The Rev. Derek Miller plays guitar and leads worship at Cornerstone Church of Spring Green, Nov. 7, 2021, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. RNS photo by Bob Smietana November 16, 2021 By Bob Smietana SPRING GREEN, Wis. (RNS) — The Rev. Derek Miller has seen the future of the church in America. And it is small.
The Love Power Jesus mural is a well-known landmark in Minneapolis. Image courtesy of Google Maps November 8, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — When the Rev. Janet Gullickson heard that churches would be eligible for Paycheck Protection Program loans at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she sprang into action. Gullickson, pastor of Love
Photo by Caniceus/Pixabay/Creative Commons September 17, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — Religion provided great comfort to evangelical Christians in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But according to a study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, their politics made them less likely to see the virus as a threat. Researchers Landon
Hands raised in worship. Stock photo June 28, 2021 By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) — The health of Black churchgoers can differ depending on the denomination and the gender of the people in the pews, Duke University researchers have found, and scholars are urging more nuanced examination of the data to help address medical issues
People wander and find their seats as they wait for the SBC annual meeting at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, to begin on June 15, 2021. RNS photo by Kit Doyle By Ryan Burge (RNS) — The Southern Baptist Convention is gathering in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it
The collection plate is passed during an Easter Sunday service. Photo courtesy of the National Archives April 22, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — In the 1984 film “Mass Appeal,” Father Tim Farley, played by Jack Lemmon, gives a young, aspiring priest a lesson in church finances. Give a good sermon, and church coffers will fill up.
Photo illustration by Christopher Ross/Pixabay/Creative Commons April 19, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — Going to church is generally touted as good for the soul. But there is also evidence church attendance can be good for your health — unless, that is, you are a woman at a church that bars women from preaching or
Musicians perform during a service at Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of Good Shepherd Church April 16, 2021 By Yonat Shimron (RNS) — Pastor Talbot Davis routinely knocks on doors in the neighborhoods around his Good Shepherd Church, offering to pray a blessing over a new home or a new homeowner.
Kat Armstrong, left, with her Sunday school teacher, Beth Moore. Photo courtesy of Kat Armstrong March 29, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — Kat Armstrong didn’t know much about the Bible when she first became a Christian as a teenager. Knowing she was eager to learn, a pastor at First Baptist Church in Houston suggested
A child reads a Bible at home. Photo by Josh Applegate/Unsplash/Creative Commons January 19, 2021 By Jesse Smith Produced in collaboration with the Religion News Service. (RNS) — American churches have long been concerned about retaining the young people who have grown up in their pews. Christian denominations’ websites and publications are filled with analyses of why young adults
