I often hear churchgoing baby boomers like me say, “We don’t have any children in our church.” The implications are sad and clear: Our congregation won’t continue long beyond us….
One of the key moments of the Reformation was Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible. In doing so he made it accessible, and people were able to experience the word…
St. Paulus Lutheran Church turned 150 years old on May 15. San Francisco has been its home for the past century and a half, and during that time, St. Paulus…
It’s a Tuesday night. People are gathered in a back room of a restaurant in downtown Tulsa, Okla. Amid the pouring of refills and clearing of plates, someone begins to…
You noticed it right away when entering the sanctuary. Five hundred pillows formed a mountain in front of the altar at Bethany Lutheran Church, Bainbridge Island, Wash., in February. More…
People living in poverty in Sioux Falls, S.D., are receiving unprecedented attention from Christian church leaders of all denominations across the city. Their action plan calls for collaboration to help…
Life is more than a tiny bit easier, safer and more dignified for members of Seattle’s homeless population thanks to five teenagers and the congregation they inspired. For their final…
Vacations. Camp. Sports, family commitments and learning opportunities. There are myriad reasons why attendance slumps at our congregations during summer. In many churches, this is seen as a problem. What…
Entrusting a half-million-dollar renovation investment to a construction team made up of a retired pastor, a farmer, an administrative assistant, an engineer and a salesman may seem like a risky…
“If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would the surrounding community notice?” I imagine many of us have heard this line. It’s meant to encourage a congregation to be an…
In 30 years the nation’s increased racial and ethnic diversity hasn’t changed ELCA demographics, according to statistics. Since the 1980s, the U.S. Census Bureau shows the total number of African-American,…
We’ve all done it. Someone tells us about an event in their life—a celebration or cause of concern—and we tell them, “I’ll pray for you.” Then it slips our mind…
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