Occasional Leadership thoughts from Brian Bauknight, Coordinator of Leadership Development, Western PA Conference, United Methodist Church Attendance? A few years ago, one “vital sign” measurement of a church changed from membership to worship attendance. The change was probably a wise one. However, other factors were quietly creeping into the picture. The whole notion of church [...]
Tags: Medium, W Pennsylvania
A TRADITIONAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH GROWING IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA??????
Chippewa UMC, just outside of Beaver Falls, Pa. has witnessed over the past 6 years a tremendous growth in worship attendance, membership and spirit. Chippewa UMC is not in a “growing area”, not in the suburbs of the North Hills of Pittsburgh but nestled in the upper north of Beaver County. Why is Chippewa UMC growing?
Rev. Shane Bishop of Christ United Methodist Church in Fairview Heights, Ill., encourages his congregation to be evangelists when he says, “We exist to connect people with Jesus Christ; that is all we do here.” He practices Wesleyan Evangelism in every aspect of his leadership, which is why he has been named the 2010 Distinguished Evangelist of The United Methodist Church.
State Street United Methodist Church is a downtown Church in the heart of a growing community called Bowling Green in south-central Kentucky.
About 7 years ago an early (8:08 am) service was begun that was more informal than the traditional service that meets at 10:00 am. Four years ago we decided to begin a new contemporary service at 11:30 am instead of attempting to blend the service at 10:00. This enabled us to be truly traditional at the 10:00 service and very contemporary at the 11:30 service.
Recently The Foundation for Evangelism began a popular new web series celebrating vibrant churches that have experienced a 20% or more attendance growth over 5 years. This information was gathered utilizing General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) data and interviews by Dr. Kenneth Lambert, the Church Initiative Director for the Foundation. Interestingly, a new study by a special Call to Action committee commissioned by The United Methodist Church has identified key factors impacting Vital Congregations. The responses that we receive from pastors emphasize some of these key factors.
The first charge Bishop Hunt gave me was to represent the witness of the founder of the Foundation, the late Harry Denman, by preaching the gospel and expanding the influence of Wesleyan evangelism in Methodism. Another charge he gave me was to give encouragement and support to the donors, who financially make possible the ministry of the Foundation for Evangelism. A third charge he gave me was to design a development plan to enable the Trustees and the friends of the Foundation for Evangelism to endow a dream of the former president, Dr. Charles Kinder. The dream was to provide the needed funds to make it possible for each theological seminary that is training pastors and other church leaders for the United Methodist Church to have a highly qualified full-time Professor of Evangelism. A dream fulfilled by the Foundation and known today as the E. Stanley Jones Professors of Evangelism.
Rev. Brian Hoare, hymn writer, composer, and retired Methodist minister will lead a devotional time at The Foundation for Evangelism headquarters, 125 N. Lakeshore Drive., Lake Junaluska, on September 14 at 11:00 a.m. The public is invited to attend. Rev. Hoare served 32 years as a Methodist Minister in Great Britain and has served in various positions of leadership in the British Methodist Church including British Regional Secretary for Methodist World Evangelism and Deputy General Secretary of the Home Mission Division of the Methodist Church. Rev. Hoare has preached internationally in Barbados, Brazil, Estonia, Kenya and many other places around the world.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 7, 2010 Rev. Shane Bishop of Christ United Methodist Church in Fairview Heights, Ill., encourages his congregation to be evangelists when he says, “We exist to connect people with Jesus Christ; that is all we do here.” He practices Wesleyan Evangelism in every aspect of his leadership, which is why he [...]
This fall, hundreds of voices will lift in unison to pray for College Campuses. The 40 days of prayer, dubbed “Pray 40,” calls the Church to pray for college students and is also meant to help college students learn to pray. It is not meant to be a once and done event, but comes from the scripture in Isaiah 40 that challenges all to “prepare the way of the Lord.”
The prayers have been compiled by Pray 40 coordinators Creighton Alexander and Ashlee Alley, also editors of CollegeUnion.org. The prayers were written by campus ministers, college students, bishops, authors, pastors and other leaders.
Tags: Large, North Carolina
At Pentecost we are reminded of the mighty wind of God’s Spirit that blew through the followers of Christ. As the Holy Spirit appeared 3,000 people were added to the early church. North Raleigh United Methodist Church has not added 3,000 people after one sermon, but the wind of God’s Spirit has been blowing, giving us a fresh surge of growth. By the end of June, the wind of God’s Spirit led close to 200 people to join our church (over fifty were youth) this year. This will probably be the largest growth year, but the last two years are not far behind. To what do we credit this growth? Let me first give credit to the wind of God’s Spirit, without which none of this would be happening.
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