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If you would like receive our free bi-weekly e-newsletter with more information for innovative church leaders, click here.

eGrace iPhone App - eGraceNotes is now available as a free iPhone and iPad app in iTunes.

Community Assessment - Over the next few weeks Monte Sahlin is teaching a class at Eastern State University, and his textbook is Community Assessment for Faith-based Organizations.

Facebook Ministry Edge - Since so many of you have Facebook accounts, we want to meet you there.

Attend Innovation Conference - Early Christianity was a haven for courageous missional creativity. Likewise, early Adventism was a haven for the entrepreneurial spirit. Ten years into the 21st century, it's time to rethink exactly what that means.

Creating Great Greetings - Being new to the community and unfamiliar with the church they visited that first Sabbath, they were surprised to find the front door locked.

Sharing Scripture Sharpens Small Group Discussions - These excellent discussion sheets have been designed to enhance your Sabbath School class or small group. Suitable for photocopying, Sharing Scripture study guides contain thought questions and exercises that...

Andrews University Classes Use Creative Ministry Resources - Rudy Meier, associate professor of mission, has included resources produced by the Center for Creative Ministry in classes he teaches at the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. Adventist Congregations Today is...

Understanding Your Community - Not long ago I went with a pastor to visit the mayor and key city officials in his suburban area. We were trying to find out what religious organizations could do to better the community by supplementing the services of that...

Sharing Scripture in Sudan - Adventists in Arua, Uganda, have a ministry to South Sudan. Over the past five years they have been going into that war-torn region at great personal risk to bring hope through fellowship and Bible study. In 2000, they found

Save the Date - Plan everything else around the sixth annual National Conference on Innovation in Columbus, OH, October 3-5, 2010 &nbsp;<br />

Reconnecting Ministries - You’ve been approached by your church’s nominating committee and asked to lead an initiative to reconnect with missing members.

Adventist Families in North America - Just released data discloses the state of the Adventist family in North America. The reader will find many encouraging findings, a few surprises, and some concerns.

Tell A Friend - Sharing Scripture is now in Spanish & French.

10 Retention Tips - You've been asked to start Reconnecting Ministries in your church.

My Religion Is a Salad Bar - Bret Hamilton died last week of an apparent heart attack. His blog entry just a month ago gives you just a glimpse into the thinking of many who grew up Adventist.

New Quick Start Guide - You've been asked to start Reconnecting Ministries in your church.

New Sharing Scripture - Small groups world wide have been using the Center's English language study guide for years. Sharing

New Sharing Scripture - Small groups world wide have been using the Center's English language study guide for years. Coming in April it will also be available in Spanish & French. Help us spread the word. &nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />

Music & Worship Conference - The seventh annual Andrews University Music and Worship Conference is coming up on March 25-27, 2010. Hosted on the University campus, the event is sponsored by the Center for Youth Evangelism, the NAD Church Resource Center, and Andrews University’s Department of Music and Department of Christian Ministry.

Accessions Largely Immigrants - Manuel grew up in Honduras, a country in the Inter-American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His co-workers were Adventists, but he never converted to the church there.

Greying of Adventism - Heather is in her late 50s. She grew up Adventist in a small, northern town, but gravitated to the Southern Union Conference (the largest in the NAD) where she got her education and met her husband.

Interesting Numbers - The Baby Boom Generation was born between 1946 and 1964. That means the oldest members of this largest cohort in American history turn 64 years old this year and the youngest members turn 46.

Take New Poll - We're always interested in your opinion.

Powerful God Encounters - She would point at any one of us during the song our group was singing and mouth the words, "You introduce the next song."

Donations Appreciated - We only ask once a year that if you've been blessed by this ministry and all the free items we make available to you,

New Year Power - Author Bernard Manning once bought his kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it that said, “Toy not

Too Few Children - Darren and Latisha are young adults who are very involved in their careers during the week and on weekends love to go camping, or do volunteering.

No Ethnic Majority - David works for a company where the majority of the people are Caucasian.

Implementing Spiritual Gifts - In Bermuda two weeks ago, I watched as congregations recognized members who had just completed their Connections Discover Sessions.

News to Knowledge - What you see in the news today often relates to the theme of study in your Sabbath School lessons.

Church Planting Opinion Report Available - Order a report that gives insight into Adventists’ opinions about church planting.

Welcome Home Sabbath November 22 - So many inactive members start thinking about church at the holiday. That’s why the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America designates the Sabbath before Thanksgiving (in the United States) as a day to invite...

Early Years: Wider Christian Community - While our work is primarily in the Adventist community, we continue to enjoy collaboration in the wider Christian community. In the early 1990s we co-published a small groups resource with...

Contemporary Comments Goes to 4,000 - Every week the Sabbath School theme is linked to a current events story in what we call Contemporary Comments on the Adult Sabbath School Lesson. At their request, more than 4,000 people world-wide...

Starting New Ministries - Our mission is to empower the Christian faith and values of new generations so we're always looking for ways to encourage new ministries.

Prepare for Summer Surprise Visits - Now is the time to prepare your church members to welcome former members who decide to visit as part of their summer vacation travel. Check out the training package titled Safety Zone, published by the Center...

A Book for Secular People to Explore Faith - So Much More: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality by Debra Rienstra (2005, Jossey-Bass) is, according to a review in May-June issue of Books & Culture, "apologetics for our time," an attempt to...

Affluence Affects Attitude Toward Religion - New data from a study of socioeconomic class in America sponsored by the New York Times clearly demonstrates that low-income people are more interested in spiritual things. In March 2005 during...

Families Focus of Prayer Requests - Families were the focus of many prayer requests made at the Center for Creative Ministry booth during the 58th Session of the General Conference, held June 29-July 10. A strong family ministry can help families...

Center for Secular/Postmodern Mission - During GC session, we enjoyed visiting with Pastors Jim Coffin and Jim Appell, directors of the Center for Secular/Postmodern Mission. Coffin also continues to serve as senior pastor at the Markham Woods...

We Heard From You - Two weeks ago I asked you to respond with where you read INNOVATIONewsletter. I realize this is the vacation time of the year and so I'm sure we didn't hear from the majority who read this publication.

Where is the Center Going from Here? - We'll continue to empower the Christian faith and values of new generations. That's our mission statement and it seems more compelling today than it did when we started.

