Small Church Leadership Development helping Synod’s congregations
A common situation affecting many religious denominations is shrinking memberships in their churches. A lack of people sitting in the pews on Sunday mornings normally means less money in the offering baskets and, in turn, less funds for programs in a church. Among the programming that smaller churches sometimes don’t have the funds for is…
June 2015 Rhythm of the Synod
Rhythm of the Synod Faith Notes from the Synod of the Trinity Assembly Meeting Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, PA June 22-23, 2015 It’s a common response for non-Christians to look at a catastrophe and ask, “If God is all-powerful, why would God allow something like that to happen?” Christians will respond to…
First Mobile Church allows anyone to get ‘dialed in’ on Sunday mornings
If no one attends a Sunday morning worship service, does anyone really hear the message? If you ask Pastor Charlie Gross, his answer is a resounding “Yes!” Charlie is the mastermind behind the First Mobile Church, a weekly service that is conducted through his laptop and cell phone from the comforts of his own office…
Third PC’s ESL class provides outreach to Uniontown immigrants
Combine an English is a Second Language class with a group of faith-based teachers and what do you get? You get a successful program that not only helps immigrants become better equipped to live in this country but also a program that provides many other services to those same immigrants through a subtle Christ-like mindset….
Pastors, churches thriving through Small Church Residency Program
Change can be hard. After all, change involves a different way of doing things and sometimes even a new person who is leading those changes. It can be a frustrating and difficult time for individuals who have been doing things their way for many years. And when there’s a whole group of people dealing with…
Small Church Residency Program a helping hand in West Virginia
First-call pastors fresh out of seminary school with plenty of enthusiasm and desire looking for a congregation to begin their ministry. Small churches searching for a preacher to lead them in new and exciting directions. Seems like a match made, well, from heaven. It’s the kind of relationship that is fueling the Small Church Residency…
Hikers turn to Church of the Mountain on Appalachian Trail
Its name pretty much says it all. The Presbyterian Church of the Mountain is just that – a congregation located in the Appalachian Mountains in Delaware Water Gap, PA. What the name doesn’t tell you is that the congregation opens its doors to complete strangers, providing shelter any time of the day, 365 days a…
Where there’s smoke… First PC of Beaver Falls regroups after elevator fire
There are new pew cushions at First Presbyterian Church of Beaver Falls. There’s also a new coat of paint, and the stone areas inside the large, Gothic sanctuary are sparkling once again. It was all part of an eight-month project that was not in the plans for the congregation but that will be a constant…
Award highlights major achievements during Miner’s ministry
“I think for me personally it’s a great joy to just listen and pray and do the work that I need to do and that the congregation has in their heart also.”
What’s in a name? Plenty if you ask Shiloh PC of Oxford
Shiloh Presbyterian Church isn’t “second” to anyone anymore in Oxford, PA. The African-American church that had been known as Second Presbyterian Church for the past 134 years has undergone a name change in part to honor its heritage and also because the congregation is making new strides within the community. For instance, Shiloh recently built…