What if your pastor stood up next Sunday and said he wanted to double the size of the parish within one year? That’s exactly what happened at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Catholic parish in Washington DC, a predominantly African-American parish. Monsignor Charles Pope made that bold challenge last September and then got to work….
Read it all and watch the interview and check out the blog also.
Some 300 church leaders from various parts worldwide will be gathering in Manila from 22 to 27 March for a pre-assembly of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism.
Hosted by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the gathering is expected to update the WCC’s mission and evangelism statement, which was written in 1982. “The Philippines can help take a look at mission and evangelism from the side of the oppressed and not only from the traditional understanding of conversion,” National Council of Churches in the Philippines general secretary Fr. Rex Reyes told ENInews.
“We can help take a fresh look at what it means to be a church in a context such as we have.” The WCC’s mission and evangelism statement, Reyes noted, was written at a time when globalization, for example, was not a big issue.
[Many of the frequent quotes on hears among Methodists these days] …in some way, [are] responses to the question, “Can young people save the Church?”
Whether vocalized or not, this question permeates United Methodist dialogue about membership decline, denominational vitality and the state of young people in an ever-changing world. Many of our conversations about these topics are well-intentioned attempts to answer this question.
But the question of whether or not young people can save the Church is not effective, because it is based on inaccurate assumptions about young people and membership decline.
The Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative Core Group was invited and welcomed to St Julian’s retreat centre, Limuru, by the Most Rev Dr Eliud Wakubala, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya. He presided at the first Eucharist and issued a challenge that in mission Jesus should be at the centre. Each morning’s session began with a biblical reflection and discussion on how Jesus went about his evangelism, and what should be learnt from his approach.
The core group began their meeting by visiting St Jerome’s and the Church Army Africa Urban Mission Centre in Kibera, Nairobi. Kiberais the biggest informal urban settlement in Africa. St Jerome’s, which has planted five new congregations in recent years, is the fastest growing parish in All Saints Cathedral Diocese. This visit introduced the group to an exciting context from which to inform and enrich their discussion.
Watch it all.
The next speaker was Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb. “We want to talk of evangelization from our experience of life, our communion, and in view of a specific mission, that of the pastor,” said the Croatian prelate.
To this end, the archbishop of Zagreb added that the pastoral concerns are “social and spiritual,” and the latter are not opposed or separated but seen as “dimensions of one same integral development of persons and of human society.”
Cardinal Bozanic quoted the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, where Pope Benedict XVI recalls that a humanism that excludes God is an inhuman humanism, and that only an open attitude to transcendence can help in the promotion and realization of ways of social and civil life (cf CV 78).
The 1,759 to 185 vote exceeded the two-thirds majority needed to seek dismissal from the PC (USA). The 3,600-member First Presbyterian is the largest Presbyterian church in Florida and fourth largest in the nation.
“Change is never easy,” said Senior Pastor David Swanson, “but I believe our congregation has prayerfully discerned God’s leading for us, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for First Presbyterian Church as she embarks on this new phase of ministry and service for his sake.”
First Presbyterian has been losing membership in recent years and blamed some of that on PC (USA) doctrines that permitted the ordination of gay deacons, elders and clergy. Some also blamed the decline on doctrines that quest questioned the Bible as the literal word of God and Jesus Christ as the only salvation.
Speaking at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 27, [Bishop Mariann] Budde said the diocese will emphasize congregational renewal and revitalization. The bishop said she intends to hire a new diocesan staff person responsible for congregational leadership and development.
She also announced a new diocesan initiative to begin in March called People of the Way, which will help congregations enhance their spiritual formation practices. This initiative will draw from Brian McLaren’s Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices (Thomas Nelson, 2010).
While “the Episcopal Church is a jewel on the spectrum of Christianity,” today its “spiritual muscles” are “a bit out of shape,” Budde said. “The undeniable reality is that our church is not thriving. ”¦ I want to turn the trends of decline around.”
Delegates of the church will elect officers, approve a 2012 budget and pursue a new capital and congregational development campaign called A New Era of Mission.
The program aims to reverse the declines in membership the Episcopal Church has experienced over the past 40 years, said the Rev. Frank Logue, the assistant to the bishop of the Diocese of Georgia.
“It focuses on nine areas of funding, nine priorities for us,” he said.
Regarding the Church, therefore, we must not allow evangelism to be reduced to a ”˜part’ of mission. It is sad to see as distinguished a theologian as Moltmann quoted saying that mission is “not merely evangelization” ”” as if there were anything ”˜mere’ about the proclamation that Christ is Lord and the calling on people to obey his kingship. In the Church of England today as whole, however, that is often how evangelism is seen, and it is not long before it is reduced from being a part of mission to being an optional extra in mission.
