“This is a legitimate ministry.” This was the overwhelming response from the Convergence Digital Ministry Senior Fellows as we gathered for a few days in Atlanta. We spent our time …
Help! Our Church is Too Small!
Or “How To Stop Worrying and Love Your Small Church”by: Rev. Dr. Anna Hall I recently rediscovered on my bookshelf an old book I inherited from a retiring pastor’s library …
Locked Out: The Dilemma of Closing Online Doors in Faith Communities
By Rev. Timoth Sylvia Earlier this year, we launched a new initiative – the Convergence Digital Ministry Fellowship Program. The intent of this program is to respond to 21st century …
What Does It Take To Change A Congregation?
By Rev. Cameron Trimble, CEO of Convergence In a webinar this week, Rev. Jim Keat, Convergence Director of Online Innovation, asked me what it takes for a congregation to change. …
So, Your Congregation Says It is Anti-Racist
by: Rev. Anna Golladay I was in St Louis, MO this past weekend when I learned of a small UCC congregation in Holly Hills. Grace United Church of Christ was …
Is Your Congregation Welcoming New Members in Old Ways?
Diana Butler Bass, one of our favorite teachers, speakers, and authors here at Convergence, has long said that we need to rethink how we form spiritual communities. Old models insisted …
Are Your Governing Documents a Blessing or a Headache?
by: Gregg Carlson Convergence has spent the last decade learning from and working alongside local congregations. We have also discovered that some of the things that worked prior to 2020 …
Is Your Congregation Stuck As You Imagination the Future?
‘What is the world that you would bet on in the year 2070?” I asked the two hundred people from First United Methodist Church participating in a Futures Lab on …
Do We Shift? Or Do We Abandon?
For the first time in I-can’t-remember-how-long, the internet is galvanized behind something as a massive team. In an effort to thwart the dumpster fire that is Twitter, more than 10 …
What Is the Essential Work of Congregations?
My grandfather, Rev. Dr. James McCormick, is a retired minister in the United Methodist Church. He spent a lifetime serving congregations as a pastor and as denominational staff. I was …