Growth & renewal

Historic church teaches about the past and engages the present

The oldest Black congregation in Chicago restores its historic building while reaching out as history is made in the city today.

By Celeste Kennel-Shank Journalist

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‘Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders’

A missiologist, a religion journalist and a church researcher write about one of the largest American churches in the 1960s in an excerpt from a recent book.

Daniel Yang Adelle Banks Warren Bird

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More congregants joined churches from 2020 to 2025 than in previous years

The COVID pandemic may have caused a bump in church attendance, researchers say, but new attendees have varied reasons for joining churches.

By Yonat Shimron Journalist

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Ryan Burge and Tony Jones: Understanding people’s engagement with religion is far more nuanced than current conversations would indicate

Two of the nation’s leading experts on people who have disengaged from organized religion say that trend is both more complex and simpler than some church leaders realize.

Image link to article: Ryan Burge and Tony Jones: Understanding people’s engagement with religion is far more nuanced than current conversations would indicate

Many churchgoers are engaging with multiple churches, new research finds

The study led by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research reveals new data about today’s church attendance and commitment levels.

By Leslie Quander Wooldridge Journalist

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Is your organization’s base strong enough to answer God’s call?

A painting must be created on canvas sturdy enough to support it. Likewise, congregations and organizations need a solid foundation if their ministries are to flourish, writes a director of programs and grants for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

By Mycal X. Brickhouse Director of programs and grants, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

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Kara Powell: How to bring about change in your church

It’s a difficult time for the church but it has a bright future if leaders help their congregations adapt to a new, diverse world, says a co-author of the book “Future-Focused Church.”

James Fawcett: Learning to be with others as God is with us

Being With, a 10-week course based on the theology of the Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, models the message it seeks to impart.

Composting the church offers flourishing in the shadow of decline

As with a garden, so with the church — the remnants at the end of one season enrich growth for new opportunities in the next, writes a Presbyterian pastor.

By McKenna Wallen Pastor, Maryland Presbyterian Church

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Allen T. Stanton: What do small churches do well?

Small churches aren’t just waiting to grow or to die but are vibrant and healthy places with particular gifts, writes the author of “The Gift of Small.”

Five tips for churches considering property development

Churches are learning how to get started well with adaptive reuse and property development, writes the co-founder of a nonprofit that has worked with hundreds of churches.

By Mark Elsdon Social entrepreneur, strategic executive and author

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