But equally, we must not allow evangelism to be reduced to a personal call to change our views as to whether or not we believe in God and what we believe about ourselves and about Jesus dying for our sins. We cannot have Christ as Saviour if we will not have Christ as Lord. And his lordship must extend into every area of the lives of those whom he saves. There is a challenge here for the more conservative evangelical. But the conservative evangelical is also entitled to ask what has happened, institutionally, to the call to personal conversion.
Once again, nothing less than an institutional transformation is required, which needs a deliberate and conscious strategy. And therein lies our problem. Evangelicals will generally go on evangelizing, whatever happens in the wider institution. But this will not lead to a programme suitable to the conversion of England. That needs a bolder and more ambitious approach, yet at present there is no sign of that coming from the official, hierarchical, leadership. Given where we are today, then, how can we address the need for the transformation of the Church?
Anglican Churches in Northamptonshire have for the first time joined together to fund a series of radio advertisements on Heart FM, and a poster campaign linked to them, to encourage people in the area to attend a Christmas service in a local church.
The ads and posters have been produced, and are being used, nationally. They place the nativity in a modern context.
At the same time the Peterborough Diocese, which links Anglican churches across Northants, Rutland and Peterborough, has just launched a new corporate logo and colour scheme for its public “face” to replace the former crest.
As members walk into the movie theater or auditorium for services, the pastor and his wife are in the front row, singing along and pumping their fists to loud pop music, played by a live band featuring electric guitars.
Suburban megachurches, move over. There’s a hipper game in town.
“We know a lot of people have left their mainline churches because it’s boring,” said Tory Farina, 31, lead pastor at High Point Church in Inver Grove Heights. “They felt they were forced to go. We want them to love it….Our Sunday services feel like a concert.”
High Point, which currently meets in an Inver Grove Heights movie theater, is a small portion of an exploding religious movement in the Twin Cities and nationally.
The Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford has set out his strategy for how the Essex diocese should look by 2025.
Bishop Stephen Cottrell unveiled his ‘Transforming Presence’ paper at a meeting of the diocesan synod.
He said the church had to face the prospect of fewer paid clergy, and parishioners needed be more evangelical and more open about their faith.
Pastor Elke Rosenthal has a problem that Christian clergy elsewhere in Europe can only dream of.
While pews across the continent are emptying, her Lutheran congregation in this leafy suburb of Berlin has tripled in size in recent years, outgrowing its two small churches and eager to break ground for a much larger structure.
But the dream sometimes seems like a nightmare for the Resurrection Church parish, which has hit barriers every time it tries to expand.
…earlier this year I encountered a short book which reveals the qualitative, inner nature of one of our churches, St John’s Asquith, and shows the impact of the gospel in transforming people and creating churches. The book consists of 90 testimonies from members of the church, bearing witness to the work of God in their lives, frequently relating how they came to Christ. Through this lens we can see God using the gospel to bring people together, to bond people together and to bless the community….
Usually, coming to know Christ was both a process and a commitment, and a number of agents were involved. Being born in a Christian family is obviously a huge blessing; many had that experience. For some, the wonder of the natural world was a key factor. Others report spiritual experiences which frightened or awakened them. Still others went through a personal loss or crisis and it was in those depths that they sought after the Lord. The local church mattered ”“ sometimes faith was born through preaching; occasionally the liturgy; sometimes through the warmth of a community and the love which they found there. One person even mentions the messages she saw on church noticeboards as she was seeking the Lord! A number of these testimonies are profound narratives of how people have found the Lord to be their all sufficient one in time of need. He answers prayer and preserves his saints.
Figures for the success or otherwise of what happened at the weekend are not yet available but last year it is estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 churches from participating denominations welcomed back 51,000 people. The Anglican church claimed an average of some 18 persons returned in each of their churches that took part.
Back To Church Sunday began in 2004 and since that time it is claimed that more than 150,000 people have returned to church. Another impressive estimated figure is that some one million persons are invited to attend church on the given Sunday.
Some GO Transit commuters will get a gesture of good faith as the Anglican Church of Canada welcomes Barrie residents back to all congregations.
In conjunction with the church’s international Back to Church Sunday event, members of the clergy will be on GO train platforms early Thursday morning with a token for city residents.
“This Sunday is Back to Church Sunday and we just want to encourage everyone of every faith to visit their place of worship this weekend,” said. Rev. Stephen Pessah, from St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church in Barrie.
The Archbishop of York and a number of bishops are leading the way in inviting millions back to church this weekend for Back to Church Sunday 2011 (25th September). In addition to meeting people where they’re at, at a range of public events (from Sunday car boot sales to jazz nights), they are encouraging people to send friends invitations either in person or using social media.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Dr John Sentamu, Tweeted an invitation to come back to church today, Monday, 19th September. He said: “This Sunday (25th September) is Back to Church Sunday. http://www.backtochurch.co.uk . Why not invite your friends too? Pass the message on!”
