Small groups are a key component to relationship growth in the modern church, yet they have seen their popularity slide in recent years, according to a new Lifeway Research survey. The poll found that an average of 44 percent of Protestant churches’ weekly worship attendance is involved in a “small group, Sunday School class or similar group.” That’s down from 49 percent in 2010 and 50 percent in 2008.
A 2,600-member Alabama megachurch has voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church over the mainline denomination’s theological direction.
Fire Department officials have launched an investigation into a fire that caused approximately $200,000 worth of damage at a historic black church in Austin, Texas.
A denominational leader asserted that the best thing the Church could do to handle the challenges of this cultural moment would be to "stay in its lane." That the so-called "culture wars" have been grueling, and the Church is primarily called to spread the Gospel.
On Wednesday, the recently announced Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics at The Gospel Coalition published a book excerpt authored by Pastor Josh Butler. The article described a sacred vision of the physical union of a husband and wife, arguing that not only marriage but that physical intimacy within marriage is a type (or picture) of Christ and the Church. In the process, he used terms and imagery that, without additional context, seemed shockingly graphic. The article set off a Twitter maelstrom.
Stacie Wood, a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church and the wife of lead pastor Andy Wood, says she will continue to serve in her role despite the Southern Baptist Convention’s recent decision to remove Saddleback Church from the SBC.
A Texas megachurch that previously attempted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church without a congregational vote has now successfully voted to leave the denomination.
The senior pastor at The Vineyard Church in Duluth, Minnesota, has resigned just weeks after his son, the online community and young adult pastor, was suspended over misconduct allegations.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the world's largest Baptist denomination, has disfellowshipped an unaffiliated Georgia-based church for having a female pastor.
The Southern Baptist Convention's Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force announced this week that a "ministry check" site will be launched by Guidepost Solutions.
