The Church Renewal forum provides fresh conversations and new ideas to help churches renew their atmosphere and journey towards mission in a post-Christian culture.
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Henry Nouwen encourages us to counteract the hurry-up behaviors by adopting a “ministry of presence” instead. What if, in 2018, your congregation learned to practice this missional behavior in your community?
Peter Bush, in his book In Dying We Are Born, writes, “All congregations, even ones that see themselves as healthy, need to be prepared to die, to take up their cross, so that God can make them alive.”
The mission God invites us to is one of urgency. Creating that sense of urgency in the congregations we serve is more effective and deeply-rooted when we realize where that call comes from.
I have conducted a number of job interviews in which I noticed that I could tell within ten minutes if the candidate has participated in FaithWalking. How? These candidates are well differentiated, they handle conflict in healthy ways, they listen carefully, and they know themselves well.
How do churches move from a consumer to a missionary mentality? This missional shift is far from easy and will take a long time, but here's one important first step.
Average church attendance hovered around 50% of what they usually could expect in the summer. Surely things would bounce back in the fall, right? Looks like probably not. So what next?