At this time of the year, we see lots of people in their brown missions shirts at Nativity, many serving here in our city of Baltimore. Others go further afield. Their send-off Mass a few weeks ago offered an impressive sight: nearly 100 missionaries serving in Haiti, Kenya, and West Virginia. Relief work is sometimes […]
Category: Evangelization
Asked why they don’t attend church, the most common response unchurched people give is simply: “Because I don’t feel welcome.” Unfortunately, churches can be very unwelcoming and not even realize it. Sometimes dozens of little details church people don’t even see subtly communicate to the unchurched that they don’t belong. At Nativity, we have worked […]
Around here we like to talk about our “Rally Cry” or what our friend Patrick Lencioni calls “the thing that must be done now.” This time last year it was obviously finishing the new church building (which we did, ahead of schedule, under budget, and with no debt). Next, it was our annual signature event, […]
When it comes to some of the great big problems many parishes face these days, sometimes the simplest answers are the most helpful. And often the cheapest. Off the top of my head I can think of dozens of things our parish does that makes us more attractive to the unchurched. And they cost us […]
The Church exists to reach the unchurched. But all too often the culture of our parishes belies or even betrays our mission. There are things you do, that you don’t even know you do, that tell outsiders that your church is for insiders, same for us at Nativity. It’s like dandelions in your lawn, however […]
We say as a parish that our goal is… every member a minister (and if Nativity is where you typically go to church, you are a member). And this weekend is a very special weekend for us, as we welcome commitments from members to join us as ministers. A minister is kind of like a […]
We are currently preparing for our REUILT 2018 Conference in which we’ll be welcoming parish leaders from 30 states and 10 countries. We’ll be spending two days talking about church health and growth. Healthy churches are growing churches, because healthy things grow. Growth might come in different ways in different seasons: growth in discipleship, worship, […]
Easter is here and we know that our churches will be filled with visitors and new comers and lots and lots of unchurched people. This can be a golden opportunity to make a connection with them…or not. Whoever you are, whatever your role at your parish, whatever kind of parish you have, there are at […]
Most church leaders I know would love to see their church grow. As a pastor or pastoral leader it is very gratifying to experience growth. At the same time, there is often criticism and complaint directed toward churches that are actually growing. A pastor I know recently commented on a growing “mega-church” in his region […]
This past fall we opened a new sanctuary with seating for 1,000 currently, with the ability to add another 500 seats in the future. We do not want that to be the distant future however. We built because our parish had outgrown our old sanctuary and we want to keep growing. Here are 5 ways […]
