Help! Our Community Is Changing! (Part 2)
by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith (c) 1999 In part 1 we discussed the rise and decline of the urban church. We ended our Somewhere between the birth and the death of the local church selfishness took center stage,…
Help! Our Community Is Changing! (Part 1)
by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith (c) 1999 With tears in my eyes, I realized God had accomplished what He had set out to do among us. Our church now looked like our urban community, over 90% Hispanic. We…
What Should We Be Doing During Transition?
Resurrecting a dying church is much like working in an ER. The dying patient may have many medical problems, but in order to keep them alive, priorities are made on those wounds and injuries that are most life…
Healthy churches exhibit certain attitudes…
Perry Noble recently wrote, “I am seeing more young men rise up and plant churches…men with vision, passion and courage, men who refuse to accept the status quo, men with a genuine passion to see people far from…
Aching Over the Harvest!
Feel free to forward this to a friend! “I pray you may have it too. It is a heart that is broken over teenage lostness. You know you have it if something happens in your heat when you…
Transformed Podcast: Episode #038 – What is the Key to Church Health and Growth?
Lyle Schaller calls attention to the fact that most churches in the United States reach a peak in size during their first twenty or thirty years and then either plateau or shrink in size. The reasoning is that…
Transformed Podcast: Episode #033 – Are You Offended by God's Truth?
A woman stands before judge and jury, places one hand on the Bible and the other in the air, and makes a pledge. For the next few minutes, with God as her helper, she will “tell the truth,…