in All and filtered by Youth , Small Churches, Youth
By Jen Fulton
More and bigger is not everyone’s goal, nor should it be. In The Small Church as Icon, Jen Fulton explains how small and healthy congregations occupy a vital place in our Church and world and stand as icons of ‘Godly counter-culturalism’.
By Audra Abt
What does it look like to prioritize relationships and community in a pandemic? In Pandemic Learnings, Audra Abt shares the experience of her congregation and its multi-racial, multi-ethnic community, their struggle and response to a stark digital divide and their focus on relationship-driven mission during COVID-19.
By Ken Howard
Systemic Racism is when a social system is structured (intentionally or unintentionally) in such a way as to systematically disadvantage a particular race or ethnic group to the advantage of another.
By Meredith Rogers
How can a vestry be transformational in its relationships, particularly with young people in the church? In An Open Letter to Vestry Members From a Youth Minister, Meredith Rogers appeals to church leaders to show up for their youth and children.
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 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.