Signs of the Times? - If your view of current events is that times are difficult; Jesus must be coming back soon. Think again. I

Leadership Style - On pages 131-140 in God’s Potters by Jackson W. Carroll, a report is shared about the newly published Pulpit & Pew study on pastoral leadership. The study identified the following leadership:

Sharing Your Faith Every Day - With time at a premium in today's world, the booklet One-Minute Witness shares ideas to take the fear out of sharing your faith with others. The book outlines in simple steps an approach that effectively wins a...

Brad: Visionary Spiritual Leadership - Now Available - Part story, part theology, and part practice, "Brad: Visionary Spiritual Leadership" touches upon many significant issues facing the Adventist Church today. The book includes excerpts from sermons and papers...

Register by September 12 for Innovation Conference - The 2005 National Conference on Innovation, scheduled for October 2-4 in Columbus, Ohio, will focus on the future of the church. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Leland Kaiser, a health care futurist, a community...

Planning for Stewardship - With a slate of new church leaders in place, it's time to focus on stewardship. The Center for Creative Ministry offers a training package on financial attitudes. The five-session workshop focuses on church...

Connections Copyright Infringement - Recently we have been approached by pastors asking if they can simply photocopy the spiritual gifts inventory out of their Participant Guide and give it to their members without buying a book for each...

Re'vangelism - Be Part of This Event in Person or Through Prayer - Please pray for the Re'vangelism gathering that takes place this weekend, January 27-29, 2006, in Arlington, Texas (near Dallas). Participants in this annual training event will learn to share faith in a...

Living as Jesus Lived - In the recently republished book The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard explores how the key to self-transformation resides in the practice of the spiritual disciplines. Through such activities people can...

Establishing Effective Worship Teams - This two-hour video training seminar with participant's guide is for pastors and elders who want to make their worship services relevant--no matter what worship style the church prefers.

Re-Church Gathering Follows Innovation Conference - I am looking forward to the Re-Church gathering that will follow the National Conference on Innovation (October 1-3). Re-Church begins at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, and concludes at noon on Wednesday,

New Research on Church Growth - NEW RESEARCH ON CHURCH GROWTH&nbsp;<br />Earlier this week, Monte Sahlin attended the annual meeting in Chicago of the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP). This is the group of researchers from more than 40 different religions and denominations that publishes the Faith Communities Today (FACT) series. The group reviewed the raw data from the FACT 2005 survey, a random sample of 880-some congregations of all faiths across the U.S. with a particular focus on growth factors.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />One interesting tidbit: there is a strong correlation between the use of two kinds of electronic technology and church growth: Web sites and electric guitars/basses. There is also a strong correlation between church growth and the willingness of a congregation to embrace change. This is a correlation that Monte found in a denominational study from the FACT 2000 data, so it is interesting that this same factor is showing up in the interfaith sample in 2005. That seems to be a strong characteristic.

Help Members Discover Their Gifts for Ministry - July is often a month when new church officers are starting their volunteer opportunities. As leaders build their teams, finding the right people, for the right places can sometimes be tricky. We have a resource that...

Contemporary Comments Most Popular Feature - We heard from Lorna Whittier today who is the editor for the weekly newsletter passed out at the Fort Lauderdale FL Church. They publish Contemporary Comments on the Adult Sabbath School lesson as a...

Leadership Studies Center Established in Australia - The Burleigh Center for Leadership Studies (BCLS) was established in March 2006 to provide high quality research, development and resources for established and emerging leaders in churches throughout...

Don't Be Surprised - He grew up Adventist but hadn't been to church in years.

Creative Dinners Attract Unchurched - Over a four week period, five “Dinners with Geoff” will be conducted in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The idea is simple–and works. Unchurched friends are invited by the members of new church...

Center for Metro Ministry Welcomes Fellow - On June 5 and 6, 21 people participated in the first annual meeting of the Fellows for the Center for Metro Ministry (CMM). Located on the campus of Columbia Union College, the Center has invited 30 individuals...

Nine Facets of the Effective Small-Group Leader - Almost every church is full of groups--home Bible studies, care circles, ministry teams, discipleship classes, task forces, and more.

Help Us Locate Church-Planting "Mother Churches" - Leadership Network is a well-known organization serving pastors of evangelical churches across America. The network has contacted the Center for Creative Ministry, asking for our help in locating Adventist church...

Calling All Civic Employees - Our Center has been asked to find all Adventists who are employed by their city, county, state/provincial or national governments in Bermuda, Canada or the United States.

One-Minute Witness - Many Adventist congregations in North America are rolling out evangelistic meetings sometime this fall.

Church Plant Flourishes in Melbourne, Australia - Peter Roennfeldt shared an update of the church plant named “Living Waters” on the campus of Gilson College in Melbourne, Australia. It is a Christian school with almost 650 primary and secondary students.

New Church Plant Plants Another Church! - The Gateway Adventist Centre–a relatively new church plant in the Melbourne (Australia) central business district—is planting another congregation at Swinburne University called “Swinburne Gateway.”

Da Vinci Code Sparks Discussion about Christianity - The Da Vinci Code movie has opened, fueling continued discussions. Beliefnet.com has conducted several polls about this book and has posted a variety of opinion pieces.

London Live Caf - Something New! - The aim is to provide a ‘home away from home’ for Aussies and Kiwis – and also other young professionals – who visit London by the thousands each year. As well as a weekly Friday night...

Widespread Interest in Spirituality Poses Challenge - My friend Monte Sahlin shared the following thoughts after a visit to a national bookstore where he found more than a quarter of the new fiction and at least one in five of the new nonfiction titles featuring spiritual or religious themes.

GODENCOUNTERS Takes Place May 26-June 3 - Memorial Day weekend will be special for young adults at the 2006 GODencounters Conference, May 26th - June 3rd, at Forest Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church, 515 Harley Lester Lane...

GraceNotes is Being Used Around the World - If you’re looking for an inspirational thought on spirituality, family, health, growing up, or city living either in English or Spanish...

Does Your Congregation Have a Technology Officer? - A variety of high-tech tools have become increasingly important to the communication of faith and it is time for every congregation to have a technology pastor or director or whatever you’d like to call the...

Bono Can Help Your Ministry - The rock group U2 is one of the most interesting expressions of Christian faith in popular culture today. An excellent collection of nearly 30 sermons--most by 30-something preachers--using lyrics or actual plays...

Announcing the New Innovation Conference - The 2006 National Conference on Innovation, scheduled for October 1-3, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio, will challenge participants to think creatively about the role of innovation in shaping church, education and...

News from Our Friends - As people dug out after a spring snow storm in the American Midwest, my heart was warmed as I learned that a church planting team has formed a “pastor’s support/advisory team which will have the freedom to...

