If you live with a disability, what has your church done so that you know you a part of the church community? Or parents of a child with a disability, how did you know that you AND your child were welcome? Or church leaders, what is your church doing to welcome someone who is living with a disability?
Your life is part of a bigger story and we all have a role to play in the building up of God’s Kingdom. The CRCNA has opportunities for you, providing you with a place to serve and to be part of various transformational ministries.
More Than Storytelling is a free workshop you can lead with your team that compares a variety of approaches to Biblical interpretation and teaching.
What to record and why? These are perennial questions. Here are a few thoughts to guide a discussion about your pastoral elder team.
The following chart outlines a historic pattern of Christian worship. While most churches don’t use the exact wording found in this chart, there are thousands of churches on many continents that use a version of this pattern.
At a council meeting, we were talking about communicating a particular concern and decision to the congregation. That’s where it began. The ones who were dealing with the youth suggested that we put in on facebook. The ones with email thought that was adequate. The luddites suggested that the mailslots in the church were adequate. Everyone agreed that just putting it in the bulletin was inadequate: it is never read well enough.
Jamie Smith recently gave a lecture in which he said that repentance and assurance in worship are remarkable formative practices that are indispensable to the Christian life. He noted that on Oprah, we can find a form of assurance ("you're o.k.," "just be yourself"), while our shopping mall elicits shame or anxiety in all of us ("none of us measure up to the standards of the good life projected there.")
What are some of the resources and reflections that would be most helpful to you? How can we develop this site in order to be as helpful as possible?
Cross-cultural outreach does not mean you have to leave your country! Cross-cultural interaction happens everywhere and we can provide you with various suggestions for such placements.
Along with booking flights and packing suitcases, it is vital that those who plan to serve with our ministries are as best prepared as possible.
Yesterday, Mozilla released an incremental upgrade to it's popular browser Firefox 3.6. Even though this is a small upgrade there are numerous changes, which they detail in their blog post. First, it's over 20 percent faster than the previous upgrade. Second, it includes better support for plug ins with a plugin updater. Firefox 3.6 has...
Christians have always remarked that contentment is rooted not in the circumstances of our lives but in God who gives life. We would do well to ask: what is my source of contentment? How do the habits of my life display that I find more contentment in the Lord than a trip to the mall?
The key to calling volunteers is to “find people who love God and love kids; then equip them with the skills they need to lead a group of children.”
As a Sunday school leader, what is your role in this miraculous, God-initiated process? The following questions and answers will encourage you to make the most of the opportunities that God’s Spirit provides.
Start the season out by empowering your leaders to use the curriculum for all it’s worth!
Coordinating Sunday school for the first time? You’re not alone! This network is designed especially for you and your teaching team. It’s full of helpful tips, ideas, and resources so that you won’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Help your church get excited about your kid’s ministry by developing a vision that highlights some of the key things your ministry is about.
The following are characteristics of healthy churches that are seen in the biblical history of God’s people.
Use this Volunteer Profile to place leaders in the best roles for their gifts and skills.
You got roped in. Or maybe you are now a deacon as a result of a prayer you’ve been praying for years. Are you feeling just a bit uncertain? Doubtful? Skeptical?
How to identify and harness the gifts of the congregation to help the deacons do their work? How to recruit volunteers?
How to handle money, not just efficiently, but also responsibly? What to record? How to ensure accuracy? How to ensure accountability? You’ll find clear and simple procedures in this excerpt from the Deacon’s Handbook.
I appreciate Mary Poppin's spoon full of sugar adage, and invoke it often. For me, organizing is the medicine of ministry. Making sure that the supply cabinet is stocked and the substitute gets the lesson in time is not my cup of tea.
So, what do I do first? Go to meetings; make a plan; schedule offerings. The Deacon’s Handbook will show you the big picture in clear and practical steps.