Welcome to The Ministry Lab's curated list of resources to help congregational leaders develop exuberant outreach and warm hospitality. Here you'll find:
If you don't find a resource to fit your need, don't hesitate to consult with The Ministry Lab's director, Emily Meyer, who is happy to assist you.
Weekly Resources Coming Your Way
Join Book of Belonging creators Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor for an online community and weekly resource options throughout the year, including the Book of Belonging Study Guide from Rev. Jenny Warner - a 7-week adult study guide for the BoB.
CONVERGENCE offers numerous leadership and community development webinars on-demand or in a cohort:
How to Do Hybrid Church: Ministry at the Overlap of In-Person and Online
The Great Spiritual Migration: Online Book Study
Radical Welcome: Help Your Church Fully Embrace the Other
Church Impact: From Organized Religion to Organizing Religion with Brian McLaren
Disability Is Not a Dirty Word
By Allison Bird Treacy (she/her/hers) / Nov. 13, 2023
'One clear manifestation of how our church communities address issues of access and inclusion is the presence—or, more often, absence—of ramps...'
Standing for Love is Required of All
A panel of spiritual thought leaders discuss what we can all do to create more inclusive communities of faith at the Wild Goose Festival
Top 10 Reasons Visitors Don’t Come Back
What do visitors say when asked why they don’t return to a church? Thom Rainer outlines the top 10 responses when hundreds of guests were surveyed about their experiences of visiting a church. Read more now. An excerpt from Rainier's book, Becoming a Welcoming Church (B&H)
7 Suggestions for Reaching More People this Christmas
“Church on the Move” featuring Travis Norvell— Episode 106
How can your church reorient its posture toward its neighbors and neighborhood? Minnesota Pastor Travis Norvell decided to conduct his ministry by bike, on foot, and on public transportation. He shares how this revealed new people, new partners, and new possibilities for ministry. Listen now. | Read in-depth interview. | Watch podcast video on YouTube.
“Lessons from the Fresh Expressions Movement” featuring Luke Edwards
Laura Stephens-Reed, in the CBF Blog, underscores Why Bringing in Young Families is not a Magic [Cure] for Your Congregation, as she underscores some key do's and don'ts with regard to welcoming young adults and young families.
Positioning Your Church for Growth in a New Season of Ministry
By Tony Morgan And Ann A. Michel;
How can your church reach new people in today’s evolving ministry context? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Tony Morgan, chief strategist for The Unstuck Group, about trends, perspectives, and strategies drawn from his work with scores of congregations across the country and abroad.
The ELCA's Growing Younger page includes stories, resources, and tools to assist you and your congregation in connecting with new people so that our world may experience the difference God’s grace and love in Christ makes for all people and creation; including:
Download The 6 Core Commitments of Churches Growing Younger pdf here.
The State of the Black Church: Reconciling Communities and Reimagining Inclusion
by Pride in the Pews; in Progressive Christianity; May 5, 2023
Watch the event video here.
Pride in the Pews is a grassroots nationwide nonprofit building bridges and creating solutions that empower the Black LGBTQ+ community to thrive in the pew, the pulpit, and the public square.
Agile Church was founded to help church leaders and congregations navigate the tidal wave of change affecting growth and threatening the survival of mainline churches. Agile Church is a proven system that combines decades of church leadership experience; a diverse range of consulting services; innovative technology; and a library of proven resources into a single church growth system.
THIS set of slides on pronouncing a name from a culture that is not your own is very useful and practical - and helpful when you want to be hospitable and welcoming whether in your building or your neighborhood.
Hospitality for Online & Onsite Participants During Hybrid Formation
By Building Faith's Hannah Graham
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The Video Editing for Churches course will help you learn how to use editing tools like Adobe Rush and iMovie to create videos your members, newcomers, and others will want to see.
This is an open enrollment course.
The United Methodist Church's Communications offers free Social Media Shareable download sets containing graphics created for diverse social media platforms.
“ideas on how digital connections can help us reach people not previously connected to our congregations”.
Digital Tools: Church Administration
A comprehensive list of non-social media platforms and software that other Faith+Leaders are using.
As many as 294,000 followers and more than 5.3 million likes. The Rev. Bethany Peerbolte has developed quite the following thanks to TikTok, the social media platform that has become a primary source for short-form videos.
The PC(USA) Store has compiled a list of Books for LGBTQIA+ Inclusion.
Disability Ministries shares insight, ways congregations are engaging differently abled persons, and suggestions for furthering awareness and hospitality.
Cindy Bohrer (United student and admissions counselor) is passionate about creating safe, inclusive spaces, particularly when it comes to gender, identity, and pronoun usage. As part of her Social Transformation capstone, she has just released "Becoming in the New Year," a fun downloadable resource to help churches become more generous, kind, and affirming — because y'all means all!
Click here for more information. Click here to download the free resources from Dropbox.
Churches can no longer open their doors and expect that people will come in. Effective congregations go into the world to encounter those in need of the gospel. These 50 Ways provide tips on reaching beyond the walls of your church with worship, community events, ministries, and service.
Lewis Center for Church Leadership has a growing list of Covid-19-related resources on topics of Social Action, Stewardship, Technology, and Hospitality.
