Articles for tag: Demographic Shifts

October 10, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Eldership

Reorientations for Rural Elders

By Jim Estep As a freshman in college, my first preaching ministry was with Elm Fork Christian Church in Nicholasville, Kentucky. When I arrived, 8 people attended the church. Not 18, not 80 . . . 8. Moreover, the church did not have electricity or indoor plumbing. There was literally a two-seater outhouse out back with a sign that read, “Pastor”s Study.” Fortunately for me, I never used that “Pastor”s Study”! The only source of heat in the winter was a makeshift wood-burning stove. Even the hymnals dated back to the early 1900s. Since my tenure at Elm Fork in

April 22, 2011

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

Â¿Hablas Espanol?

By Kent E. Fillinger The odds are good that the face of your neighborhood has changed in the last decade, regardless of where you live, because “between 2000 and 2007 alone, the number of Hispanics grew in 2,991 of America”s 3,141 counties.”1 A recent Pew Research study said that “using 2009 population estimates from the American Community Survey, Hispanics accounted for 51 percent of the nation”s population growth since the 2000 Census. From 2000 to 2010, the nation”s population grew 9.7 percent. From 2000 to 2009 (the last year available), the Hispanic population grew 37 percent.”2 Another study said by

April 18, 2007

Mark A. Taylor

Church Leadership Leadership Development

Change Is

Tom Ellsworth urges patient, listening-first leadership when guiding change in smaller churches. Mark A. Taylor introduces a book excerpt on helping town and country congregations respond faithfully to demographic shifts and unchosen change.