, daily laboring to follow in Christ’s steps as his disciples. It is about remembering that we are promised the grace that comes from a cross, not a smoothie machine. 

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October 26, 2015

TLC: Think Like a Christian

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Seeking transformation through the renewal of our minds   Churches, stop counting your members!A scary story about the Fear-monster in your church’s basement by Jeffrey A. Schooley Since it is Halloween time, I want to tell you a scary story about “Fear-monster.” Fear-monster lives in the basement of your church. He lurks there, consuming the… Read more »
October 12, 2015

Swell

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Blunt truth about church growth   Preaching for growthA few simple (but often overlooked) ideas for creating a sermon that connects with your congregation by David R. Collins What makes for good preaching? It depends on whom you ask. Some people feel like they’ve heard a good sermon if they leave church feeling really guilty… Read more »
September 14, 2015

Swell

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Blunt truth about church growth   How to make your church swellFaithfulness and the growth of our churches don’t have to be at odds. by David R. Collins We’ve all heard the statistics about decline in the church. Some comments on Facebook estimate that last year alone the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) lost around 8 billion… Read more »
August 19, 2015

Not Quite Right

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One slightly unhinged pastor’s attempt to love (and laugh with) a slightly unhinged church, from the inside out.   Why would I join a church where that happens?It’s time to stop giving people reasons to doubt our Christian faith. by Joshua Bower I’ve been a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for 10 years. I… Read more »

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” — Luke 23:42

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