Melissa Brown is Connections Coordinator at City On A Hill, Geelong. In a post published at Gospel Coalition Australia she provides ten tips for effective welcoming: “Welcoming is about the Gospel. It is about imitating God. But welcoming is also about common sense. Therefore, let’s preach and teach from the Bible about welcoming, but let’s …

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Thom Rainer attempts to describe how churches can become focussed on their activities to the detriment of mission and ministry. He has eight points. Activities became synonymous with ministry. Programs and ministries are added regularly, but few or none are ever deleted. Programs and ministries become sacred cows. The alignment question is not asked on …

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Helpful article about church absenteeism by Murray Lean at Gospel Coalition Australia. It’s most pitched toward leaders, but the content is helpful for everyone concerned about personal and corporate spiritual growth and well-being. Among the accessible content is a list of the downsides that sporadic attendance cultivates: Loss of the “spurring-on effect” of regular interaction …

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A brief article by Barry York at Gentle Reformation on a neglected aspect of ministry, the call to worship. The basic idea is that rather than telling people not be distracted, you show them the One who will capture their attention. From the article: The great leveling ground as people come to worship is the …

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