Innovative Ministries in Europe and Australia - Living Waters, a church plant near GilsonCollege in the western suburbs of Melbourne (Australia), presents “exciting possibilities ... with a creative young pastor, Mark Baines. ... During the next couple of months ... will

Help Needed for Katrina Response - Rochelle Webster, a student from La Sierra University, is volunteering in Mississippi with Katrina recovery activities as field director of “WeCare Katrina.” This program assists youth groups and church groups that help...

Featured Resource:Brad - Visionary, Spiritual Leadership - This book is part theology and part story, mixed with numerous insights into issues facing the Adventist Church today as expressed through the life and leadership of Charles Bradford. If you haven’t ordered your copy, get one...

Re'vangelism Energizes and Expands Faith Sharing - During January 27-29, 2006, the Center for Creative Ministry and Faith for Today, and the Arlington (Texas) Adventist Church hosted an annual training event focused on the process of evangelism integrated into all aspects...

Your Free Church Web Site - Have you seen your congregation's new Web site, compliments of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America? It includes information written specifically to be effective outreach to your community. Content is...

Reach Out to the Unemployed - As the world paid its last respects to civil rights activist Coretta Scott King this week, her daughter Bernice preached a powerful sermon about the negative impact of materialism and God's dismay that we have "allowed the

Subscribe Now to Contemporary Comments - Contemporary Comments on the Adult Sabbath School Lesson is designed for leaders, teachers, and facilitators of adult Sabbath school classes. It is thematically tied to the quarterly and created weekly to...

Newspaper Features Loma Linda - Loma Linda, a 21,000-population town in the suburbs of San Bernardino, is the subject of a profile in the January 7 Los Angeles Times. Why? From its beginnings a hundred years ago, it has been dominated by...

Balance is Key When Implementing Innovative Strategies - In the December 2005 issue of Postscript, the monthly e-newsletter of Global Mission's Center for Secular/Postmodern Mission, James Coffin provided food for thought. "One of the challenges facing the...

Share Reports with Us About "Welcome Home" Sabbath - Are you preparing for special visitors this Sabbath? Maybe some who haven’t been to church in awhile? For a sample sermon that welcomes them home, check the following link:

Gracious Givers Package Ideal for Year-End Stewardship - Church members give sacrificially every week, month and year. How often do they get a letter of thanks for the money given or time volunteered to enhance the mission of the Church? Well now you can do just that...

New Book Gives Important Insight into Future of Adventism - You are undoubtedly aware that the Adventist Church is growing at a massive rate in Africa, Latin America and Asia, while the percentage in North America and Europe is shrinking to single digits.

New Year - New Energy for Two of Our Partners Who are Merging - AdventSource and the Adventist Plusline will merge on January 1, 2006, to form a one-stop source of information for everything Adventist. The two organizations have been working side by side in ministry for...

Gulf States Hurricane Help - My opportunity to be in Alabama and Mississippi was at the invitation of the Gulf States Conference. I was there last week to speak first to the pastors and then later to the elders and deacons about Reconnecting...

Gulf States Hurricane Help - I spent last Thursday and Friday cleaning up debris still littering the entire area of what used to be the town of Waveland, Miss. This gulf coast town of 7,100 residents was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in August.

Historic Perspective on Baby Boomers - An assessment of the impact of the Baby Boom generation on the 20th century has been published in the current issue of American Heritage (Boomer Century by Joshua Zeitz, October 2005, pages 32-49), a...

New Resource A Bilingual Vegetarian Cookbook - If you present vegetarian cooking in a setting where either/or/both Spanish and English are used, then this one-of-a-kind resource is something you will be interested in. Flavors of Health, Sabo y Salud is...

Plan Now for "Welcome Home" Sabbath - The fourth Sabbath in November is the recommended date for a special worship and church fellowship meal to embrace those who have been away from the church for a long time.

Innovative Impact Pastor's Leadership Conference - If you're intrigued with the concept of innovation and ministry, you'll want to participate in the Innovative Impact--Pastors' Leadership Conference, November 1 and 2. Early bird registration has been extended to...

National Conference on Innovation - The National Conference on Innovation took place October 2-4 in Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by the Ohio Conference and the Kettering Medical Center Foundation, the presentations focused on visioning the future...

Plan Now for Welcome Home Sabbath - Active Seventh-day Adventists across North America have inactive members on their minds and in their prayers. We know this because active attenders were asked in a survey if they had a direct influence in...

Re-vangelism = Reassuring Evangelism - Unfortunately, fear sells well. Just listen to the news and you'll notice it. Catastrophic, frightening, overwhelming, alarming, dangerous, are often-used words. If you listen carefully you can hear similar...

Celebration Adventist Church Marks Fourth Anniversary - On Saturday, October 1, 2005, at 11:00 a.m., the Adventist church based at Florida Hospital Celebration Health will mark its fourth anniversary. Free and open to the public, the event will feature worship...

A Call to be the Church of the Open Door - Dr. Jan Paulsen, General Conference (GC) president, has set a new theme for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, "the church of the open door." He set this theme in his sermon on the last Sabbath of the recent...

Center for Creative Ministry Web site has New Look - Hope you've had a chance to visit our Web site...

Worship Trends - According to Sally Morgenthaler, a worship consultant who was quoted in the Spring 2005 issue of Theology, News & Notes, worship has changed in American churches since 1975. Now the emphasis is on...

Re-vangelism = Respect Evangelism - The more young adults I visit with the more they tell me that basic respect is lacking in religious circles these days. We don't respect the other person's calendar or pace of life. We don't respect the other...

Extreme Make-Over by Katrina - Hurricane Katrina is being described as the greatest natural disaster to ever hit the United States. Life for several million people has been altered significantly with loss of homes, jobs, and peace of mind.

Re-vangelism = Reconnecting Evangelism - There are many reasons why people stop coming to church; many of them are good reasons. It's usually a "perfect storm" of difficult experiences taking place in the lives of people that prompt them to say, "I...

Spirituality in America - The current issue of Newsweek (Sept 5) has a cover article on "Spirituality in America," including a significant poll that gives some real insight to what is happening both among our church members and the general...

Re-vangelism = Relational Evangelism - A pastor friend of mine was hosting an evangelistic crusade at the urging of his conference officers. The professional presenter was invited and the meetings progressed multiple nights per week for weeks.

Establishing Effective Worship Teams - The Center for Creative Ministry has produced a two-hour video training seminar with participant's guide for pastors and elders who want to make their worship services relevant--no matter what worship style the...

