I like practical ideas that can bring more theoretical concepts to life.
In 2013 and 2014, Church in a Circle blog by Kath from Western Australia described how she and her husband tried many different ways to make church more active than passive, more sharing than monologue, and hence more interesting and effective.
Unfortunately the blog was hacked, and no longer exists – except courtesy of the Wayback Machine. So here, with Kath’s permission, I have resurrected some of the pages.
10 principles which could transform your church practices – permanently
15 years of experience condensed into 10 principles that that engage, equip and empower God’s people
7 ways to turn your passive church service into an active learning experience
A few simple ways to make the learning experience in church active and engaging, and switching people’s brains on.
10 reasons to stop sermons and use other learning tools
Why churches might rely less on one-way preaching and try using an interactive approach.
Flip the classroom, flip the church
What if people learnt at home using online resources and then church was a time of learning from each other?
Let your congregation preach the sermon next Sunday
An innovative way to use active learning to motivate and teach, and help the congregation discover new skills.
Transition ideas for churches
Ways to make gradual change from passive to active learning.
The results are in – people prefer short sermons followed by discussion
A quick survey showed what we probably all know – most people prefer to have an opportunity to share ideas rather than just listen (or fall asleep!).
Efficient or effective? Rows vs circles in church
Rows are efficient use of space, but circles are more efective in involving people.
If form follows function, perhaps we need to redesign our churches
Thye New Testament emphasises our fellowship together with the common phrase “one another”,. What if we set up our churches to emphasise fellowship?
Open Space – harnessing the power of circles
There’s more life in the coffee break than in the program. Does that tell us something?
Hidden messages in pulpits and pews
9 messages people receive when they see the average church set-up. Are they messages we want them to receive?
Stop bringing people to church, and start sending God’s church to the people
Inviting people to come to church used to be effective, but now it seems better to be meeting people in ordinary life.
Troublemakers in the church? Or just people asking the right questions?
The church has a long history of pot-stirrers and righteous troublemakers. Every now and then, a group of people start asking questions from within, disrupting the peace, challenging the system, and driving the church back to biblical principles.
There’s more to come, when I get time.