Communities need a “third place” other than work and home in order to flourish. These are common spaces where people can meet and community can thrive. Churches have a unique role in stepping into these “third places” and loving their neighbors there.
Cultivating Community
In our busy lives Sabbath can often be the first thing to go. Here are some practical tips to help you not let that still, small voice that says “Remember the Sabbath” be drown out.
It is hard to underestimate the value of sharing a meal with someone. Hospitality is a way to live out the call to love others ar yourself by inviting people into your home and caring for them. Here are some simple tips for how to love people by being hospitable.
America makes a lot of plastic waste, and—for the most part—churches aren’t very different. Here is a guide to how your church can steward resources well by cutting down on plastic waste.
The Bible is full of God’s creation. The Psalms, like every other part of the Bible, speak of God’s love for creation. Here is a collection of verses referring to creation in the Psalms organized thematically.
Creation care means fighting back the effects of the Fall wherever they are found—even in the kitchen pantry. Here is a basic guide to swapping out some common pantry items with healthier, less processed substitutes to make better meals and healthier families.
Hospitality is a skill acquired with time, but there are a few simple ways to make things a little easier. Here is some advice from some veteran hosts.
The statistics about how many hours a day kids spend in front of screens can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be true of your house. Here are some simple ideas for getting your family away from screens and into the great outdoors.
A creation care task force is a great way to make sure the important task of creation care does not get set aside for more (seemingly) urgent tasks. Learn how to start putting together a small group of informed, interested and empowered people to take practical steps to steward the environment at your church.
It doesn’t have to be true that the larger your church gets the more waste it produces. There are so many ways to cut down on trash: composting, recycling, changing, light bulbs, offering reusable mugs instead of paper coffee cups. And the list goes on. Get started cutting down your church’s waste with these helpful ideas!
When it comes to creation care, connecting the dots between the theological and the practical can be half the battle. We have a suggestion: do it in a group! Here are outlines for five basic Bible studies and some suggestions for how you can form your own creation care Bible study to help both digest the theology and work to put it into practice in the context of community.
A consolidation a of a few of the best resources from Flourish about working for creation care in churches.
Before you buy that next season of your favorite TV show ask yourself, “Does someone in my community already have this?” Before you throw away those old things that have been sitting untouched in the storage closet for three years ask yourself, “Does someone in my community already have this?” Surprisingly often the answer to those two questions is yes.
Where can you experience a thrilling encounter with God? In a prayer garden. Here’s how your church can create one.
