My congregation, St John's Lutheran Church, in Lakeville, Minnesota has been trying new things. Just this year: we have entered in the Narrative Lectionary, aligned education and worship with a storytime model, and on Wednesdays in the Fall, there will be a new casual worship service. It's been a full year! But we still old … Continue reading Old School – Door to Door

Church #47. Meet Dan Brown. He is the current council president at St John's Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN, and he is the creator and writer of Everyday Bible Conversations (EBC). What is EBC? Everyday Bible Conversations are a self and/or small group devotional to explore how the Sunday morning Bible stories are relevant to … Continue reading Everyday Bible Conversations

There are reveal parties these days for baby gender, for the newly engaged, and for anything, really! So why not with prayer partners for the church's mission trip? In June, 14 people from St John's Lutheran Church went to Wilderness Canoe Base in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota. We did a Hybrid Trip - … Continue reading Prayer Partner – Reveal Party

One of the things I love to do is ask people about the names of their children. When I served as a missionary in Madagascar, a Malagasy friend of mine named her child, Aina [pronounced I-Nah]. It is my favorite Malagasy name, and it is quite common. But the reason why I love it is … Continue reading What’s in a Name?

It's kind of tradition in many churches in the summer to host a Vacation Bible School. Often the routine runs from 9 am to 12 noon. So to change things up, a few years ago, I started offering an after VBS Service Day Camp, 12 noon to 3 pm. Camp is structured different than VBS: … Continue reading Service Day Camp

Starting with Ash Wednesday, people were encouraged to write prayers through Lent. Each week, prayers around the theme of service and hunger were collected. People wrote prayers on hunger in our schools, communities, and world. People wrote prayers for changed hearts and for a love of service. People wrote prayers of love for life and … Continue reading Prayer Paraments

Church #46. March is Minnesota Food Share Month.  St. John's Lutheran Church  in Lakeville, MN was challenged to collect 1000 food items for the local food shelf. If the goal was met, Pastor Heather Roth Johnson and the Compassion Team would create a food labyrinth with prayer stations.  The congregation exceeded the challenge to 1200 items of … Continue reading A Food Labyrinth

Both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary meet up on June 9 at Pentecost - it's the debut of summer! I always find Summer the perfect time to shake things up and try something else. So to jump start your creative minds, here is an optional summer sermon series on The Gospel According to … Continue reading The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss?

Church #45. Meet Julie Blum. She is the solo pastor at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington. Maple Leaf is an urban congregation that worships about 85 on a given Sunday. Blum said, “What I love about this church is how they partner with the community to make Seattle a better place!” With an … Continue reading The Pinterest Pastor

Welcome to Lent! We all love food and feasting around the table as a family. So while you do, use this Lenten Devotional, Feast on This: Table Talk for Families starting Ash Wednesday, March 6, through Easter Monday, April 22. It’s simple to do and takes 5 minutes - read the daily devotional, ask the … Continue reading Feast on This – Lent Devotional