New Data on Church Attendance - Roger Dudley and Monte Sahlin are the Adventist representatives to the interfaith Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP). This is the organization of researchers who study local...

Ministry to Parents of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers - A pastor from Ohio called me just before Christmas. He identified a trend at his church of parents who bring young children to church but who don't attend another adult class or often stay for the worship...

Adventist Church in the News - The December 28, 2004, edition of the Christian Century (www.christiancentury.org) includes a news note about the growth of the Adventist Church by one million members in the past year.

January National Mentoring Month - The wish to try something new is strong at the beginning of the New Year so it makes sense to encourage mentoring to help people expand their goals and develop new skills. With 20 years of experience in...

Bermuda Reconnecting Ministries - Warm breezes blew into the open windows of the Southampton Church this past weekend, symbolic of the Spirit's obvious presence in the packed sanctuary of Adventists eager to reconnect with missing members.

Reconnecting Ministries Testimony and Training - Following the January 8 NAD Reconnecting Ministries training event that took place at the Forest Lake Church in Florida, Pastor Derek Morris received the following email...

Witnessing Tools for Today - The novel "The Da Vinci Code" continues to sell millions of copies and now there are plans to make a major movie on its theme. If you are in dialog with secular people, the topics in this book will come up.

Stop the Violence - Last week ADRA launched a petition drive to stop violence against women world-wide.

It's All About God - Born an atheist Muslim, he converted to a Jewish Christian Adventist. Samir Selmanovic says, “Our ongoing and sometimes violent power struggles over who owns God and what God wants for the world and its peoples are...

Who's Doing TV Church? - Craig Groeschel started a church plant in rented space in 1996, and in 13 years that group has grown to more than 25,000 attenders in 16 locations over 6 states and all are simultaneously linked by technology.

Encouragement Ministry Builds Congregations - In a recent e-mail from Peter Roennfeldt, I learned that in Australia Rick Paynter and the Gateway Family Church sponsor CONNECTING Conferences to support church planting movements based in local churches. A culture of...

Reconnecting Ministries from Bermuda to North Pacific Union - During January NAD Reconnecting Ministries training events took place in the Southern Union, the Bermuda Conference, and the North Pacific Union. In Bermuda...

Make Ministry Decisions Based on Good Research - Did you know about our library of research reports? Each one includes a short description of the attached full-color graph as well as five questions to prompt discussion about the data in a church board meeting, ministries...

New Study Sheds Light on Spiritual Life of Teens - "Bombshell"... "landmark"... "most ambitious national study ever conducted among teenagers about their religious and spiritual lives." These phrases describe a book that has just been published: "Soul Searching--the Religious and...

Reconnecting Ministries Training for Mid-America Union - On February 12, the College View Church hosted NAD Reconnecting Ministries training in Lincoln, Nebraska. Even though it was a mid-semester break for the students of Union College, many of them stayed by and joined...

Arlington Church is a Fellowhsip of Love, Forgiveness and Acceptance - The Arlington (Texas) Seventh-day Adventist Church exemplifies process evangelism, an approach that shares the gospel through on-going fellowship rather than occasional traditional evangelistic series. Its building clearly...

Southwestern Union Hosts Reconnecting Ministries Training

Atlantic Union Hosts Reconnecting Ministries Training - On March 5, the College Church at Atlantic Union College hosted NAD Reconnecting Ministries training. Drawing participants from across the Atlantic Union, the training event focused on equipping ministry leaders in local...

Gratitude Goes a Long Way - I was with a group of friends this past weekend. In our conversation they told me about starting to attend church again at a progressive Adventist congregation. They asked me why that pastoral team talked so much about...

Training for Reconnecting Ministries Available in April - Join us in praying for upcoming training events. On April 9, congregations in Canada are invited to participate in the Open Door Church in Abbottsford, British Columbia. Edwin Hernandez will be our special presenter on April 23...

Seven Signs Discipleship Initiative - If you're not acquainted already, I want to introduce you to a great initiative led by my friends Jose Rojas, Cesar Gonzalez and many other innovative ministry leaders. If Jesus as his primary ministry focus chose to disciple 12...

Church Planting Project Progresses in Colorado - Bobbie Stock has a passion for reaching the unchurched. After participating in church planting training provided by Russell Burrill (North American Division Evangelism Institute), she organized a core group.

Connecting Life and Faith - With many church nominating committees engaging in the process to select church officers for the coming term, it seems appropriate to remind local leaders about the resource Connections that provides the link between personal...

Science Builds Faith: An Opinion - Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, shares the following testimony in the winter 2004 edition of the Christian Networks Journal. "I find the experience...

International Reconnecting - Last Sabbath, April 9, congregations in Canada participated in NAD Reconnecting Ministries training held at the Open Door Church in Abbottsford, British Columbia. The weekend started Friday night with musical praise...

Hispanic Reconnecting Ministries - Last weekend during the North American Division Reconnecting Ministries (RM) training event, Carmelo Mercado, vice president for Hispanic Ministries in the Lake Union, presented compelling presentations in...

Metropolitan Ministry Meeting - This Sabbath, April 30, 14 Adventist congregations in the Pittsburgh area will gather at the Ethnan Adventist Temple for a day of inspiration and training. This may be one of the most unreached metro centers in the United...

Faith in Action - Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) has just published the Faith in Action Study Bible - Living God's Word in a Changing World, a New International Version (NIV) that deepens understanding of the Bible in the 21st Century while cultivating "a...

Feeling Overwhelmed? How the Internet Impacts Life Today - According to a University of California study published in the January-February 2005 Utne Reader, "Five billion gigabytes of new information was created in 2002, the latest year of record. That is the equivalent of the Library of...

A Story of Reconnecting in Pittsburgh - During the day of unity of Adventist Churches held in Pittsburgh, Penn., on April 30, I taught a seminar on organizing Reconnecting Ministries. One of the participants shared her story of two divorces, rejection by church members, and a...

National Conference on Innovation - The 2005 National Conference on Innovation takes place October 2-4 in Columbus, Ohio. The future is headed toward us. And it is in a hurry. Discovering God's designs and purposes for the future of the church and decisively

How Does Your Church Use the Internet? - We're looking for stories about Adventist churches that are using the Internet for outreach purposes. Of particular interest is how people are responding to your efforts. Are people coming to church as a result of your Web ministry?

