I was recently coaching a group of ministry leaders to help them unpack their faith community’s experience with the Innovation Lab’s Community Discovery Package. Guided by the resource, they’d completed community research, conducted in-depth interviews with people in their context, and mapped their community’s current assets, all with the hopes of uncovering new opportunities for […]
I stumbled upon a prayer this week called, “For when you’re tired of broken systems,” and this excerpt remains lodged in my mind: Oh God, how blessed are we who cry out to you: Empower us to see and name what is broken, what is ours to restore. Guide us to find coherent and beautiful […]
Young people are not the future of the church. They are the church. At CYMT, we equip leaders to develop effective ministries with young people and empower them to set an example for ALL believers. The average youth minister impacts the lives of over 400 youth and their families. We invite you to invest in youth […]
Saying, “no,” can be a really hard thing to do. I experienced this firsthand while serving on my church’s missions team for many years. The requests that came to our committee seemed never-ending. Members of the church brought us information about community organizations that needed assistance. Fellow committee members had their own passions and advocated […]
Faith communities are often searching for the next great idea that will help grow the church. But what if doing less is actually the key to improving your ministry?
The first step in product thinking, as Nikkel Blaase writes in an article for the Interaction Design Foundation, is to “determine the problem that your users are looking to solve.” When done well, determining a user’s problem begins with researching the user’s lived experience. From there, a product is developed and tested that intends to […]
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is all over the news lately. From healthcare to finance to education, industries around the globe are investing billions of dollars to develop apps and programs run by AI that will solve problems, answer questions, and streamline systems. Even a Catholic non-profit recently joined the trend by creating an AI priest […]
The season of Advent needs a refresh. That’s because, somehow, one of the greatest stories ever told has grown stale in many churches around the country. Many faith communities mark the season with the same traditions they’ve observed for decades, like the hanging of the greens, lighting the Advent wreath, live nativity, children’s pageant, and […]
Here at the Innovation Lab, our Innovation Culture Index (ICI) assesses a faith community’s culture by revealing its strengths and areas that need to improve so innovation can take root effectively. The ICI measures what we call the Nine Indicators of Innovative Potential, which are essential cultural characteristics for enacting change and embracing creativity in […]
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