by Beth Kennett | Oct 11, 2016 | Congregations, Future, Leadership
by Beth Kennett An approach to working with congregations or groups of any kind is to use an appreciative approach, asking for and encouraging the group, and individuals, to focus on and appreciate what works. Several books and processes have been created to help...
by Beth Kennett | Sep 20, 2016 | Congregations, Future
Over the past week, I have been involved in several conversations about the church of the future, or the “next” church. People usually approach this conversation from one of two perspectives—either, fear and concern for the future of the Church, especially the...
by Beth Kennett | May 12, 2016 | Congregations, Future, Relationships
This week I read a wonderful blog by Elizabeth Mangham Lott, Ode to an Imperfect Church. It could be entitled “Ode to a healthy church.” Elizabeth’s writing is a gift to the reader and this blog, in particular, made me pause. When I work with a...
by Beth Kennett | Mar 29, 2016 | Congregations, Future
by Jill Crainshaw, Ph.D., Blackburn Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology at Wake Forest University School of Divinity Note: This post is the first in an Eastertide series being offered by a joint task force composed of members from the Church Growth and...
by Beth Kennett | Feb 2, 2016 | Congregations, Future
By Dirk Elliott DownRiver Church celebrated its first worship service as a new church start on July 7, 2013, with 186 people in attendance. DownRiver is a Vital Merger of four churches in the Detroit area. In December, 2012, each of these four churches voted, with...
by Beth Kennett | Jan 24, 2016 | Congregations, Future, History, Leadership, Ministers
by Les Robinson Recently, Chris Gambill, Director of the Center, wrote a blog (A new year, a new look at congregations) about the Faith Communities Today 2015 national survey of American congregations. He was referring to their most recent survey. Since 2000, this...
