New England news & perspectives
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New England Churches at a Turning Point: Engaging the “Nones”
Across America, churches are struggling to engage younger generations. This trend is especially acute in New England, where less than 30% of adults under 30 now identify with a religion (Pew Research Center, 2015). As churches confront shrinking and aging congregations, they face a pivotal choice – reinvent ministry for the modern era, or risk fading relevance in one of America’s most proudly secular regions.
Igniting Church Renewal: Building Momentum for Vibrant Transformation
It is a New Year! Get ready to set sail on an exhilarating journey of church revitalization! Picture yourself at the starting line, eagerly anticipating the race horn that signals the commencement of a transformative sailing experience. The clock ticks down, and with less than ten minutes to go, a new wave of activity surrounds you. The race comes alive, their well-rehearsed movements filling the air with excitement.
Revitalizing the Post-COVID Church in New England: Cultivating Vitality for Multiplication
The global COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to various aspects of human life, behaviors, and relationships. It also messed with religious practices and how people approach services and gatherings. Churches worldwide had to adapt rapidly to new circumstances, finding innovative ways to maintain spiritual connections with their congregations while adhering to health and safety guidelines.
Transitions and Church Revitalization: Lessons We Can Learn from Tom Brady’s Retirement
Football is an excellent teaching tool for the Church and its leadership. I have said for many years “Sport speaks.” It speaks about transitions, pressures, training, plays, setbacks, comebacks, and tensions. It is no surprise to New Englanders that quarterback Tom Brady is re-retiring from football.
When staff become stuck in church revitalization
Staffing issues in church revitalization can be frustrating. There are seasons when your staff can become stuck and set in their ways and thinking. This can result in barriers that stop the church from moving forward. Typically, when a new staff member joins a church staff team, there is a sense of excitement. They are fresh with lots of new ideas, but over time that excitement can begin to wane.
Restarting your revitalization team in your church
The fall is a great time to begin revitalization in your church. It is a time for a fresh start, new calendars, a new school year, and to reset your outlook. It is a perfect time to set sail into new beginnings and horizons. When revitalizing your church, you must choose to move ahead. Some pastors will most likely coast into the fall and not give a second thought to how to leverage the school calendar to bring people together and reset the vision after the summer break.
Revitalizing Your Summer 2022
Summer means different things to different people depending on the stage of life you are in. Summer in New England means we get to enjoy sunshine and amazing sunsets, longer nights, gathering opportunities, connections in our local communities, and don’t forget vacations. But in the life cycle of a church, summer is also a clear pathway into the fall.
Seven pivots for the church revitalizer in the new year
Every new year brings its challenges and pivots. I have been challenged to pause in the many pivots I have had to make as a church revitalizer and reflect on how God wanted me to lead. The pivots that we have faced in recent months have taught us many essential lessons for future revitalization.
10 ways to recognize the need for church revitalization
Church revitalization is the ongoing process of bringing a church back to health and vitality. It is when a church that was once spiritually dead is brought back to life. Church revitalization takes a unique, visionary leader who is passionate, patient, humble, and willing to work hard. Sometimes you may use different strategies to accomplish revitalization, but the main goal is to get every area of the church functioning with vitality.
Steps to building resilience
A pastor must focus on building excellent health and wellness practices into their daily routine. Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and you need to train for it with this in mind. The goal is healthy longevity which can only be achieved through practicing good physical, spiritual, and mental hygiene. Let’s look at some basic practices.
Revitalize the heart through giving
Revitalizing a church involves cultivating revitalized givers. People give to vision and movements, not to traditions and personal preferences. Although there are many methods of giving, the giving principle never changes. The Old Testament threshold giving is 10% to God as the starting point. However, in the New Testament, you see examples of sacrificial giving and generosity by believers through the local church to accomplish God’s gospel mission in the world.
Three tactical strategies for church revitalization
Revitalization takes an engagement process of continual thinking and planning for renewal and how it will impact your life as a pastor. Most scenarios of church revitalization are not as extreme as mine; however, all church revitalizations bring unique situations, obstacles, and challenges. Regardless of your situation, there are practical insights and strategies you can use as you enlist in this vital work.
10 ways to pursue renewal as a pastor
At the end of a long, difficult season, many of us need renewal. Pastor, church renewal starts with you. If you are not renewed and refreshed, it will be difficult for you to lead your church to renewal. Begin the work of personal renewal by taking the following ten steps.
6 things this Easter weekend taught me about revitalization
While this Easter still looked different from Easters of the past, it was amazing to be able to celebrate the resurrection together both in person and online. As I have been reflecting on what I saw and heard from church members this Easter weekend, God gave me six insights for the ongoing process of revitalization that should be taking place in every church.
Ten revitalization steps for 2021
Revitalization is happening in churches around America! As a pastor or church leader, you are responsible for shepherding and caring for the congregation God has given you. But certain actions can help you be more effective and successful in guiding the church where God has planted you toward renewal.
Building momentum for church revitalization
It has been said that your church zip code is not an accident, and neither is your position in the church. God has placed you to speak into the brokenness of your community and capture your town for Christ. However, sometimes we do not feel like we have the momentum to do so.
The good news is that the people in your church can actually be the key to getting moving forward. Think back to high school physics when you learned that to gain momentum you need two things: mass and velocity. In religious terms, a church gets moving when a number of people buy into Jesus’ vision (mass) and decide to act on it (velocity).
Ten shifts New England churches are making
The metrics of the church scorecard are changing at a fast and furious rate during the pandemic. In the past few months, we have seen drastic shifts in our New England churches as they adapt to their new normal of functioning. Although there are struggles, most churches are showing clear signs of perseverance, persistence, and engagement. Here are ten positive changes our BCNE Church Growth Team has seen in the last few months.
Understanding digital generations
Some experts say that we have five to six generations living on the earth right now. These generations can actually be broken into four digital categories in a technological world. During this year’s pandemic, these categories became evident and naturally shifted people’s perspectives, resulting in the tensions we feel regarding technology and over the way we communicate.
Working through your feelings while pastoring in a pandemic
The COVID-19 global pandemic has brought to the surface many difficult emotions and feelings in people, and pastors have not been immune. Depression, anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, feelings of loss, and loneliness are just a few things that people are dealing with during these unprecedented times.
As pastors, we are often the ones that the people in our churches turn to for spiritual guidance and advice. But what do we do when we are feeling the exact same things while carrying the responsibility of our congregations on our shoulders?
Four signs you need a ministry break
There is no doubt that in ministry, breaks are needed. But how can you tell when you need to step away for a time to engage with God and focus on who He wants you to be, not simply what He wants you to do? Here are four warning signs that you’re on the road to burnout and need to take a break for the good of your ministry.