With only around 10% of Britons attending a church service each week, Back To Church Sunday is a big idea ”“ and an ambitous one.
The annual initiative, which was launched seven years ago, is operated by a network of Anglican dioceses ”“ but they are keen to share their experience with other Christian churches.
This Sunday will be 2011’s Back To Church Sunday and Bishop Richard Blackburn ”“ currently the acting Bishop of Liverpool ”“ says: “It’s a great opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of many people who do come to church at various points in their lives but, for whatever reason, are hesitant about going through the church doors….
They will be hard to miss in their pointy hats and long robes, standing at a train station at 5:00 a.m.
On Sept. 22, Archbishop Fred Hiltz and Bishop Michael Pryse (ELCIC) will visit the Brampton, Ont. train station””wearing copes and mitres””and invite commuters to Back to Church Sunday (B2CS). They will join thousands of Canadian Anglicans who are inviting friends to check out church Sept. 25.
2011 is the third official year of Back to Church Sunday in the Anglican Church of Canada. Founded in 2004 in the Church of England, “B2CS” encourages people to invite just one person to church, whether a friend, neighbour or co-worker.
“Evangelical Catholicism” is a term being used to capture the Catholic version of a 21st century politics of identity, reflecting the long-term historical transition in the West from Christianity as a culture-shaping majority to Christianity as a subculture, albeit a large and influential one. I define Evangelical Catholicism in terms of three pillars:
–A strong defense of traditional Catholic identity, meaning attachment to classic markers of Catholic thought (doctrinal orthodoxy) and Catholic practice (liturgical tradition, devotional life, and authority).
–Robust public proclamation of Catholic teaching, with the accent on Catholicism’s mission ad extra, transforming the culture in light of the Gospel, rather than ad intra, on internal church reform.
–Faith seen as a matter of personal choice rather than cultural inheritance, which among other things implies that in a highly secular culture, Catholic identity can never be taken for granted. It always has to be proven, defended, and made manifest.
Q: Seacoast is a highly successful and very large church with several campuses. As your congregations grow, how do you ensure that spiritual growth keeps up? How do you cater to the individual needs of your members?
A: Jesus was very clear about who was responsible for doing what in his instructions to the disciples. He said that he would build the church and we were to make disciples. If we will do our job, he will do his. Our job at Seacoast is not to grow the church. Our job is to make disciples. Disciple-making is done one-on-one, one-on-two, etc. We take that seriously. We try to make disciples by huddling small groups of leaders who in turn huddle others, helping them to hear the voice of God in their lives.
All good brands need a mission statement or a manifesto. Warren’s breakthrough to a mass audience came in 2002 with The Purpose Driven Life. His book describes itself as a “40-day spiritual journey for Christian living in the 21st century”. Though he rejects descriptions of it as a “self-help book” for the religious, it is reminiscent of the genre, with its folksy prose and short chapters. It reassures those with busy lives that they can converse with God “while shopping, driving or working” and that everyday tasks can be devoted to God including “taking out the trash”.
Warren says: “There’s not a new idea in [it] that hasn’t been said in 2,000 years of history. It’s been said all before. If I had a 15-word sentence, how could I say it in nine? How can I say it in five?”
Warren’s revolutionary tactic was to bypass bookshops and market the book directly to evangelical America, through its churches. It became a classic word-of-mouth success: it has sold more than 30m copies in the US, been translated into more than 50 languages and generated sequels.
Guess where the diocese is first. Next, read it all. This is a serious question–how many other such bishops are there in the Anglican Communion?–KSH.
It may come as a surprise to many Christians that Muslims are generally open to studying the life of Jesus as a model for leadership because they revere him as a prophet.
But now that I’m no longer obsessed with converting people to Christianity, I’ve found that talking about Jesus is much easier and far more compelling.
I believe that doctrine is important, but it’s not more important than following Jesus.
Jesus met people where they were. Instead of trying to figure out who’s “in” and who’s “out,” why don’t we simply invite people to follow Jesus ”” and let Jesus run his kingdom?
…the particular crisis facing all of us in Australia regarding the transmission of the Gospel in our times is that we are evangelising in the context of secularism. This living a supposed happy life without any reference to God is the real challenge to the faith today. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, our master teacher of the faith, continually draws our attention to the fact of secularism in Western countries.
He expresses the essential challenge in this way (from: Light of the World (2010, p.56)[:]
It is important for us to try to live Christianity and to think as Christians in such way that it incorporates what is good and right about modernity ”“ and at the same time separates and distinguishes itself from what is becoming a counter-religion.”