New Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Moderator Juan Garcia launched his tenure with a challenge to the Fellowship to honor its reputation as a collaborative and inclusive community of faith. “My question for us is: Will we be intentional to continually open…
Preaching tops in choosing new church, survey finds
It doesn’t take an academic or congregational consultant to see that a lot has changed in the church since the end of World War II. Fewer people attend and fewer people give than ever before. Worship styles have proliferated and…
Missional focus will assuage congregations’ fears, ministers say
By Jeff Brumley Declining memberships and contributions, shuttered sanctuaries and surging megachurches have generated a lot of fear in U.S. congregations. The problem is that fear is a turnoff to those that struggling churches hope to serve, M. Craig Barnes,…
Missional focus will assuage congregations’ fears, ministers say
Declining memberships and closing churches have led some congregations to react with fear, which in turn is a turnoff for potential members, a Christian leader says. Declining memberships and contributions, shuttered sanctuaries and surging megachurches have generated a lot of…
People moving around less; Baptist News Global asks what that means for today’s churches
“Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?” Carole King asked musically. Well, researchers at the Barna Group have the answer: More and more Americans are doing so. And Jeff Brumley of the Baptist News Global operation looks at whether people…
Endings and beginnings — both essential to healthy churches
By David Hull I write these words in the midst of a most unusual week. The first part of the week was spent in the home of my deceased parents. Their house is for sale, most of the furniture has…
David Hull to join the Center for Healthy Churches
By Bob Allen A veteran Baptist pastor who stepped down in April after his wife became a pastor in another town has accepted a new role with a consulting firm devoted to improving the spiritual, emotional and organizational health of…
Pastor retires to be minister’s husband
By Bob Allen An Alabama pastor who chaired a blue-ribbon task force charged with retooling the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for the 21st century is retiring from the pulpit to become a minister’s spouse. David Hull announced in an email April 27…
Retiring CBF head to lead new center for Baptist leadership
By Bob Allen Retiring Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal has been tapped to lead Mercer University’s new Eula Mae and John Baugh Center for Baptist Leadership. Vestal, 67, will assume his new role July 1, the day after…