Category: Church development

Formerly “Conceiving the church”.

Where is that Unitarian church? Directions, please.

I was going to reply to Unitarian minister and blogger Stephen Lingwood, who recently wrote “Church Planting and Church Renewal: The Way Forward” on his Reignite blog, with a very pushy and American alternative plan. (And shall still do so.) But in lining up my arguments, I researched where some British Unitarian churches were physically… Continue reading Where is that Unitarian church? Directions, please.

Loose thoughts about British church starts

Please excuse these disjointed thoughts, but my parents are visiting and — plainly — they come first. I’ll put my ideas to paper, er, blog in this a couple of following posts and hope that comments help fill in the gaps. To recap: I think that the British Unitarians and Free Christians need to form… Continue reading Loose thoughts about British church starts

A reasonable outline for good church growth habits

Oh, the word scheme. American don’t like it: it connotes duplicity.  But I think we can read the British Unitarian growth scheme correctly. It is a self-grading plan that challenges congregations to become actively welcoming by changing their behaviors. I really like the game quality to it, offering incentive (to those so inclined) for greater activity… Continue reading A reasonable outline for good church growth habits

Three congregations admitted to the UUA

Now this is the kind of news I like. Reported by the UUWorld online today, the Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees admitted at its last board meeting the following new congregations: Unitarian Universalists of Blue Ridge, Rappahannock, Va. (42 members) Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lake Norman, N.C. (32) All Faiths Unitarian Congregation, Fort Myers,… Continue reading Three congregations admitted to the UUA

Dirty numbers and the British Unitarians

I’m about to wade into deep water. I mean no offense, nor do I plan to come off as a pushy American. But I’m thinking about the stated executive goal of the British Unitarians to grow by 20% in five years. I found their 2010 (current) annual report, which for the first time has membership… Continue reading Dirty numbers and the British Unitarians

Forming new organizations for service and fellowship

It isn’t easy to organize people for fellowship or to engage in a common purpose, but there’s no reason it needs to be made any harder for lack of resources and perspective. This is the first part of an occasional series about the simple organization of religious groups: churches, but also support organizations for groups… Continue reading Forming new organizations for service and fellowship

Some churches I’d be interested in seeing emerge

I told a reader (by private email) that I wouldn’t be writing this blog post because I don’t have the charism — spiritual gifts, more or less — to bring a particular kind of church into being, and it seems wise to not discuss that which you can’t do, and have no intention to do.… Continue reading Some churches I’d be interested in seeing emerge

A must-download for church planters

If you’ve planting a church, or somehow responsible to someone who is, go ahead and download “The Church Constitution Guide” (PDF, 350kb) published by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Yes, you heard me. There are two good reasons: 1. It has a to-do timeline that we would probably benefit from… Continue reading A must-download for church planters

Where the Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act may become law

I want to re-open the thread about unincorporated nonprofit associations I began last fall here, here and here. To recap, there’s a uniform act that covers about a fifth of the U.S. population that provides some of the legal cover to unincorporated nonprofit associations that corporations have, thus opening a door for cheap, easy-to-organize entities… Continue reading Where the Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act may become law