Lamenting in Polarized Times
Eight churches in Birmingham, Alabama, took part in a worship renewal grant on using lament in worship. Three years later, leaders from some of those churches talked about how hard it is to practice lament during divided times. Their advice may help your church bring real suffering to God with honesty, protest, petition, and trust.
May 12, 2026
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8 min read
Recovering the “Lost Art of Lament” in Worship
Worship that is faithful to the whole Bible must include lament. A worship renewal grant on making lament a normal part of worship brought together eight churches in metro Birmingham, Alabama. It yielded ideas and practices that can be adapted to any church tradition and context.
Customizable Template for a Vocational Commissioning Service
Most of us spend more time at work than in corporate worship services. Imagine how meaningful it might be to attend a worship service that blesses your vocational field! It would commission you to renew before God and one another your commitment to serve and love neighbors through your work.
April 23, 2026
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1 min read
Experiencing God’s Presence Within Our Work
Mission Chattanooga, an Anglican church in Tennessee, did a grant project that helped workers narrate their experiences in prayers and liturgy. Gathering with people from their vocational fields helped them tune their hearts to experience God in the workplace. You can use and adapt their curriculum to your context.
April 23, 2026
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7 min read
Kathryn Roelofs on Leading Worship for Workers
God cares about workers. But even though work takes up so much of our lives, most church services rarely talk about it. Leading Worship for Workers gives practical ideas to help churches connect Sunday worship to the everyday work lives of their people.
April 9, 2026
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7 min read
HyeRan Kim-Cragg and Mona Tokarek LaFosse on Trauma-Informed Worship
Christians often talk about being one body in Christ, but migrants often struggle to feel that oneness in the Spirit. Some international doctoral students, all migrants to Canada, created liturgies that help recognize and heal trauma.
March 31, 2026
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8 min read
Stephen Vesolich on the Songs of Ascent
Studying, reciting, singing, and praying the Songs of Ascent from the book of Psalms helped Centerpoint Community Church make its worship and spiritual formation more intergenerational. It also gave people a shared language for bringing all their emotions to God. The church created a website to make all of its Songs of Ascent resources freely available.
February 26, 2026
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7 min read
Ministry and Preaching School Transforms Local Church
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — At Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Riveras de Cupey, a new movement of lay formation and empowerment is taking root. The congregation has developed a ministry and preaching school designed to train leaders who, because of financial or academic barriers, have never had access to formal seminary education.
January 20, 2026
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3 min read
Jonathan Calvillo on How Hip-hop Cultivates Community
Sociologist Jonathan Calvillo researches how hip-hop gives Christians in and beyond the church agency to deal with real-life issues and shape their faith and spirituality.
December 22, 2025
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7 min read
Jonathan Calvillo on Churches and Hip-hop
Sociologist Jonathan Calvillo grew up in Latinx Pentecostal churches where church leaders made room for young Christians to express themselves through hip-hop. His life experiences and research explore what churches can learn from hip-hop creatives.
December 18, 2025
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8 min read
Women at the Pulpit: A Church in Puerto Nuevo Opens Space and Breaks Silence
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — In the heart of Puerto Nuevo, a Presbyterian congregation has taken a bold step toward inclusion and renewal by opening the pulpit to laywomen—recognizing their calls, their voices, and their leadership in the life of the church.
December 16, 2025
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4 min read
Becki Graves and Chad Jay on a Creative Lent Celebration
A Bethel University grant project blessed Catholics and Protestants in the greater South Bend area of Northern Indiana. It used Richard Foster’s six streams of Christian tradition to create Via Crucis, an experience of the stations of the cross with visual art, music, poetry, and more.
November 13, 2025
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8 min read
