Pastoral transitions can lead to a smooth transition of leadership or can become a time of division and conflict. They can also lead to a renewal, and even restart, of the church. Transition of leadership is a crucial time in the history of the church.

Mission Church, Lancaster PA, is built on the vision that they “are not a church with small groups but a church of Small Groups.” The new normal coming for churches is that small groups will be even more essential than before COVID-19. The church will need to become “a church of small groups.” Small groups will need to be foundational to the church.

Most churches think they are welcoming but the question is, “What does it mean to be Welcoming?” A deeper understanding of welcoming brings us to the point of understanding the relationship between welcoming and assimilating.

One of my favorite preachers, Ray Stedman began a message on Romans 12 with a story about a man who notices a storefront with a book title “How to Hug.” Going into the store he is expecting to find a “how to” book, but instead he finds out it is an encyclopedia on the word “hug.” Stedman then goes on to say, “I have often thought, as I think of that story, that the church is like that. Everyone knows that the church is a place where love ought to be manifested, and many people have come to church hoping to find a demonstration of love, only to discover an encyclopedia on theology.”