Free Fall
In the extreme sport of skydiving, exhilaration (or terror) is increased in free fall—the time, however long, before skydivers deploy...
Learning Curve
The phrase “learning curve” describes the rate of progress in gaining new skills or experience. As with most endeavors, it is good for a...
La paciencia
Esta semana estuve en una conferencia de iglesias en Grand Rapids, Michigan. El propósito de muchas de las reuniones de estudio se centró...
Ideas
Pastor Tim Bistline’s calling card identifies him as an “idea guy.” He is building on this strength to revitalize the long-established...
Micro-mission
Montoursville (Pa.) BIC wants to serve broken and neglected people. As a smaller church, they excel in caring for one another. But how,...
Setbacks to New Strength
After an extended season of growth, Millersville (Pa.) Brethren in Christ Church encountered a series of setbacks, coming in quick...
New Trail
In 2007, New Trail Fellowship near Abilene (Ks.) was launched to serve the western heritage community of the Smoky Valley Region by...
Transition
One way to ease the stress of transition is to prepare in advance (Mt.16:21; Jn. 14-17). After 23 years, the pastor of Highland Park...
Evaluation
For better or worse, your church is being evaluated every Sunday. On the way home, someone will ask, “What did you think of the sermon?”...
Churches Helping Churches
The phrase “one another” is used 100 times in the New Testament. Yet mutual assistance among churches can be a rare occurrence in a North...
Higher Ed
This week I will conclude 18 months of bi-vocational employment, working as a cashier in a local supermarket. It has been, so to speak,...
Deep Values
Habecker Mennonite Church is located amid the farmland of Lancaster County (Pa.). Yet this rural church teems with bicultural life and...
Convergence
Throughout the mountains and hills of central Pennsylvania, small streams merge into larger tributaries and, ultimately, into the...
Church Meld
Can a struggling church “reboot” for a fresh start? The multisite movement, normally associated with larger churches, also creates an...
Accessibility
Most churches strive to be accessible to people with the widest possible range of physical abilities. Normally, this involves ramp...
