There are many reasons why people never come to church. But there are others who try coming and, based on their experience, decide not to come back. Here’s a list of some of the most common reasons and responses given by first-time guests. They may sound superficial to the committed churchgoer, but they matter to […]
Suddenly, everyone in churchworld is talking about Evangelization. You want to know why? Several reasons. First, because everyone else is talking about it. Second, because it seems like a nice idea. Third, because the Pope and the bishops are all talking about it. Fourth, hopefully, because Jesus told us to do it. Fifth, probably because […]
In our travels we meet lots and lots of parish leaders. We have talked to pastors, parish life directors, faith formation directors, youth ministers, parish administrators. They have come from every kind of parish in every kind of demographic. And because of the types of events we typically speak at, most all of the parishes […]
After several years of planning, in the spring of 2014 we announced plans for a new 1500 seat sanctuary. To finance the project we also at that time launched a campaign. Far from an old fashion fundraiser, the “Vision” campaign, as we came to call it, was presented as a spiritual exercise. No one was […]
Matter has mass and occupies volume. Our Catholic faith is grounded in matter: The Sacraments of the Church and the Incarnation of the Lord all rely on matter. Our parish churches are all about matter: people, buildings, a geographical location, and parish boundaries. Matter also refers to meaning and importance and is a value we […]
One of the most effective things you can possibly do to grow a healthy parish that is easy to get started, not particularly demanding when it comes to maintenance, and, best of all, free: Greeters. Really? Yeah, really. There are lots of reasons people give us for how they found their way to our church, […]
This week we finished up our participation in Parish Catalyst, a four-part gathering of parishes all about parish excellence. Conceived and conducted by our good friends Bill Simon and Claire Henning, this first class of 12 parishes (they called us a cohort) was all about gathering dynamic parishes from various parts of North America, and […]
Who’s in your parish? Increasingly, the answer is “None.” And no, “None” is not a number; it’s a religious identity. As many who work for churches know, in 2012, Pew Research Center released their infamous report about the so-called “Nones On the Rise”. Nones are the fastest growing “denomination” in our religious landscape. The latest […]
The Bible is full of the stories of some of the greatest saints and sinners in history. But based on this assessment, we often assume that these characters are either too good or too bad to teach us any really concrete life lessons. This summer, our parish has been surveying “imperfect” characters from the Bible […]
This is typically the time of year when churches experience staff transitions and changes. Here at Nativity we’re not expecting very many changes at all this year, but still I was thinking about it in view of some of our past experiences. Hiring new staff members is one of the most important things I will […]
