by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Apr 4, 2024
One of the Seven Thriving Traits we articulate at Project Thrive is Collaboration. We often see collaboration as two parties engaging in a shared work or ministry. But sometimes, collaboration is a helping hand from one source with greater resources to another with...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Mar 13, 2024
Every church wants to reach young people, and many choose to do that by going with tried-and-not-so-true gimmicks and draws. The secret is simple: just do it well. Youth and young adults today appreciate seriousness and depth when the topic deserves it. In this...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Feb 29, 2024
If your church is lucky enough to have Gen Z (folks roughly between the ages 10 – 27 in 2024), you or people in your church might not see them as leaders just yet. But the only way to make leaders is to invest time and trust into their development. In this...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Feb 22, 2024
How does your church make decisions? Does everyone have a vote? Is there a model of finding consensus? Is there a church-wide conversation or one among a leadership team or among pastors alone? There are many different ways churches arrive at decisions, and each has...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Feb 13, 2024
At a conference a few months ago, I heard a pastor say matter-of-factly, in response to a question about attendance decline, “We have been due for a reformation. It happens about every 500 years.” This may sound silly, but there is some truth to it....
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Feb 7, 2024
In this age of uncertainty, it is tempted to lean upon the past as the guidepost for the future. We built our churches as full-fledged institutions with our own buildings, staff, and programs. As much as these things are indeed helpful to ministry, they can also be a...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Feb 2, 2024
“No one wants to volunteer.” It was the common refrain I heard as a local church pastor. One person wants to start a ministry, but no one comes along. Or a longstanding ministry struggles to recoup losses when previous volunteers step away. In this article...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Jan 25, 2024
Two of the biggest issues facing churches today are income and facilities. Regular readers of this blog know we do our best to highlight creative uses for church buildings, and this article on Faith & Leadership shows one such example and asks some very good...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Jan 17, 2024
While we here at Project Thrive try to offer helpful, uplifting content for our viewers, we recognize the impact of the disaffiliations in The United Methodist Church have on the greater religious landscape. While the presenting issue in the UMC has been on human...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Dec 13, 2023
We have all heard it, perhaps so many times it borders on cliche: “We have always done it this way.” I’m sure – if you are reading this – have sat in on a meeting where everyone pitches ideas and someone pipes up with the above retort. We...