SONscreen Film Festival - The activity I've enjoyed the most in St Louis happened last night with the presentation of Adventist young adult filmmakers and their work. We met two blocks from convention center in the Roberts Orpheum Theater, a beautifully

A Book to Make You Think - Righteous Riches: The Word of Faith Movement in Contemporary African American Religion by Milmon F. Harrison (2005, Oxford University Press) is an excellent overview of the impact of the TV preachers who focus on a message of...

Protestant Teens are Focus of Major Report - The National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) has published a new report on Protestant adolescents in the United States based on the NSYR survey data. Titled "Portraits of Protestant Teens: A Report on Teenagers in

Andrews University Students Learn Ministry Assessment Tools - Thirty pastors and administrators from across Africa who are enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry degree are gathering as a cohort in 10 days to learn how to conduct community and congregational assessments. Not only will...

Ministry In Metropolis Seminar In Hollywood - More than 300 people packed the sanctuary of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church on June 23 for the 11 a.m. message about Ministry in Metropolis. Pastor Ryan Bell said attendance at the potluck broke previous...

Contemporary Comments Podcasts - Hundreds of people around the world have found our new PodCast and it is automatically downloading to their iPod, MP3 player, cell phone or computer. Are you missing this resource that links a story in the news to the theme of...

A Heart For Cities - If you believe like I do that North America is more the mission field these days than other countries of the world, then you’ll be interested to read this interview in Reinventing SDA Wheel with urban missionaries Greg...

University Students Seek Spirituality - The New York Times cites that matters of faith are finding renewed prominence on secular campuses across the nation (Finder, 2007). Potentially stemming from the current socio-political leadership; or the influx of...

Hear Our Podcast - Contemporary Comments on the Adult Sabbath School Lesson is our most popular e-mail service. Last week we also started producing that script as a Podcast that can be sent to your...

Personal Pastor - Here's a creative ministry idea. Norman Yergen has been a pastor, teacher, hospice chaplain and church administrator. Now working in another capacity, he spends his evenings and weekends as a personal pastor.

Grounds For Belief - Ed Dickerson sat in a coffee shop with a table-full of young adults and talked about matters of faith. What resulted was his book just released by Pacific Press called Grounds for Belief: Change is Inevitable, Except...

Doctor of Ministry Cohorts - This week Monte Sahlin and I have had the opportunity to present to 25 pastors from across the North American Division meeting in Maryland for two weeks of classes as part of their academic work.

Get Ready for Easter Weekend - It’s not new information to you that people show up at your church Easter weekend just because that’s “the thing to do” for a lot of Americans. Are you ready to receive well these new acquaintances?

Explore Ministry Issues - Start your next church business or board meeting by considering some information that enhances ministry effectiveness. Look at the big picture before becoming mired down in the details.

Explore Spirituality - Coming Together is about starting a spiritual formation group whose members seek to find intimacy with God through scripture, prayer, contemplation, and spiritual mentoring.

Growth of Megachurches Explored - According to Mark Chaves in the Christian Century published November 28, 2006, "In every denomination on which we have data, people are becoming increasingly concentrated in the very largest churches, and this is...

Growth of Megachurches - A Model to Consider - In the November 28, 2006, issue of Christian Century, an article by sociologist professor Mark Chaves focused on the trend of churchgoers attending very large congregations: "...people are becoming increasingly...

Revitalize Sabbath School Classes - Ministry-based Sabbath School classes connect participants to each other as well as to the community through service. The Reinvent Your Sabbath School Kit provides the tools that will help teachers combine Bible study...

GraceNotes Now Available in the French Language - For the past 16 months we have had the opportunity to supply articles for 6,000 Adventist church Web sites across North America. We refresh articles three times per week; 6 in English, 2 in Spanish and now 1 in the...

Christianity Increases In the Netherlands - According to early January editions of the Weekly Standard, nearly one hundred years of secularization in the Netherlands is reversing slowly. Among the trends: Christian immigrants are outnumbering Muslim immigrants...

Church Officer Turnover - In a recent study we conducted for the North American Division Church Resource Center, it was revealed that the majority of pastors (63%) report that one-seventh to one quarter of the lay leaders in their congregation are...

Sabbath School Resources - From the United States: “Thank you for the creative and practical perspectives in Contemporary Comments." Oftentimes we view biblical life as something distant/far and away and not pertaining to real life examples.

Center for Creative Ministry Work Featured in a New Book - The work of the Center for Creative Ministry appears in the new, second edition of the class book “Seeking a Sanctuary” by Bull & Lockhart. Just published by the Indiana University Press, the following is an excerpt of...

"Graying" of Adventism (more) - Since the last INNOVATIONewsletter, our readership has shown considerable interest in the short research piece on the "graying" of Adventism in North America. We're glad to hear from so many of you.

Think About It - Spiritual Side of Thanksgiving - Monte Sahlin challenges us to consider the spiritual side of Thanksgiving. "It can be used as a special day to teach how to live from an attitude of gratitude. That's not just a catchy sermon title."

"Graying" of Adventism - The median age for the Seventh-day Adventist community in North America, including the un-baptized children in church families, is 58. The median age for the general public is 36 in the U.S. and 37 in Canada.

Adventist Congregations Today - Forty-one denominations and faith groups, Adventists included, conducted the largest survey of congregations in the U.S. Its purpose was to provide a public profile of the organizational backbone of religion in America's...

Metropolitan Ministry Resource - If you live in a city (or you love the city) you may be interested in a resource we produce that you could easily share with your friends. It’s called City Lights and it’s an online thought piece that is part of a larger...

Discipleship: A Practical Plan for Congregations

Innovative Church Plants Funded by Global Mission - A Postmodern Church Planting Project in Atlanta, a Young Adult Church Plant in Winnipeg (Manitoba), an Echo Boomer Church Plant in Fort Worth (Texas), and a community-based church plant in Pittsburgh...

Past Forward - The DNA of a group becomes embedded in the early days and continues throughout time. What was the purpose of the Adventist pioneers?

C U In Ohio - October 4-6 is the National Conference on Innovation.

Taking Ownership - Over the summer my wife and I have delighted in the company of young adults who have stayed in our home and traveled with us. Each one has given us hours of talk time.

Reaching the Google Generations - Dr. Rodney Stark at Baylor University recently published a book entitled, "What Americans Really Believe." He includes a section in which he claims to show that for Christianity in general, there is no significant loss of young adults.

New Millennial Church Plant - Net Community Fellowship is an innovative church plant made up largely of young adults and teens, an "unchurchy" church, says Pastor Joe Follette.

