Church & Ministry

“In this modern era, this is all the more reason to stop ourselves, be ‘slow to speak’ and ‘slow to anger,’ and perhaps go to a trusted friend and ask, “Should I send this email/post this blog? How would you recommend I change it?’” - Alcorn

“While we certainly anticipated that many church members would return to in-person worship attendance after the quarantine, we were not prepared for the magnitude of decline in digital services. And this decline took place regardless of the platform: Facebook, YouTube, and others.” - Rainer

“Listen, listen, listen. Perhaps more good evangelism than we realize starts not with speaking but with good listening. Getting to know someone well, and specifically applying the gospel to them, is huge in witness. Relationship matters.” - C.Leaders

“Regulations issued this year by China have intensified the communist government’s control of clergy among the five state-authorized religious groups and have effectively prohibited the work of pastors and leaders of unregistered churches and other entities, according to a new report.” - BPNews

“Gallagher, 80, and his Gallagher Financial Group advertised on Christian radio with the tagline, ‘See you in church on Sunday.’ He promoted his investment business in books… and on Christian radio broadcasts.” - RNS

“It’s not just Lakewood. So far, 99 Christian orgs have repaid their Paycheck Protection Program loans.” - C.Today

Related, at RNS: For some churches, paying back PPP loans is better than forgiveness

“A majority of churches didn’t start holding in-person services again until June 2020. By September 2020, 87% met physically, but that dropped to 76% in January 2021, according to Lifeway Research studies conducted at the time. In August 2021, however, only 2% of churches did not meet in person at all.” - Lifeway

“During my current interim pastorate, I’ve challenged the church to memorize Scripture together. It has been such a fun experience that I wish I had done that during my 14 years of full-time pastoral ministry. Now more than ever, I see value in this approach to corporate memorization” - Chuck Lawless

“Our models and our expectations for ‘successful’ churches tend to focus on growing in numbers. But is that realistic? …. Christian minorities gathered into small congregations can still function effectively as the Body of Christ. In fact, that may be the Biblical norm.” - Veith