Advocate | Summer 2015
Let’s Upgrade
Jesus Christ: Captain of Moonshots
By: Alex Wirth What kind of church do you daydream about? Most of us think about our own churches all the time, but what would it mean to really dream about them? Push yourself past the regular and into the impossible. What daydream ministry idea have you pushed aside...
Does Your Church Need an Upgrade?
By: Kirsty DePree Last week, while worshipping at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, I realized that we, as a congregation, have made a significant upgrade. While it was subtle and occurred over time, we have replaced an old way of doing things with a new...
Goldfish Have Eight
By: On a recent Sunday I passed through the narthex and noticed the large pile of bulletins left by departing worshipers. At least three-quarters of all the bulletins printed for that day were destined for the recycling bin. In each folded paper were dozens of...
Worship Tools for Children
By: Theresa Cho Church educators and pastors often ask me where I find resources to use with children in worship and how to use these resources. Like me, these people are interested in finding new ways to engage children in worship and invite them to participate in...
Is God Calling?
By: Liz Perraud When looking for volunteers to carry out our ministries, we often swing from one extreme to the other. On one end of the spectrum is the “they’re too busy” extreme. We think, “Our folks are so busy. I don’t know anyone who can possibly take on one more...
How Can We Keep Our Children Singing?
By: David Gambrell Last night after dinner I heard my daughter chiding her sister: “You forgot to clean the table! Put your dishes in the sink.” Except she wasn’t just saying it—she was singing it, to the nineteenth-century hymn tune Nettleton (“Come, Thou Fount of...
A Fresh Look at Protection Policies
By: At Myers Park, the church where I serve, we’ve had a Child and Youth Protection (CYP) Policy for years. It includes all the elements recommended by experts: sections on screening employees and volunteers; training; guidelines for reporting and responding to...
A Fresh Look at APCE
By: Zeta Lamberson What did you think? How did it go? Did that work? These are questions we ask after a party, a committee meeting, a small group, a conversation to solve a problem, a worship service, an annual event. As educators we know and value the process of...
Resources for Refreshing Your Ministry
By: Mary E. Speedy Joy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your Congregation, Lynne M. Baab. WJK, 2012. In this book, instead of addressing individual approaches to spiritual direction, the author offers help to leaders as they seek to involve small groups or the...
Creativity as a Starting Place
By: Shawna Bowman When God began to create the heavens and the earth—the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters—God said, “Let there be light.” And so light appeared. —Genesis 1:1-3 (Common English Bible)...