A New Demographic Profile of Adventists In North America - If the median age of the general population in the United States is 36 and in Canada 35, then why is the median age of the million Adventists in North American 51?

20 Years --- What Have We Accomplished - As I watch the sunset on our 20th year, I can't help but reflect on what God has accomplished through this cause we call the Center for Creative Ministry.

Innovative Approach to Sabbath School Classes - Is your Sabbath school missing something? What if boring became a thing of the past? What if a class became a family?

Re-Church Follows Innovation Conference - Following the Innovation Conference on Innovation, join us for a Re-Church gathering for pastors and leaders of faith-based ministries. The focus will be how to provide leadership for change that really makes a difference in...

Two Dynamic Gatherings - You’re invited to join pastors, administrators, educators, and healthcare providers gathering October 1-3 in Columbus, Ohio...

How to Get Our Current Information - This past week I received two calls regarding newsletters.

Beyond Evandelism - The old saying is still true, "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." This is precisely the case with the communities in which we live and where Adventist congregations are located.

Beyond Evandelism - Peter Rollins is a writer, speaker, philosophy lecturer and the founder of Ikon, an iconic, apocalyptic, heretical, emerging and failing collective engaging in provocative acts of theodrama and ‘transformance art.’

Reveal Worship Conference - Revelation 14 urges all humanity to worship God. So what does that look like in 2009? Surely it includes far more than our consumer preferences of preaching or musical styles; the use of technology or the architectural augentations.

New Adventist Internet Use - It's amazing what the Internet delivers. A person can access almost anything in the world from the comfort of his or her home or work place or even while traveling. Use a desktop, laptop or mobile device; it makes no difference. &nbsp;<br />

Welcome Home Sabbath - People reconnect with your church when you least expect it. That means active members always have to be ready just like the Father was in Luke 15. But sometimes it helps to plan an event or two each year with these persons in mind whom you miss and would love to sit next to again in church.

One Minute Witness - Many Adventist congregations in North America are rolling out evangelistic meetings sometime in 2009. To prepare active members to invite their friends to attend, they may need some quick ideas on how to make that happen smoothly. Folks may also show up in response to your advertising.

Contemporary Comments - More than 7,700 people have been enjoying and sharing our weekly commentary & Podcasts on the adult Bible study guides over the past year.

Spiritual Community - In the past two weeks, a team of us in Walla Walla, Washington, have started a new Sabbath morning gathering to include people who have not found spiritual community anywhere else in our valley. Our invitation was clear; we wanted to attract people who...

Why "Sell' The Gospel? - Does God cringe when humans seek to harness heaven for their own purposes? This is not something new; throughout time humans have done this to impress others, or to control others, or to confirm their own beliefs and practices.

Demanded Tithe? - "Suppose your church made a new requirement for church membership: members must give ten percent of their after-tax income to the church or other good causes. Those giving less than ten percent could still attend church, but would not be considered members in good standing. How would you most likely respond to this requirement?" &nbsp;<br />

No Ethnic Majority - The Adventist Church in North America has now entered an era that the United States Census predicts the American profile will look like in 2030. The percentage of whites has declined to about half of the membership, while at the same time there has been significant growth among minority groups.

Terrible Timing - Word is circulating in right-wing circles that the Adventist doctors on board the plane that crashed in Montana recently were alleged to perform abortions and so God allowed them to die because of that part of their medical practice.

Friendship Evangelism - A pastor called me just this week, lamenting that her members were unprepared to effectively invite their neighbors, co-workers, family and friends to a series of meetings set for later this year.

Chapel Oaks Reconnecting - They've made a list and checked it twice just to remind themselves of the 135 inactive members they know of who still live in the Kansas City area. I had the opportunity two weekends ago to make some presentations there and listen to their exciting initiatives.

Mission Lifeguard - "We are all tired of hearing about someone's latest research on why youth are leaving the church."

Possible Solution - Obstetricians are noticing an increase in visits from pregnant women these days.

Invitation 2 Innovation - Suzy Welch was interviewed recently on the Today Show by Matt Lauer.

Creative Camp Meeting - "I would like to invite you to join us for Camp Meeting at Sea." This is how the letter started that just arrived in our Center's mail box this week.

Millennials on Mission - My Millennial friends are inspiring me. While jobs are scarce and money is tight, they don’t seem to be worrying about how to keep up with the Joneses. In fact they seem more willing to help the Joneses than to envy them.

New Perspective Needed - "We need economic recovery" can be read and heard everywhere these days. I was with www.secondwindsf.org 10 days ago where their stewardship topic that Sabbath addressed this need in a unique way. If we're in a credit crisis we don't need to go back to our debt addiction, we need to recover to something new and healthier financially, emotionally and spiritually.

Faith Meets Innovation - The National Conference on Innovation is an Adventist event like no other. The presenters are exceptional. The accommodation and food are excellent. The networking is priceless.

Adventists Then & Now - The DNA of a group becomes embedded in the early days and continues throughout time. What was the purpose of the Adventist pioneers? What formative stories and events influence us today more than we realize? How can we recapture some of the true essence of those early years?

Cost of a Soul - Should we do a cost/benefit analysis on public evangelism? This is the question responded to by Loren Seibold in a piece published by Spectrum Magazine recently.

Missional Entrepreneurs - Register today for the National Conference on Innovation.

We're All Connected - More than a third of American adults are now on social networking web sites reports the Pew Foundation. More than three out of four of these people sign-on at least once a week, 37 percent each day and another 23 percent every few days.

No Fear, Really? - We sat across the table from each other at the camp meeting cafeteria where I was speaking recently. We had just gotten acquainted. So to make conversation while we were eating I asked, “Why are the security personnel at this Christian camp rented by the Adventists packin’ heat?”

i5: Infusion - Only pay $99 for The National Conference on Innovation.

The Adventist Story - The DNA of a group becomes embedded in the early days and continues throughout time. What was the purpose of the Adventist pioneers? What formative stories and events influence us today more than we realize? How can we recapture some of the true essence of those early years? &nbsp;<br />

Really Re-Connecting - We hadn’t talked since we graduated from high school 30 years ago. But there he was on Facebook asking to be a friend. We compared notes about the intervening years and then he started telling me about some trouble in his family and saying it was a wake-up call to be back in touch with friends who would pray for him. I committed to pray and have stayed in touch. &nbsp;<br />

Calling All Innovators - The National Conference on Innovation is an Adventist event like no other. The faculty of presenters is exceptional. The accommodation and food are excellent. The networking is priceless

Who Are North American Adventists - Before you start generalizing about who an Adventist is, you may want to read this report first. Since we released this report 90 days ago, it has been ‘flying out the door’ so to speak.

