In case you missed the June 18 ‘Reigniting Hope: Sharing the Good News in Canada in 2024’ webinar, you can watch the video here and check out the summary here. A survey of more than 800 church leaders from a…
Good news about sharing the Good News
Tag: joel thiessen
Around Town: New Hope fire, The Stories We Tell, Red Dress Day . . .
New Hope is all about building community – and its focus on community was particularly harmed by an act of arson April 25. A Global News story stated: A Surrey-based charity that supports refugees integrating in Canada is reeling from a…
Christian scholars respond to recent StatsCan survey of religion
Veteran journalist John Longhurst relied on his connections with several leading Christian thinkers to elicit some valuable commentary on the state of religion in Canada. Following is his ‘Stats on religion in Canada not surprising for scholars,’ posted on his…
Stats Can study confirms decline in religious participation, especially in BC
Statistics Canada released an ‘Insights on Canadian Society’ study by Louis Cornelissen October 28 titled ‘Religiosity in Canada and its evolution from 1985 to 2019.’ Following are two portions of the 18-page report – the overview and the section on…
A revealing study: The Priority and Practice of Evangelism
A major survey of Canadian church leaders reveals some surprising – and at times concerning – facts about how they, and the church as a whole, feel about evangelism Alpha Canada and Flourishing Congregations Institute joined forces to produce The…
‘Religious nones’ thrive in BC; thoughts on who they are and how to respond
Joel Thiessen wrote this piece for The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, building on his recent book None of the Above. ‘Religious nones’ – those who say they have no religion – are the fastest growing ‘religious group’ in…
COVID-19, science and the nonreligious
In pre-modern days if someone was sick they would commonly pray to the gods or visit a shaman or wisewoman to be healed; perform the correct ritual, take a potion or tonic, and say the right words or prayers. As…
What is a flourishing congregation?
Sociologist Joel Thiessen will address the question, “Is there hope for congregations today?” – based on Canada-wide research – during a day-long Flourishing Congregations: From Understanding to Practice seminar at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford May 4. Following is an…
The Nones: An Evolving Story of Secularity in Canada
Jared Siebert will be leading a conference in Surrey later this month (see below). In the meantime, he has given permission to re-post this comment. The current situation the Canadian church finds itself in could be called a crisis. But…
Insights from Diana Butler Bass, Joel Thiessen and Michael Wilkinson
Two visiting speakers and a new book co-authored by a local professor offer some valuable insights into the state of the church these days. Diana Butler Bass: Grounded hope Diana Butler Bass has been a favourite in mainline church…