Guest Sarah Heath--episode 34

Sarah Heath, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa, CA, joins Chris Abel on this week’s podcast. Sarah tells the story of the restart of a hundred year-old church where all six generations are now represented in one location. A church with a lot of history has weathered a lot of difficult times, and creating change must happen in the context of the experiences that members have carried for a long time. How does one create a new environment amidst individuals who have been bruised and burned over the years?

Church life, innovation, leadershipChris FolmsbeeOctober 4, 2017Comment

Mission trips as millennial strategy--episode 27

It could be that mission experiences are the best starting points for engaging millennials at your church. In this episode we discuss the idea of using service projects as a launching point to connect with the desire of many millennials to gain new experiences while acting on their desire to make the world a better place.

innovation, StrategyBurlapJuly 11, 2017Comment

The generation gap--episode 26

innovation, discipleshipBurlapJuly 4, 2017Comment

How the church is like chocolate--video, episode 24

In today’s episode, Chris Folmsbee chats with millennial marketing expert Brad Hanna about how church is like the chocolate industry. You heard that right…chocolate. Brad also gives some excellent ideas of how the church can begin to interact with the millennial generation in ways besides the traditional Sunday morning service (ever heard of “The Sweaty Section”?). You know what…you should probably just listen to it. It’ll make more sense.

Church life, innovation, discipleshipBurlapMay 4, 2017Comment

What's working today? episode 22

In this episode, Chris Folmsbee talks with Chris Abel about what encourages and discourages him in his work with millennials, the importance of novelty and collaboration in ministry, and the need to choose one's words carefully. We also explore what appears to be a counter-intuitive trend of progressive young people gravitating towards conservative and neo-fundamentalist churches.

Church life, innovationChris FolmsbeeApril 18, 2017Comment