Church is Changing

Could British Central Halls be a ministry model whose time has come again? What would it be like to be the hub of activity in city and town centers out of which ministry flowed in all directions? How can we reclaim the gifts of being “friars” in community? In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, listen to Rev. Ian Rutherford, pastor at Manchester Central Hall, share the beauty of this old form coming back to life for sustainable civic engagement at all levels. For more information about Ian and the ministry of Manchester Central Hall, visit http://www.centralhallmcr.org.uk.

In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, host Paul Nixon interviews Mike Whang, a church planter near Houston, Texas. Mike is pastor of Oikon UMC, a church that is focused on small group engagement and discipleship. For more about Oikon, visit www.oikonhtx.org.

On this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, Bo Sanders, pastor of Vermont Hills UMC in Portland, Oregon, shares his worship experiments of decentering the broadcast, one-to-many form of 20th century worship and reconfiguring the worship space to support that. Sanders is also passionate about creating a seamless hybrid worship experience. Find out what he has discovered during these last three years. To discover more about Sanders and his ministry, visit https://vermonthillsumc.org. You can also find his public theology site at https://bosanders.wordpress.com.

On this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, we are joined by author Jason Moore. Moore is author of the book Both/And, which explores the new ways we gather people for worship in the 2020s. Moore lives near Dayton, Ohio and has worked for two decades resourcing churches in terms of worship design. To learn more about Jason, or to invite him to your judicatory or your church, visit midnightoilproductions.com.

The pandemic not only affected churches; it also impacted the recovery community. Out of a need for connection, Tracey Hume, a deacon in Newcastle upon Tyne in England, started an online twelve-step group that has become an online recovery church. In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, Hume shares what she has learned as a leader and how this church movement continues to grow and adapt. You can contact Tracey Hume at deacontraceyhume@gmail.com.

Welcome to the launch of the new Church is Changing podcast! (Formerly known as Field Preachers.) In this episode, hosts Paul Nixon and Beth Estock set the stage for this season’s episodes as well as begin to talk about that “nasty word” – metrics. In a rapidly changing culture when the old ways of measuring success no longer work, how do we begin to track ministry impact?

In this episode of the Field Preachers podcast, host Paul Nixon interviews Sean Davis, music director, and Isata Jalloh, children and youth worker, at Edmonton Methodist Church in the north suburbs of London. Davis and Jalloh discuss how the church is pivoting powerfully toward serving community in all of its ministries rather than just focusing on church members and families. This conversation is all about breaking through our mental boundaries about who are our core constituencies in church programming.

Hosts Paul Nixon and Beth Estock reflect on the ways that the pandemic has pushed Christian leaders to a burnout point, and talk about how they can care for themselves so that they will be ready to lead into 2022.

In this episode of the Field Preachers podcast, host Paul Nixon interviews Daryn DeZengotita of Dallas about the creation of community-building space, especially as we repurpose oversized church buildings in the wake of the pandemic.

As rural America continues to undergo massive economic and demographic shifts, rural churches are uniquely positioned to provide community leadership. Leading a rural congregation requires a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, as well as a strong theological and community-focused identity. Rev. Allen T. Stanton describes how in establishing this identity, rural leaders can build meaningful ministry. His three indicators for vital ministry offers hope as well as a pathway for renewal.