Worship music: Big churches sound alike. Little churches are the ‘Wild West’ of music, study finds.

US-based worship professor Will Bishop said that focusing on the most popular worship songs can miss what churches are actually singing. BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Downsizing: Why the minichurch is the latest trend in American religion

BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, looks at churches that are embracing the small…
‘Growing small’: Amid a boom of plus-sized churches in the US, one Catholic church wants to keep it small

YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports on North Carolina’s Mother Teresa Catholic Church bid to stay small…
More than $US689,000 raised for small US churches at risk of closure during COVID-19

RNS The coronavirus pandemic hit pastor Kato Hart’s Detroit storefront church hard. Finances dwindled to almost nothing. Rent and utility bills went unpaid. All the while, neighbours were losing jobs and seeking unemployment. His church, Hold the Light Ministries Church of God in Christ, prides itself on “being a servant in our community,” so not […]
More than $US400,000 so far raised for small US churches at risk during COVID-19

RNS An initiative that seeks to financially help small and struggling churches in the wake of COVID-19 has raised more than $US400,000 and received nearly 1,000 applications for funding. Through the Churches Helping Churches Initiative, a relief fund was set up to provide $US3,000 grants to churches at risk of closing due to a decrease in financial […]
Church impact: During pandemic, small and aging US churches face obstacles to adapt

ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, reports on how smaller and older churches in the US are working to stay afloat in the midst of the coronavirus crisis…
Essay: Why churches should not measure their growth against the economic boom

In an article first published on Religion News Service, ARTHUR E FARNSLEY II, associate director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI, looks at why, despite the financial advantages of megachurches, smaller churches remain important in the US…