Revitalized Churches Embrace Spiritual Parenting
When my son was young, I hadn’t yet learned to be the father I wanted to be. I was wrapped up in all of “my” things, and my tunnel vision didn’t allow me to always see other things that should have been important. I was focused on growing a student ministry, growing as a leader, […]
Revitalized Churches Prepare Well
*Editor’s Note: In this series on church revitalization, Adam Jones, senior minister of Connect Christian Church in Carl Junction, MO, walks through important steps a declining church can take. Revitalization requires renewed leaders, a rediscovery of family, and listening. In this article, Jones explores the need to prepare your people for what matters. Some people are […]
Revitalized Churches Start Listening
*Editor’s Note: In this series on church revitalization, Adam Jones, senior minister of Connect Christian Church in Carl Junction, MO, walks through important steps a declining church can take. Revitalization requires renewed leaders and a rediscovery of family. In this article, Jones explores the need to calm down and listen. When my son was four […]
Thinking Clearly About Evangelism
It’s no secret that many American churches are struggling, particularly with a decline in church attendance. Close to home (for me at least), Churches of Christ were bleeding members prior to COVID-19, and anecdotal evidence from the past few years doesn’t seem to paint much more of a positive picture. More widely, while data can […]
Revitalized Churches Rediscover Family
The church began in 1885. The early years were poorly documented but assumed to have been fruitful. After all, they began with 37 people meeting in a borrowed space before building their first sanctuary in 1901. By 1970, the church had grown enough to need a new building, so ground was broken on some donated […]
Revitalized Churches Require Renewed Leaders
In July 2004, I simultaneously learned that my wife was pregnant with our first child and chose to move us 12 hours away to pursue a student ministry position. I was confident God had called us to bigger and better things and naively walked into the worst church experience I’ve ever endured. We joined a […]
Inviting Church Leaders into a Transformative Vision
December 11, 2023 This past summer, after a time of prayer, a meeting was initiated by the leadership of RENEW.org. The vision was to bring together 40 senior ministers/pastors who were around 40 years of age based upon a renewed vision of the Restoration Movement. RENEW.org is broader than the Restoration Movement, including Baptists, Community […]
Questioning the Asbury Revival?
For those of us who believe God is really doing something special with the Asbury revival right now, it can be hard to hear criticism and questions of what is going on. When you believe God is doing something powerful, you hate to hear it questioned. But everything needs to be questioned. God doesn’t expect […]
