Millennials are more optimistic than they have any right to be. Does this signal hope for the dying church? Millennials are the “in” generation. Love us or hate us, every day stories scroll across my newsfeed filled with statistics and…
A growing church is a dying church
Whenever a congregation goes looking for a new pastor, the first question on their minds when the committee interviews a new candidate is: Will this pastor grow our church? I’m going to go ahead and answer that question right now:…
What do lay leaders say about their dying congregations?
We have often heard stories of what people say on their deathbed about the wise, not so wise, and foolish ways they spent their life. Recently I wondered about what lay leaders might say about their dying congregations. My focus…
A church reborn
On a Thursday afternoon in a poor, run-down section of Durham, N.C., the parking lot outside Shepherd’s House United Methodist Church is full. On the second and third floor of the neo-Gothic brick building, the floorboards creak as employees and…