Your congregation is committed to growth and understands that growth in numbers results from other kinds of growth. You also know it is important to set goals and measure how well you are doing.  ...

It was mid-afternoon and my sixth grade classmates and I were in the middle of a lesson. Suddenly, the deep voice of the principal boomed over the loudspeaker. “Mr. Doyle, I need your help. Mrs....

As leaders of a congregation, it may be tempting to assume everyone else has (or should have) the same level of commitment to the institution of the church as we have....

Being in covenant together is a lot like a dance. There is give and take. Occasionally you step on someone else’s feet or they step on yours.

How do Committees on Ministry function? Rev. Nancy Bowen shares an overview.

I think that what religious educators might know better than anyone is that “religious education” means “to bind up and send out”--that church is a waystation where we are fortified and connected, made ready for our shared journey in the world, as a people of faith.

"Your actions are speaking so loudly, I can hardly hear what you are saying." This is a quote from a http://lp.citrixonline.com/102213-NA-G2W-MKT-WBR-SM?ID=70150000000ZOrx"… on the presence of leaders that I took recently. A leader's presence reflects their underlying values—it's how they wear...

Play stations are reflective activities that include elements of play and wonder and creativity. You know the connection between creativity and playing with the Creator. 

The descriptions of the values of many "spiritual but not religious" people line up pretty nicely with what our UU religious communities could be, or at least what they should at least aspire to be....

Young Adult ministry has been a challenge for congregations of all liberal protestant denominations for decades but the game is changing in ways we couldn't have imagined back in the post WWII church building boom. There has been a lively conversation on the UU-Leaders email list about how to...

Are all of the members and friends of your church aware of all of the outreach ministries of your church? Is the wider community aware of who you are serving and how? Churches need to tell their stories, advises a r… article in the Christian Century. Author George Mitrovich explains When my...

Personal Safety of Congregation Members Clergy Misconduct Complaint Process The Safe Congregation Handbook: Nurturing Healthy Boundaries in Our Faith Communities Background Checks Liability Insurance: Search "Liability"on the Church Mutual Site Trauma Response Resources Minister to Those Who Have...

Congregational leaders are often tempted to go through the motions of creating mission, vision, planning and covenant documents without taking a holistic view of the process.  Do the congregations systems support the process?  How do we reflect the core values...

Assessment of a congregation's ministry is a very important aspect of religious leadership and is one of the roles of a Committee on Shared Ministry. assessments....

All congregation sizes based on certified membership at the time the stories were shared.

In my role as a congregational member, how can I support our staff, our board, and our key leaders to do what our congregation has asked them to do in service of our collective mission?

In my last blog post I wrote about the Baby Boomers and the Millennials.  I received a few requests to write about the generational cohort labeled Gen X (rough birth years 1960-1985), sandwiched between the two and much smaller than either.  Most of the ministerial settlements...

There can be a significant cultural divide between baby boomers and millennials in our congregations, which is obvious to the millennials, but often invisible to the boomers.   I was reminded of this after seeing various reactions on Facebook to a recent article on...

How do we find volunteers for the different jobs in our congregation?  How do we fire a volunteer who doesn't perform?  How do we renew a committee stuck in stale ideas and that repels any new committee members and their potential energy? Volunteer recruitment and dealing with...