Gearing up for the Holidays in Ministry
As ministry leaders gear up for the busy seasons of Advent and Christmas, it’s important to have resources that support both practical planning and spiritual nourishment. Here are some tools, guides, and ideas to help you prepare for a meaningful and engaging holiday season.
Church Mental Health Summit
Your church has the unique opportunity to be a place of purpose, belonging, and hope for your community.
You can reach the lost, the broken, the hurting. And you can be the best expression of Jesus to them. But how do you reach a lost world in need without understanding who they are?
Join the Church Mental Health Summit to better understand the needs in your community. What if free access to this summit made all the difference in reaching the lost?
Cultivating a Spirit of Gratitude in Your Congregation: Giving Thanks to God for Everyday Moments
As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us pause to count our blessings and give thanks for the big things in life—family, friends, health, and provision. But gratitude can be so much more than a once-a-year reflection. It’s a spiritual practice that, when cultivated daily, deepens our awareness of God’s presence in the ordinary moments and fosters a spirit of joy and contentment within our communities.
So how can we help our congregations not only experience gratitude during Thanksgiving, but also nurture it as a daily spiritual discipline? Let’s explore some creative ways to guide your church into a habit of recognizing God’s goodness and expressing gratitude in every season.
Introducing: The Ministry Forum Podcast
Today the final piece in the puzzle that is Ministry Forum is dropped into place - The Ministry Forum Podcast. This will be an experiment for us to see what our audience most appreciates.
5 Tech Tools to Boost Efficiency in Ministry
5 practical tech tools that can handle those everyday challenges—like scheduling, writing, and content creation—so you can get back to what matters most: serving your people.
Getting Started with ChatGPT for Church Ministry: A Beginner’s Guide
In this guide, we’ll walk through how ChatGPT can become that helpful companion in your ministry, no matter how familiar—or unfamiliar—you are with technology. The good news is that it’s simpler than you think!
Truth and Reconciliation Through Worship
Worship is not just a time for praise but also for reflection, lament, and commitment. When we include elements of Truth and Reconciliation in our services, we:
Acknowledge the Church’s role and recognize the harm that has been done, particularly in the context of residential schools and colonialism, and taking steps toward healing.
Create Space for Lament, acknowledge the pain and suffering endured by Indigenous peoples, while offering prayers for healing and justice.
Celebrate Indigenous wisdom by incorporating Indigenous spirituality and cultural elements can enrich our understanding of God and creation.
Commit to Action as worship inspires and motivates us to take tangible steps toward reconciliation beyond Sunday morning.
Indigenous Stories Book Club
Starting an Indigenous stories book club in you church or small group is more than just adding another event to the calendar—it’s an opportunity for real transformation. As we listen to the experiences of Indigenous peoples through their own words, we begin to see our shared history in a new light. These books invite us into conversations that matter, challenging us to confront uncomfortable truths while offering a pathway to deeper understanding, empathy, and healing
Indigenous Ministries of the Presbyterian Church in Canada
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. How will you be marking this day in your ministry context? For those in our Presbyterian Church in Canada community, I’d suggest supporting one of our Indigenous ministries.
Knox’s Book Club Bingo - Summer ‘24
Over the summer the faculty and staff at Knox College participated in Summer Book Club Bingo. We’ve curated a list of all of the books that were read and we’re sharing the board in case you’d like to try a version of it in your own ministry context (or event a solo journey). Have we mentioned how much we LOVE books at Ministry Forum?
Ministry Forum Podcast Coming October 1st
Coming Soon” no more… well, it is still coming soon officially but to whet your appetite check out our Ministry Forum Podcast teaser here.
A Bible Study for the Whole Congregation
As ministry leaders, we often find ourselves juggling a myriad of responsibilities—sermons to prepare, pastoral care to offer, meetings to attend, and programs to lead. With so much on our plates, adding one more thing—like leading another Bible study—can feel overwhelming.
That’s where Catching the Spark: A Dynamic Bible Study Series can be a gift for you and your congregation this fall.
Preaching Refresher - Session 2
The biblical text lies at the heart of preaching. How do we enter into the text in creative ways that will allow us to speak a fresh word to our communities? We will explore playful approaches to exegesis and preaching that will inspire and revitalize your relationship with the biblical text.
Resource Hub - Now Available!
The Resource Hub is now available!
Whether you’re involved in preaching, pastoral care, youth ministry, or any other aspect of church ministry, we hope this collection of tools, articles, and guides is helpful in your context.
Meet the Ministry Forum Interns ‘24-’25
We are delighted to introduce you to our new Ministry Forum Interns!! Starting this Fall, as a part of Knox College’s commitment to Student Support and Experience, we’ve created some capacity to hire two Interns who will be working alongside us for this academic year.
Flourishing In Ministry
One of my favourite books, that I’ve mentioned before, is Flourishing in Ministry by Matt Bloom. I think everyone who serves as a minister should read it - and I think it should be required reading for congregational leaders too. I think many of the concepts also translate to other areas of ministry leadership.
The Reality of Clergy Burnout in 2024
Inspired by the webinar “Preventing Burnout and Promoting Flourishing Among Clergy” from Common Table Conversations, let’s have a conversation about Burnout as we approach the fall—a time when work new expectations, meetings, and initiatives begin to pile up, and your next season of rest seems to be a million miles away.
Knox Counselling Centre
As a part of Knox College’s commitment to serving the Church and the wider community, we are delighted to share the news of the soft launch of our Knox Counselling Centre.
Transitioning from Summer to Fall in Ministry
As the relaxed pace of summer gives way to the bustling activity of fall, ministry leaders often find themselves navigating a whirlwind of events, meetings, and programs. It can feel like you blink and suddenly it’s Advent, with a non-stop flurry of autumn activities and the resumption of weekly meetings. In the midst of this transition, it’s crucial to bring moments of rest, balance, and self-care into your routine to prevent burnout.
Here are 5 tips to help you embrace this seasonal change mindfully.
Community-Based Ministry
As someone who spent over 20 years cultivating an intentional community-based ministry in Guelph at St. Andrew’s PC, I can attest to the meaningful connections forged with community members, organizations, businesses, and local government. This ministry was invigorating, often leaving me in awe at the conversations and activities that made a real difference in our city.
While this approach didn’t always translate to numerical growth in the congregation, it opened doors to incredible ministry opportunities—providing pastoral support to community leaders, being called to the hospital in times of crisis, and offering unexpected financial and prayer support to those in need.