Dr. Tori Smit, a diaconal minister and professional Christian educator in the Presbyterian Church in Canada serving the 262 churches in the Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda — yes, that Bermuda — offered an insightful workshop during last week’s annual event of the Association of Partners in Christian Education, addressing a situation many churches find themselves in: “What to do when the kids are few.”
At the beginning of the recent Theology, Formation & Evangelism ministry cohort on Spiritual Practices, the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell began a presentation on daily prayer in a curious way.
One by one, and sometimes in pairs or trios, denominational partners of the Association of Partners in Christian Education rose Saturday to tell those attending APCE’s annual even in Chicago and online how they’re sustaining their faith communities, especially as pandemic obstacles to faith formation enter their third year.
One of the most frequently asked questions about the nearly 700 new worshiping communities launched in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 2012 is, “How long does it take a new worshiping community to become financially sustainable?” This question is surrounded by similar ones about funding communities of new disciples, building solid financial skills and practices, budgets, salaries, giving and grants.
Shortly after he was elected moderator (April 1) of the 146th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Scott discovered the PC(USA) Daily Prayer app.
