in Vital Posts and filtered by Communications, Small Churches, Youth
By Greg Syler
In our latest blog, Greg Syler applies the Invite Welcome Connect method to the new paradigm of virtual church. As he says, no one wanted to learn how to do church in quite this way but many have done online services very well considering. Here are some thoughtful questions and suggestions to help improve your work.
By ECFVP Editorial Team
Below you will find resources we’ve gathered from across the Church, designed to inform and support us through the current COVID-19 pandemic.
By Annette Buchanan
Annette Buchanan tackles vestry shortfalls in communication and knowledge. Here she shares her church’s recommendations for a strong, transparent vestry.
By Richelle Thompson
A church coloring book? Sure, why not? It’s a creative and accessible way to teach both children and adults about the church and its traditions. Using drawings done by artists in the congregation also honors their talents.
By Melissa Rau
Melissa Rau writes our latest blog from the viewpoint of young parents who are interested in getting involved, but are ultimately turned off by their church. They are welcomed, but not welcome to change anything.
By Greg Syler
Would your small church be better off in collaboration with another small church? In his latest blog, Greg Syler proposes that the Episcopal Church use some multisite thinking. He presents statistics to show that the movement towards multisites is growing and that its practitioners are happy with the model.
By Richelle Thompson
Richelle Thompson shares the story of Graeter’s ice cream’s copy editing error to make a valuable pint, uh, point, that we are quick to cast blame and slow to extend grace. This company’s act of Christian charity is an example of humility for all of us members of the “gotcha!” culture.
By Lisa G. Fischbeck
Many have used metaphor to teach about the Church, the church as a mother, etc. In her blog, Lisa Fischbeck compares small and mid-sized churches to corgis, agile little dogs that have the fortitude of big dogs but with small dog advantages.
By Lindsey Harts
Lindsey Harts grew up doing “code red drills” where she hid from a pretend shooter. She feels that this common experience among millennials helped lead to the generation’s demand for radical authenticity. As she says, “in a world where shootings are live-streamed on the internet…you tend to have a very low tolerance for nonsense.”
By John Lynch
John Lynch was always expected to be a leader as a millennial. He thinks it’s because he continued to show up in church. Here he shares his impressions of leadership and a lesson that he learned from members of the oldest generation—Trust in God and pray.