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Back to the future: Kids learning in community

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campus, community, congregation, FACILITIES, LEADERSHIP

March 1, 2012 at 9:00 am.

Standing in the middle of a movie theater lobby is usually no big deal (and certainly not a spiritual moment), unless it is the first Sunday morning of Promiseland, a new ministry to children in the early days of Willow Creek Community Church. Launching a ministry to kids in an out-of-the-box, rapidly-growing, already-influential congregation was a big deal; even bigger than I realized at the time, Willow Creek church in South Barrington, IL, about to surpass the 2,000 milestone in its third year, presented a brand new approach to “church” with fresh thinking from top to bottom – except when it came to children.

Meet John Ortberg

Posted by admin

adminstrator, community, culture, evangelistically, LEADERSHIP, management, MULTI-SITE, pastor, stewardship

February 1, 2012 at 9:00 am.

Pastor for eight years at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in the San

Church recovery programs are a safe place for personal growth

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addiction, community, leaders, recovery programs

February 1, 2012 at 9:00 am.

Look at your church’s weekend bulletin and you will likely see six, eight, maybe 10 “recovery programs” available, in what may seem more like a clinic than a church, where more is being said about therapy than salvation. But not so, says Liz Swanson and Teresa McBean, authors of a review of such programs in the book Bridges to Grace (Zondervan, 2011). “Recovery programs are absolutely not therapeutically focused,” McBean says. “They are, indeed, often times more about salvation than some of the other areas of the church. A recovery group does not advise, it provides a place for safe storytelling, connecting, and introduction to God. People talk about how God has helped them, and it encourages others. Therapy doesn’t work with recovery — only God can heal these wounds.”

New year brings renewed Bible engagement

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adminstrator, community, congregation, LEADERSHIP, management, pastor, staff, stewardship

January 2, 2012 at 9:00 am.

There’s a renewed focus on the Bible in churches these days, as biblical literacy is making a comeback in congregations and publishing houses in the U.S. “What’s really encouraging to me is that deep Bible engagement within the congregation is eminently doable,” says Paul Caminiti, vice president of church and Bible engagement for the publishing firm Biblica. “But people today realize that we’re in trouble and that we’ve not given the Bible its due,” says Caminiti, himself an expert in this area. “There really is a Bible engagement vacuum in the church. I’ve watched lives transformed when pastors treat Bible engagement like a varsity sport. I’ve watched congregations transformed when instead of little camp fires, a big Bible engagement bonfire is built in the middle of the church.

Language changes translations

Posted by admin

Bible, community, culture, language, society, translation

January 2, 2012 at 9:00 am.

“Every generation needs to go back to the source and put the Bible in the English idiom for themselves.”

Who says small, rural churches can’t grow? Not Shannon O’Dell

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Communication, community, congregation, leaders, LEADERSHIP, management

January 2, 2012 at 9:00 am.

Ever tempted to think “we’re just a country church of 30 souls, we’ll never grow much larger”? Or you’ve thought, “There’s no way we will ever see our church at 3,000 people.” Don’t tell that to Shannon O’Dell, senior pastor of Brand New Church in the small, rural church of Bergman, AR. O’Dell tells about his experience of raising up a church of 30 to 3,000 over just six years in Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking All the Rurals (New Leaf Press, 2010). He talks about “the rules” about the rurals — “the unspoken but clearly understood values that permeate American Christianity’s beliefs about churches in the boonies.” Bottom line, he says, is “forget the rules.”

Church Executive shared some questions with Pastor O’Dell:

Describe the area in which the church is located; what is “rural” about the area? Bergman, AR, population 407, just got a Dollar General! There are no major employers in this town, but a great school and wonderful people. The Klu Klux Klan is headquartered just a few miles from our campus, but has no impact on slowing down the love of God to every race in our community.

Church gives home makeovers

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church, community, families, government grants, home, Ohio, United Methodist

December 14, 2010 at 9:16 am.

Craigslist for churches?

Posted by Contributor

buy, church, churches, community, congregation, Craigslist, Craigslist.org, Outreach, resources, sell

June 7, 2010 at 3:07 pm.

Inventor Ken Hakuta once said, “Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is

A campus renovation leads to spiritual transformation

Posted by Contributor

church, community, congregation, leaders, long-term, master-planning, pastors, renovation

April 27, 2010 at 1:49 pm.

Established in 1964, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Atlanta, GA, consisted of 250 families that gathered to worship in the cafeteria of a local high school in what was once suburban Atlanta. Within a few years, property was purchased and a temporary worship facility was built.

‘The Church Doctor’ has some strong medicine for congregations

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change, Christian, church, Church Doctor Ministries, community, congregation, consultant, executive pastor, God, lead, leaders, LEADERSHIP, manage, ministry, Operations, organization, pastor, serve

April 1, 2010 at 10:23 am.

Kent Hunter leads Church Doctor Ministries from Corunna, IN, and has become known as The Church Doctor for his 35 years of consulting with churches and training consultants throughout the U.S.