World Now More Urban Than Real--New Mission Opportunities - During 2007, a historic shift has taken place: more of earth’s population lives in urban/suburban areas than in rural regions. This change poses tremendous opportunities for sharing the good news of the gospel.

Adventist Urban Congress Spotlights New Ministries - At least 160 people participated in the Adventist Urban Congress that concludes on Friday, July 27, in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to North America and Bermuda, participants came from Holland, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, and Germany.

Review of "Brad: Visionary Spiritual Leadership" - The latest issue of Andrew University Seminary Studies (Spring 2007, Volume 45, Number 1) includes a positive review of “Brad: Visionary Spiritual Leadership” by Harold Lee and Monte Sahlin.

This Sounds Like Abba Newsletter All Over Again - For the last two years, a team of young people has been working passionately on a self-given project. As young Adventists, they found that they did not have anywhere online to congregate in mass to talk and address issues...

Key Indicators of Healthy Congregations - There are five key indicators of healthy congregations across all denominations. These are: spiritual vitality, clear sense of mission, strong financial support, increase in attendance over the past five years and no major...

How to Communicate In a Contemporary Secular Context - Dr. Jon Paulien, New Testament scholar at the Seminary at Andrews University and who will become dean of the school of Religion at Loma Linda University later this summer, is one of the speakers at the National Conference on...

New Church Communication - About one in five people are watching television on line and the rate has doubled in the last two years, according to two independent sources of data. Two thirds of these viewers connect with television programs through the...

Hot Off the Press - The Center’s most recent publication “Mission in Metropolis: The Adventist Movement in an Urban World” has been featured on Adventist News Network (ANN) bulletins and podcasts.

Memorable 20-Year Gatherings - Two of the three celebrations have come and gone since we last visited and what good times we had at each one. In Lincoln NE, the memories centered around the live satellite uplink events where we brought guests from...

Stories About God & People - If you haven’t been there already, I want you to visit http://www.storyharvest.org/index.php produced by my friend Rich DuBose and his team at the Pacific Union Conference. StoryHarvest features true stories about...

New Research About 20-Somethings - According to Nashville-based LifeWay Research, Protestant churches are losing significant numbers of young adults. The August 7, 2007, edition of "USA Today" reported on a survey conducted by LifeWay Research, an affiliate of...

Church Planted In Innovative Outreach In Australia - The LinC is a church plant in the Lansdale area of Perth, Australia. Two of the members of the core group started Café 7 as a business venture and a ministry in the community. Café 7 is a very stylish and fully equipped...

Contemporary Comments Available As Podcasts - Now you can listen to Contemporary Comments while you walk, cycle or do other things.

Changes In the Nonprofit Sector - Since change is constantly affecting our lives, Monte Sahlin provides the following for consideration by anyone who is currently participating in a ministry.

Center For Creative Ministry Board Meets - At least once a year members of our board meet to transact business and enjoy rich fellowship. This year on October 26-28 we met in the home of one of our members, Judi Hewes who lives on Hilton Head Island SC.

What Makes a Congregation Grow - While there is no magic bullet that applies to all situations, here are some insightful indicators that come from the latest Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2005 research report.

We Welcome Donations - The bulk of our revenue is generated by the contracts we take on each year. But just the other day a pastor contacted me with a pressing need for advice and some materials to help move his congregation forward. He had...

Planning Ministry Blitzes - In The New Yorker (Dec. 3 on the cover) there is an excellent article on a mega church in Connecticut (pp 46-56) which quotes a lot from Scott Thumma at Hartford Seminar, the recognized exert on mega churches and also...

GraceNotes is Connecting People - For the past two years the Center has been writing or harvesting inspirational content in English, Spanish and French directed primarily at North Americans, but it appears we are experiencing a world-wide audience.

A Creative Approach To Evangelism - The data is clear, the general public will check out your church Web site long before they will ever set foot in your sanctuary for any type of program.

New Address for Staying In Touch - If you’ve been to our Web site lately and looked at the contact information you have noticed a new address for the administration of the Center. While our Board has encouraged a very decentralized organization, we have...

Twenty Years Ago Is When We Started - As I write this, it seems so hard to believe that is was in 1988 that the Center for Creative Ministry started. Our launching event was Uplink ¡¦88 in Pittsburgh, Pa., hosted by the Columbia Union for the young adult generation of...

Urban Ministry--The New Frontier of Mission - Urbanization is the reality driving most of the changes in our world. Around the globe, more people live in cities than in rural areas. In 1850 there was only one city on earth that had a population greater than one million.

Mission Trip to Toledo - For this summer’s mission trip, members of Toledo [Ohio] First Church focused on the inner city of Toledo instead of going overseas as they have done in the past. The ratio of Adventists to non-Adventists in Toledo is one to 805...

Growth of Megachurches--A Model to Consider - In the November 28, 2006, issue of Christian Century, an article by sociologist professor Mark Chaves focused on the trend of churchgoers attending very large congregations: “...people are becoming increasingly...

Reconnecting Ministries In New England - Even a foot of new snow did not stop fifty-some pastors and their families from gathering in New England Patriot country to thank God for many things and to consider how they could reconnect with family and friends.

Pay It Forward - Many of you may be familiar with the concept of “pay-it-forward.” Oprah Winfrey and others have popularized it in recent years. Rather than pay someone back for a kindness, you simply show kindness to another person in the...

We Started Small - We applied for 501c3 status in 1988 and received a provisional status quite quickly for today’s standards. Our permanent non-profit status came early in the following year. Our board consisted on a doctor, a nurse...

The Early Years: Seminar Tours - In those early years we initiated a seminar circuit under the banner “How to Reach & Hold the Baby Boom Generation in Church”. We went to Orlando, Fla., Chicago, Ill., Seattle, Wash., San Diego and the Bay Area in Calif...

The Early Years: A New Toll-Free Number - Soon after we started ABBA Newsletter in the late 1980s, we realized that if we wanted to be contacted more than by mail, we needed to have a toll-free phone number.

Faith Communities Today (FACT) Research Update - For the past 8 years we have been involved with the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership based in Hartford CT. They have been surveying 40 faith groups (many denominations, Bahai, Greek Orthodox, etc.) to...

