by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Dec 9, 2023
Advent and Christmas highlight a season of giving. Some of us love to give, some of us struggle to give. This dynamic of what to give and how much are highlighted in how we choose to participate in worship. Small churches often struggle with the same few doing all the...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Nov 25, 2023
Christmas and Advent are just around the corner! As churches seek to celebrate the Incarnation, big plans often go into place. We decorate the whole church, plan special services, and even host Christmas parties with a particularly jolly special guest. But would...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Nov 16, 2023
Sunday School? Bible study? Series study? These are all possible ways to include adult education into the life of your church. In this handy list from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, there are 50 tips for improving your church’s adult education...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Nov 14, 2023
As all of our Project Thrive churches well know, church buildings can be both an asset and a liability to ministry. Within those buildings are decades (and in some places centuries) of history and heritage. In the South, predominantly Black churches carry a special...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Nov 10, 2023
It’s the preferred way many people like to think of their church – extended family. What better metaphor for describing the potential for a church community to be as close, vulnerable, and supportive as one’s own kin? There are some pitfalls to this...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Nov 1, 2023
We have all seen it. A church has a wonderful clothes closet or food bank or some other resource-giving ministry that just makes you feel kind of sad. Oftentimes, churches will invest the minimum to make spaces welcoming in exchange for reaching more people with more...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Oct 25, 2023
It may sound like a broken record for regular readers of our blog posts, but the so-called “Nones”* are a big demographic in our communities. In this blog for the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, friend of Project Thrive Dr. Ryan Burge discusses ways...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Oct 17, 2023
During our Microgrant Retreat last week, we saw something amazing happen. As churches spoke about their microgrant plans, other churches offered feedback and ideas, leading to a sense of shared purpose and mission between the persons in attendance. Congregations work...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Oct 11, 2023
Programming. Outside of Worship, programming is the meat and potatoes of many churches’ communal life. Whether a Bible study, an interest group, even a prayer circle. We as Christians do our best work when we gather. But I’m sure you, as have I, have been...
by Nick Baird-Chrisohon | Sep 28, 2023
As much as we are trying to move forward in our churches, many congregations are still full of members who have “church fatigue.” In our fast-paced, fill-every-moment culture, many church folks commit less time to church in exchange for other activities....
