Still Waters

Interactive Prayers Stations on Church’s Vision & Mission & the Good Samaritan

“preach good news to the poor… proclaim freedom for the prisoners… recovery of sight for the blind… release the oppressed… proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4.18) Many churches have a mission statement, but it is good to provide opportunity for parishioners to reflect on the mission statement and how they participate in the…

July 20, 2011

Theresa Cho

Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Luke, Scripture

Band-Aids, Candy, Children, Crayons, Crosses, Erasers, Good Samaritan, Hammer, Intergenerational, Markers, Nails, Paper Bags, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Vision, Worship
Interactive Prayer Stations on the Parable of the Sower

. . . the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13.23) The parable of the sower is an opportunity to examine how we respond to the Word…

July 12, 2011

Theresa Cho

Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Matthew, Scripture, Worship

Bean Seeds, Children, Corn Seeds, Crayons, Glass Blocks, Intergenerational, Markers, Pumpkin Seeds, Sand, Soil, Sower & Seeds, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Water, Worship
How to Revive a Dying Church

And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. (Ephesians 17-19)…

July 9, 2011

Theresa Cho

Dying Churches

Change, Leadership, Revive
Interactive Prayer Stations on Evangelism, Discipleship, Servanthood, and Diversity

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4.15-16) This interactive…

July 5, 2011

Theresa Cho

1 John, Big Tent, Ephesians, Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Scripture, Worship

Cocoa, Discipleship, Diversity, Embossing, Evangelism, Feathers, Heat Tool, Intergenerational, Kool-Aid, Love, Markers, Paper Dolls, PCUSA, Pom Poms, Poster Board, Projector, Servanthood, Spices, Stamps, Tissue Paper, Video Camera, Wiggly Eyes, Worship, Yarn, Youth
10 Ways Pastors Muck It Up

After posting a blog about my observations of a dying church, there were comments given that made me think it wasn’t a bad idea to blog about ways pastors can muck it up as well. After all as the saying goes, “it takes two to tango.” Certainly in my experience I have observed and witnessed…

June 20, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Dying Churches, Leadership, PCUSA

Leadership, PCUSA
How to Shape Conversations in the 21st Century? Part II

20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18.20) Back in February, I led a process sponsored by the six agencies of the General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (Office of General Assembly, Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, Presbyterian Church Foundation, Investment and Loan…

June 19, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Dying Churches, Leadership, Matthew, PCUSA, Presbytery of San Francisco, Racial Ethnic, Scripture, Urban Legacy Convocation

Change, Leadership, PCUSA
Interactive Prayer Stations on Gratitude & the Ten Lepers

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17.17-18) The parable of the Ten Lepers is an opportunity to examine how we respond to the blessings Christ gives…

June 15, 2011

Theresa Cho

Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Luke, Scripture, Worship

Bucket, Candles, Children, Cinnamon Sticks, Crayons, Grapes, Gratitude, Intergenerational, Markers, Paper Bag, Sand, Sandpaper, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Ten Lepers, Worship
Ten Observations of a Dying Church

6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (Matthew 13.6) I recently wrote a blog about how to kill a dying church, asking questions about what to do with so many churches dying. I think the challenge is recognizing the signs that a church…

June 13, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Dying Churches, Matthew, PCUSA, Presbytery of San Francisco, Scripture

Change, Leadership, PCUSA, St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Interactive Prayer Stations on Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday provides a lot of wonderful images to explore the different names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Below are ideas for interactive prayer stations focusing on our relationships with the different images of the Trinitarian God. The interactive prayer stations are meant to be intergenerational. There are also stations designed for ages 2-4.…

June 1, 2011

Theresa Cho

Church, Interactive Prayer Stations, Intergenerational, Trinity Sunday, Worship

Candles, Glass Blocks, Intergenerational, Prayer, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Water, Worship
Unveiling the Barbed Wire Divider

2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the…

May 30, 2011

Theresa Cho

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, Joshua, Scripture

Justice, PCUSA, Peacemaking, Walls