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 ...

In the last 15 years, First Church experienced a steady decline in worship attendance, ministry participation, and volunteer recruitment. The congregation is aging and many of the church’s programs aren’t as effective as they once were. Average Sunday attendance hovers ...

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 ...

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, ...

Take 60 seconds to try this thought experiment: Close your eyes and imagine a successful and effective ministry program in your context. What do you imagine? How many people are present? What are they doing? What’s your role as a ...

by Meghan Hatcher At the United Methodist church where I grew up, the season of Advent can’t happen without the annual live nativity. Every year the same wooden frame, with last year’s hay still clinging to it, is set up ...

Stephen Ingram Stephen is a 25+ year youth ministry veteran. His books include Hollow Faith: How Andy Griffith, Facebook, and the American Dream Neutered the Gospel, ExtraOrdinary Time: 365 Ordinary Moments with an Anything But Ordinary God; and Organic Student ...

Rev. Robert Sturdivant Robert is the Minister of Students at Trinity United Methodist Church in Birmingham, AL. Robert has been working with middle school and high school students for over 14 years, 13 of which at Trinity UMC. Robert grew ...

Kat Bair Kat Bair is a coach with Ministry Incubators and newsletter editor as well as a full-time youth pastor. She is a graduate of Austin Seminary through the Center for Youth Ministry Training and began her innovation work as ...

by: Meghan Hatcher The kickoff of a new academic year represents a programmatic re-set in most churches. As kids return to school and fall activities ramp up, each September brings immense shifts in the dynamics, participants, and feel of a ...

by Meghan Hatcher Meghan is the director of the Innovation Laboratory at CYMT. She holds degrees in journalism; sustainable development and applied sociology; and a Master of Divinity. Meghan has served diverse faith communities through pastoral leadership, youth ministry, new ...

by: Lindsey Johnson In kindergarten, you learn about trees. My six-year-old son just wrapped up his first year of school and, on the last day, his backpack came home full of school projects that accumulated in his cubby over the ...

by Meghan Hatcher I've been where you are. One of the reasons I’m so compelled by the work we’re doing at the Innovation Lab is because I’ve personally sat where many of our Lab participants sit. When I was in ...

By Meghan Hatcher When I talk with ministry leaders who are applying to participate in the Lab’s cohorts, they often tell me about their innovative ministry ideas. I love hearing what they’re dreaming about, but I’m quick to tell leaders ...

By Meghan Hatcher Meghan is the director of the Innovation Laboratory at CYMT. She holds degrees in journalism; sustainable development and applied sociology; and a Master of Divinity. Meghan has served diverse faith communities through pastoral leadership, youth ministry, new ...

by Andrew Mochrie Andrew is the leader of the Theology Together Program at CYMT as well as a former Innovation Lab Cohort Participant. For more information on our Innovation Lab Cohort Program (which is registering new cohorts now) CLICK HERE. ...

by Rev. Stephanie Dodge Steph is a United Methodist Senior Pastor as well as a former Innovation Lab Cohort Participant. For more information on our Innovation Lab Cohort Program (which is registering new cohorts now) CLICK HERE. In 2016, Glendale ...

by Dr. Andrew Zirschky Starting in the 1990s, a focus on innovation and particularly disruptive innovation began to take hold in business schools and large companies worldwide. In the past decade, that interest has spread to the Church and to ...

By Meghan Hatcher 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 ...

Innovation enacted with intention can transform people’s lives. Consider an example from the medical field: In the early 1990s laparoscopic surgery became commonplace and today accounts for the majority of abdominal surgeries, generally resulting in shorter recovery times, reduced pain, ...