Presbyterian Mission Agency church vitality Archives

Author and speaker Brian McLaren makes a second appearance at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church

Posted May 16th, 2024

With his most recent book, “Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart” now available, author, speaker and activist Brian McLaren returned to New York Avenue Presbyterian Church’s airwaves last week for a 90-minute presentation and Q&A on “Creating a Church for the Future.”

Remembering more than 1,600 Delaware lives lost to COVID-19

Posted June 2nd, 2021

A Garden Remembrance Memorial has been installed on the front courtyard of the Presbyterian Church of Dover, 54 S. State St., Dover, Delaware. It’s a temporary tribute, a space for healing, reflection and prayer to honor the lives of more than 1,600 Delawareans lost to COVID-19 from March 2020 to the end of May 2021.

Minute for Mission: One Great Hour of Sharing

Posted March 24th, 2021

The pandemic has stretched the Church in many ways — but we are still very much … here. Although it was hard at first, we have expanded our thinking, and our doing, in new and innovative ways to close the distance and be together. We have continued to worship. We have continued to build and shape community; we have continued to take care of one another. And on top of all that, we have continued to come together to serve those in need; both here in our own community and all over the world. Despite the difficulty, struggle and loss, the Church continues to declare its presence in the world, through different means, certainly, but toward the same purpose.

Small churches are rich in assets money can’t buy

Posted February 13th, 2020

It seems that in today’s culture, the “bigger is better” philosophy is all around us. Supercenters, 75-inch flat-screen televisions and mega-sized smartphones have become the norm. The church is not immune to this growing trend (pun intended), as many communities are seeing the growth of the megachurch — churches with hundreds in worship, often across multiple campuses and varying service times. It is as if the larger the church membership becomes, the healthier the church is perceived to be, leaving smaller congregations often feeling inadequate. While megachurches may appear to be the new norm, statistics paint a different picture.

Vital Congregations pilot initiative impacts churches in Trinity Presbytery

Posted April 15th, 2019

Now that churches in South Carolina’s Trinity Presbytery have gone through the seven marks of congregational vitality, as part of their participation in the two-year Vital Congregations initiative pilot program, pastors are beginning to notice a difference in their congregations.

The blossoming seeds of resurrection in a vital congregation

Posted August 8th, 2018

Despite being part of the same church family, Hazel Pflugmacher and Jaquette Easterlin never met.

Small churches can thrive

Posted June 20th, 2018

I’d been on the job for about three months when it came time for the joint planning meeting with the session and deacons. It was my first call to a small congregation in a medium-sized building. I was old enough to remember what church was like back in the ’70s, when vacation Bible school was a community event and Christmas and Easter meant extra chairs around the perimeter of the sanctuary. The church to which I’d been called didn’t even fill up on the big holidays.