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 […]
This week we hosted one of the biggest, boldest, and quite possibly, bravest Catholic Church conferences anywhere, all about the heart of the whole Church which is the parish church. Our main sessions, keynotes, breakouts, round table discussions, and Q & A’s were all about enlightening, inspiring, and equipping parish leaders to lead their parishes […]
After much preparation, we are more than excited to welcome church leaders from 30 states and 10 countries to REBUILT18. I am a big believer in conferences, especially going to conferences at a local church where you get a real feel for the people, the community and what makes it work and how it honors […]
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 […]
Every church has its own unique culture. And, to a certain degree, you can have any kind of culture you want. For instance, we have a fairly casual culture on our staff, you might prefer a more formal style. It doesn’t matter what kind of culture you have as long as it’s healthy. Of course, […]
From time to time I like to reward my regular blog readers with a little insider information, ahead of church wide announcements. Here at the mid-mark for the season of Lent, with spring just around the corner and Easter close on the heels of that, here’s an update on what is happening here at Nativity. […]
Although Canon Law dictates that each parish is placed under the leadership of a pastor, appointed and installed by the bishop, there are dozens of different types of church leadership structures. There are pastors who are “one man shows” and hold the reigns tight when it comes to decision making. There are “absentee landlords” who […]
Your parish relies on many forms of communication to get the word out about what you want your parishioners to know and what you want them to do. These include your bulletin, bulletin boards, signage, web site and, increasingly, social media. But, consider the oldest, old school communication you use: the announcements at Mass. We […]
