Percy Strickland, Associate Rector at the Abbey at Pawley’s Island, explains that because of Anglicanism’s use of tools like prayer books, teens can get involved in much of the service simply through reading. “Why not allow these guys to get the experience of reading a prayer or reading scripture more regularly or doing all of these other things?” he proposes. “We say this every service: ‘This is more about participation than performance. It's more about formation than formality.’”

When we make the goal of children at church something as a means to the end of adults being able to engage in worship, learning and community, we’ve done a disservice to children and failed to see them as valuable parts of our congregation.

Though in hindsight, it’s easy to see how God has worked through changes in the church, the decisions to move and to hire a new staff member were both big leaps of faith. “We were all wrestling with if we should jump into this. It would be something that would stretch us for sure,” Mark+ shares. He recalls a clarifying question raised in one of the conversations about the potential shifts: “What will happen if we don’t do this?”

Planting new churches keeps a vibrancy and level of excitement alive in our organization that can only be described as contagious.

I was immediately impressed when I flipped through the book to see the vast number of research studies referenced and cited. This book, however, is not just about the studies. It’s an extremely thoughtful integration of that research into very real, sensitive ministry, accounting for complexity and context, based on years of experience and deep reflection.

"Those from the congregation who participate with the school are able to, “preach the gospel without words by loving on those kids, by going to field days and helping with field trips,” Mary Carole Smith explains.

By Allison Kalteyer, member of the St. Patrick’s Dallas launch team My husband, Robert, and I have seen God’s grace, provision and faithfulness firsthand since being involved in the planting of St. Patrick’s Anglican Church in Dallas, Texas. The road to finding St. Patrick’s first began in mid-2020. The season of 2020 has been a…

Named after the saint known for taking the gospel to Ireland, St. Patrick’s Dallas is built on the belief that the call to make disciples is not the responsibility of just one person, but the joy of the whole church. Just as St. Patrick’s ministry in the fifth century involved a team of clergy, lay…

Rev. Dr. Jay Wright shares insights into Church Planting.

By Dr. Robin Turner, Kid’s Ministry Director, All Saints Dallas Too often, children (and their parents!) get the impression that going to church is about not doing things: don’t move, don’t make noise, don’t distract, don’t be impatient, don’t bother your sister. Sunday worship ends, and children and parents leave feeling frustrated, embarrassed and unfulfilled.…