Martial Arts Ministry?

A recent article in The New York Times profiled a Memphis church that has implemented a mixed martial arts program as part of its ministry in an effort to reach young men, a group with low church attendance. The piece highlighted a small but growing trend among evanglical churches.

"The outreach is part of a larger and more longstanding effort on the part of some ministers who fear that their churches have become too feminized, promoting kindness and compassion at the expense of strength and responsibility.

These pastors say the marriage of faith and fighting is intended to promote Christian values, quoting verses like “fight the good fight of faith” from Timothy 6:12. Several put the number of churches taking up mixed martial arts at roughly 700 of an estimated 115,000 white evangelical churches in America. The sport is seen as a legitimate outreach tool by the youth ministry affiliate of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 churches."

Is your church expanding/adjusting your ministries to reach this particular group? I'm always interested in hearing from you.

Have an Interesting Building Project?

A couple of months ago, I received a call from Jon Cooke, a reader and senior pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Yankton, South Dakota.

His church had recently converted an old Walmart into its new worship facility, and he thought it would make for a good project profile for our monthly Foundations (church construction) column. I readily agreed, and it made it into our December issue. The uniqueness of the project made for a really interesting story (with great photos!).

"Time after time, church leadership kept coming back to one location – an old Walmart store that had been vacant for three years. It offered massive space, plenty of parking, and a prime location right on the main street of town. Perhaps it offered too much space. Or maybe the idea of renovating a Walmart store was just a little too crazy to embrace. The group kept turning away from the old discount store, only to be led back again and again."

According to Cooke, "God just kept bring it back to us."

You can read the entire profile here.

We're always looking for out-of-the-ordinary worship facility building projects to cover in the magazine. Leave a comment below if you'd like to be considered for an upcoming issue.

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro

Managing Editor

Online Churches?

A recent article in USA Today examines the recent trend of Internet church campuses. The practice (and benefits!) of using your church Web site and social media as an effective way to communicate with members of your congregation is nothing new, but what about a complete worship experience online, with a dedicated pastor, communion, and prayer through instant messaging?

"The move online is forcing Christians to re-examine their idea of church. It's a complex discussion involving theology, tradition and cultural expectations of how Christians should worship and relate. Even developers of Internet church sites disagree over how far they should go. Many, for example, will only conduct baptisms in person.

The staunchest critics say that true Christian community ultimately requires in-person interaction. They deride the sites as religious fast food or Christianity lite.

But advocates consider the Internet just another neighborhood where real relationships can be built."

On what side of this fence do you stand? I'm always interested in hearing from you.

Click here to read the entire article.

Pulpit Swapping = Stronger Community Ties?

This recent article in my local newspaper (link here) draws attention to the resurgence of pulpit and choir swapping as a powerful and effective way to bridge communities.

"The pulpit swap was seen as a way to focus on the unity of the church rather than the separation of the church. It helps us understand each other better and helps break down barriers. God tells us in his word there's only one church.

Perhaps as a reflection of a self-centered generation in churches, pulpit swaps seemed to fall out of favor. But with real-life social crossover limited by individuals focusing on television and social networking sites on computers, perhaps there's a growing hunger for a return to the sense of a larger community that pulpit swaps and choir swaps can offer."

Can your church speak to the benefits of this practice? I'm always interested in hearing from you.

Discouraged Sometimes? You're Not Alone

As you lead your congregation to growth in their relationships with God, how does your own personal ministry fare?

Lifeway Research recently found that 67 percent of Southern Baptist preachers, in particular, agree that it can sometimes be easy to get discouraged.

According to the study, "Agreement that their own ministry can be discouraging is true regardless of the size of the church and among most age groups of pastors. Pastors age 60 and older are less likely to be easily discouraged, yet 48 percent of them still agree that discouragement easily enters their ministry."

In response, LifeWay has launched NEXT Coaching Network, a national program that consists of groups of 10 to 12 pastors who meet once a month for six months and are led by an experienced pastor-practitioner.

Three types of networks are offered:

• One designed for those launching new churches
• One for pastors ready to advance their churches
• One for strategic leadership

For more information, click here.

"Most-Wanted" Women's Ministry Events

One of the highlights of my morning is reading my daily devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries. Their "Encouragement for Today" e-mails are just right for busy women, with a short personal story, reflection questions, and applicable Bible verses.

When I visited the site recently, I noticed that the organization recently conducted a study of more than 1,200 women to help women's ministry directors as they structure their upcoming events. As you prepare your calendars, I thought this information would be helpful to have at your disposal.

"What makes women want to come to an event you host? Wouldn't you love to know the answer to this question as you start planning your fall events? Well, we'd love to help you with your planning by sharing the results of an extensive survey Lysa TerKeurst did. To read Lysa's report and see the results of this eye-opening survey, e-mail Holly@Proverbs31.org and put "event survey" in the memo line."

Who Attends Megachurches?

"Who are the more than five million people who weekly attend megachurches around the country? What attracts and keeps them involved at these churches? How do their attitudes and spiritual activities compare to worshippers at churches of other sizes?"

The National Survey of Megachurch Attenders, recently conducted by Leadership Network and Hartford Seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religion Research, addressed these questions to compose a unique portrait of these congregations.

“In planning and conducting the survey, our goal went beyond simple curiosity. Rather, we looked for the threads and patterns that would be of practical benefit to researchers and church leaders,” said Warren Bird, Leadership Network’s Director of Research and one of the principals behind the survey. “Take, for example, the finding that megachurch attenders are more likely to be single than their counterparts in other congregations. Pastors of mid-sized and small congregations may well want to see how adapting elements from the megachurch model would help them better serve that segment of their community.”

Highlights from the study include:

• Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45 years old, as compared to only one-third for all Protestant churches (62% vs. 35%).
• Nearly a third of megachurch attenders are single, unmarried persons. In a typical church, singles account for just 10% of the congregation.
• Megachurch attenders are both more educated and more affluent than attenders at other churches.
• The majority of megachurch attenders are not necessarily new to Christianity but nearly a quarter had not recently been in another church before coming to a megachurch.
• While newcomers almost always attend a megachurch at the invitation of family, friends or co-workers, the real attraction tends to be the church’s reputation, worship style and senior pastor.
• Long-term attendance flows from an appreciation for the church’s music/arts, social and community outreach and adult-oriented programs.
• 45% of megachurch attenders never volunteer at the church, and 40 percent are not engaged in a small group, the mainstay of megachurch programming.

Note: You can click here for the complete report.