Unbelievable Sale On Connections Participant Guides - You have responded with enthusiasm to our extraordinary offer made two weeks ago. What offer, some might ask? Here it is one last time. I know a number of you are ready to help your members discover their spiritual gifts through our Connections resource.

The Church Downtown: Strategies for Urban Ministry - Monte Sahlin points out that the March 11 issue of Christian Century has a major cover article on "The Church Downtown: Strategies for Urban Ministry." It uses Chicago to illustrate a number of recent trends in this arena.

Fall In Love or Fall In Line - Chris Matthews, a political commentator on MSNBC television made this observation about US presidential election politics recently. “Typically Democrats pick their nominee by eventually ‘falling in love’ with one...

Free Newsletters Circulating Around the Globe - We have no idea how many times our content gets forwarded beyond the first recipients, but this is how many have signed up with us to date.

Maranatha Convention In Ontario Canada - It was my privilege to provide one of five major tracks at the annual ministries convention in Toronto recently. This event, traditionally offered at the youth camp, outgrew that venue.

Finding Our Content In the Most Wonderful Places - Our GraceNotes content finds it way onto more than 6,000 Web sites across North America and many more around the world. We’ve also started some content feeds outside of GraceNotes and those are showing up on some great Web sites too.

The Early Years: Adding A Lincoln Office - At the General Conference Session in the summer of 1990, I met Brad Forbes the director of the Pathfinder Distribution Center in Lincoln NE.

Preacher's Kids As Adults Relating to the Church - It is a heart-wrenching thing to spend one's life in ministry and then have one's children leave that faith when they become adults. Yet, pastors' kids often see the least attractive features of church life and are...

Register Now For This Year's Innovation Conference - Inspiring presenters. Engaging participants. Excellent accommodations. October 5-7, 2008, in Columbus OH. We’re going to have a 20-year celebration there and you won’t want to miss it!

Please Recommend Contemporary Comments - Everywhere I go, I’m recommending our resources as you might expect. It never ceases to amaze me how few people know about Contemporary Comments on the Adult Sabbath School (SS) lesson.

Your Prayers Are Requested - Cancer is an unwanted and too frequent visitor among us these days. Just since Friday, three of my friends have died from cancer.

The Early Years: Adventist Communication Network Programs - The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America started a video/audio system to reach all 5,900+ congregations through satellite technology.

Reconnecting In Upper Columbia Conference - Participants from across Eastern Washington, Oregon and Northern Idaho came together at the Coeur d’ Alene Adventist Church recently for interaction and training on how to effectively reach missing members.

The Early Years: New Name Taken 12 Years Ago - It was this week a dozen years ago (June 1, 1996) that we took our current name: Center for Creative Ministry. Our previous name was so long that people were abbreviating it to BBMRC.

The Early Years: Mobilizing Members Resource - In the mid-1990s we were asked by the North American Division to develop a resource package for local churches that provided new ways to mobilize members for volunteer opportunities. We couldn’t think of any better way to...

What Are You Waiting For? - Post cards are being mailed next week to every Adventist church and administrative headquarters inviting people to come to this year's Innovation Conference, October 5-7, in Columbus, Ohio.

The Early Years: New Board Members and New Name - In the early 1990s we changed our name from Adventist Baby Boomers Awareness to Baby Boomer Ministries Resource Center (BBMRC). At that time new technologies were rapidly emerging, changing our lives as well as the work of...

Sharing Scripture Study Guides Can Be Ordered More Easily - “Pacific Press® in cooperation with local Adventist Book Centers® has developed a website to provide online access to churches for viewing and making changes to their Sabbath School standing orders. In the past, churches...

One-Minute Witness - With so many natural disasters happening right on top of each other like the earthquakes in China and the cyclone in Myanmar and the tornados here in the United States,” a pastor asked me this past Sabbath, “what do I tell my...

See You In Ohio In October - If you feel like you’re all alone doing the creative ministry God has placed on your heart, then make sure to be with us at this year’s Innovation Conference, October 5-7, in Columbus, Ohio.

Our New Web Site Is Up - For some months we have been working to upgrade the Center’s Web site. While the fine-tuning is never-ending, you can see the broad stroke changes at www.creativeministry.org.

Mark Finley Speaks About Missing Members - At the Lay Institute For Evangelism (LIFE) in Orlando FL, three seminars were presented recently by Mark who frequently visits with inactive Adventists. While his expressed purpose is to invite someone to an...

The Early Years: Reclaiming Ministries Coordination - In the early 1990s, several Union Presidents in North America urged that a year-long emphasis be given to reconnecting with missing members. This was promoted in large part because these persons had children who did...

Caring For Your Community - A key element of ministry development in any congregation or local ministry is to understand the needs of the people in the local community. These must be put in a national context because most local communities have needs...

Faith at Camp Ida Haven - I had the opportunity last week to be pastor at the Adventist youth camp in McCall ID. Pre-teens are a challenging on a good day, but put them in an outdoor setting with the beckoning call of water sports...

It Won't Be the Same Without You - Two decades ago this ministry started and you’ve been so supportive along the way. We’re only two weeks away from our first gathering event and I’ve been hearing about a good group is planning to come to Lincoln...

Matthew Gamble Ministries - We couldn’t be more pleased to announce a partnership with Matthew, an inspirational speaker world-wide who is now a Senior Consultant with our Center.

Early Years: Our Dozen-Year Anniversary Too - Twelve years ago this weekend, on September 1, 1996, we transitioned from being the Baby Boomer Ministries Resource Center to what we are known as today: Center for Creative Ministry.

Early Years: Sharing Scripture Study Guides - In 1989 we were introduced to the ministries staff in the Gulf States Conference (Alabama, Mississippi & the panhandle of Florida) who were writing a weekly study guide used in Sabbath School classes across the Southern Union.

Reaching Young Adults - For quite some time I have admired the ministry of Allan Martin with young adults. Ministry Magazine recently published an article he wrote, entitling it "Reaching Out: Making a Difference with Young Adults." He hits a home...

The Early Years: ADRA Annual Appeal - For decades, the traditional style of Ingathering (asking door-to-door for money to help in community service projects) was in decline. Adventist officials finally made the decision to change that system and give the new...

Seminaries Use Our Resources for Their Curriculum - Understanding Your Community is a study guide and CD-R resource for the person who is strategic about reaching his or her community for Christ. The package includes a complete kit of analytical tools to understand...

You Are Invited to Our 20-Year Celebration Events - Two decades ago the Center for Creative Ministry started and you were there and so supportive along the way. So plan now to come to one of these events to remember and recognize what God has done.