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Are we ready to meet the next generation in the digital spaces they already call home? This post explores how followers of Christ can shift from being mere screen consumers to active creators to build online neighbourhoods that foster genuine discipleship and evangelism.
Drawing on recent Canadian research, this blog explores the vital synergy of religious transmission between parents and congregations. By shifting from rigid instruction to a model of “gracious choice” and active participation, churches can provide the necessary scaffolding for the next generation to “believe, behave, and belong.”
Concerns of American annexation are not new to the Can-Am dynamic. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick seemed fated to become the 14th colony in the early days of the Revolutionary War (1776-1783). After Britain defeated France in the mid-1700s, the Acadian (French) inhabitants of those lands were deemed too French to occupy such valuable real estate. After the expulsion of the Acadians, the Crown invited interested colonists from the south to populate these regions with more loyal subjects.1 This was the birth of the Nova Scotia New Englanders—a group of people named for their new colonial location and their place of origin. When, just twenty years later, the members of the 13 colonies declared their independence from the British Crown, it seemed a natural fit for these former New Englanders to join the cause.
The truth about churches discipling children and teens is they are doing so in a religious transmission ecosystem that includes and depends upon parents, schools, peers, media and social media, and other adult influences. Drawing on recent Canadian-based research, this blog explores some of the challenges congregations confront when discipling children and teens and offers some ideas for churches who want to help the next generation “believe, behave, and belong” as religious groups might wish.
Are you a leader who is Catholic or a Catholic leader? This is one of the fundamental questions for participants in the Certificate in Catholic Leadership program at St. Jerome’s University. This non-credit program runs on an employer sponsorship model; organizations such as school boards, parishes, and non-profits send a range of participants for the year long experiential program that includes lectures and other foundational teachings, a local or international service learning experience, a cohort retreat, and a capstone project that brings something back to their home organization. Participants are supported both by liaisons at their organization and assigned mentors. The program was designed to meet the needs articulated by church and school leadership who identified a need to help form leaders and engaged laity. In particular, a gap was identified for people who need more than a workshop or in-service training but want something less than a Masters degree– either because they are in the season of family life that might make a traditional program too much of a commitment or because they are already (multiply) credentialed and simply want something more focused.
When it comes to religion, Canadian and American young adults display a remarkable similarity on at least one point: they’re hungrier for transcendent truth and more interested in matters of faith than previous generations. That’s just one key finding after think tank Cardus partnered with the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) to survey 5,000 Canadians and 5,000 Americans on the state of North American religiosity and faith in public life. This commonality between Canadians and Americans aged 18 to 34 stands in marked contrast to what this massive survey found more generally—that religion is different and operates differently on either side of the Canada-US border. (If you’re interested in those differences, you can read more about them here and here.)
Two habits that Canadian Christian pastoral leaders gratefully practice are patience and intentionality, as revealed through the research study “Greatness” in Canadian Congregations. This study, part of the Divine Pulse Project from the Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research – Wycliffe College, Toronto, is a qualitative research study exploring church growth through the lens of Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” principles as outlined in his bestselling book.
I am an editor for the journal Post Christendom Studies. In the most recent issue we asked a number of scholars to reflect on the 2021 Canadian census with a view to understanding the implications of religious trends in Canada on the church today. The 2021 Canadian census confirmed trends in religious habits that are now cemented into the Canadian identity. It offered a picture of the reality that Canadians are increasingly less inclined toward participating in structured religious activities and are less inclined to belief in God. While there may not have been any great surprises in the latest census data it depicts some sobering realities for anyone engaged in church leadership. The diverse group of scholars, from Canada and elsewhere, came up with a number of thoughts that have implications for ministry in Canada and North America today. Here is a sampling of them.
This is a recording of a webinar related to our book, The Stories Congregations Tell: Flourishing in the Face of Transition and Change. This webinar includes two of the authors, Arch Wong and Joel Thiessen, and three practitioners including Sarah Han, Linda Nicholls, and Father James Mallon. This webinar was originally hosted on April 1st, 2025.
This video, hosted by Rev. Dr. Sara Han, explores how preaching can ignite a transformational spark by helping listeners actualize their eternal identity in Christ. Drawing from coaching principles like unlocking potential, looking forward, and co-active journeying, this talk equips leaders to disciple others into deeper spiritual growth and lasting transformation.
Dr. Ross Lockhart shares highlights from his recent research project studying 14 Christian communities in Vancouver, British Columbia where the major of the city’s population now identifies as having “no religion.” Lockhart provides a summary of his findings with suggestions on areas for pastoral leaders to focus on in order to connect with their secular neighbour.
