Rainer on Leadership

Halloween often creates unnecessary tension among Christians. Some avoid it because of its association with spiritual darkness and the occult, while others view it as a harmless cultural tradition centered on costumes, candy, and neighborhood fun. Josh and Sam discuss how churches do not need to retreat from their communities during Halloween.

The post An Honest Perspective on Celebrating Halloween as Christians appeared first on Church Answers.

Sam welcomes Susan K. Pitts and Becky Thompson to the Rainer on Leadership podcast. They are a mother-daughter team who have built their lives around encouraging moms right in the middle of everyday life. Susan has spent over forty years in ministry, walking alongside women and families with wisdom and compassion. She is the prayer director for the Midnight Mom Devotional and co-author of the Midnight Mom Devotional books. Becky has spent the last decade creating resources to equip and encourage the heart of the momma. They are both bestselling authors and Becky is a national speaker who speaks honestly about faith and family.

They are the authors of two devotional books, "Tonight We Pray for the Momma" and "Midnight Mom Devotional" and are the content writers for the devotional content in the "Midnight Mom Devotional Bible." In addition, they have a vibrant social media community on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok where they lead over 2 million mommas in nightly prayer.

The post How Churches Can Better Support Moms in the Unseen Midnight Moments of Motherhood appeared first on Church Answers.

Sam interviews David Graham of Five Loaves Marketing, and they talk about the best ways for churches to utilize marketing resources.

The post Hitting Home Runs with Church Marketing appeared first on Church Answers.

A new Hartford Institute report shows median in-person worship attendance increasing from 65 to 70 since just before the pandemic. That five-person gain may sound small, but it represents a 7.7% increase and moves the median congregation above its pre-pandemic level. Still, the story requires careful interpretation. This is not a return to the church landscape of 2000, when the median congregation had 137 in worship. It is better understood as a modest but meaningful inflection point—encouraging enough to notice, but not strong enough yet to call a trend.

The post Church Worship Attendance Is… Up! (For the First Time in Years) appeared first on Church Answers.

Josh and Sam discuss how to avoid the “always available” trap of shepherding a congregation. Unfortunately, many pastors, if not most, are never truly “off.”

The post The Pastoral Burden of Never Having “Off Hours” appeared first on Church Answers.