Two movements among Christian congregations in the U.S. today, churches with multiple locations (multisite) and leadership development (discipleship), continue to gain momentum as new innovations are being introduced. In addition, perhaps in an even newer development, a growing number of churches are intentionally developing a culture of generosity, an effort to help carry the gospel message outside the church, says the director of new media and technology for the Leadership Network.

"The multisite (one church, multiple locations) movement continues to gain momentum," Todd Rhoades, of Leadership Network, told The Christian Post via email. "We're seeing no slow down at all in the number of churches being involved in multisite ministry. In fact, we're seeing new waves of innovation in the movement itself: including international campuses, online campuses, the move from big cities to rural environments, and more churches partnering to redeem facilities and struggling churches through church mergers."

Rhoades, along with Leadership Nework, hosted a webcast conference on Tuesday called, Church Innovate North America. Guest speakers, which included pastors from around the country, spoke about multisite churches, leadership training, and generosity. more >>

A large Texas-based Episcopal congregation has announced that it exceeded its goal of $25 million for a capital campaign to fund the building and expansion of its facilities.

Church of the Incarnation of Dallas, the sixth largest Episcopal church in the United States, announced the total amount Sunday morning that resulted from their campaign, dubbed "Lift High The Cross."

Bishop Anthony Burton, Rector of The Church of the Incarnation, told a large crowd gathered just outside of the main sanctuary, "The Holy Spirit has been doing incredible things here and this morning marks an historic milestone. This capital campaign has been in planning for three years." more >>

Editor's Note:  This is the first part of a four-part series based on the new book, Aliens in the Promised Land: Why Minority Leadership Is Overlooked in White Christian Churches and Institutions.  The series will look at racism and multi-ethnicity in the church from the perspective of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American Christian leaders.  

In Aliens in the Promised Land: Why Minority Leadership Is Overlooked in White Christian Churches and Institutions, nine evangelical theologians write about their personal experiences as minorities interacting with white evangelical institutions. They also offer practical solutions to help evangelicals overcome racial divisions and build multi-ethnic institutions that more accurately reflect the image of God.

The Christian Post will be publishing a series of interviews with some of the book's contributors over the next week. The book will also be introduced at a launch party Tuesday night at Calvary Baptist in Washington, D.C. more >>

Reported cases of priest abuse from last year have been the lowest since 2004, according to an annual compliance audit of Roman Catholic Church dioceses in the United States.

In 2012, there were six credible cases of abuse found of 34 claims, with 15 of those allegations still under investigation, reported the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

The audit itself was performed by StoneBridge Business Partners, a multinational organization founded in 1994, on behalf of CARA. more >>

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking announced this week that he would not be attending a major academic conference in Jerusalem in June as a way of showing "respect" for the Palestinians' academic boycott of Israel. In response, one rabbi said Hawking was joining the Church of Scotland in "demonizing" Israel.

"I was looking forward to hearing the iconic Stephen Hawking," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in an article for Fox News. "After agreeing to deliver the coveted keynote in Jerusalem, the highly unorthodox Hawking, who has visited Israel four times, has caved to the prevailing virulent anti-Israel orthodoxy among the United Kingdom's elite and announced he'll boycott because of Palestinian protests.

"It's interesting that Hawking, who is a principled atheist, has some kindred souls among theologians of the Church of Scotland." more >>

The sixth largest Episcopal church in the United States will soon begin looking towards expanding its facilities to accommodate its growing Texas-based congregation.

The Church of the Incarnation of Dallas will be announcing Sunday the results of their capital building campaign, "Lift High the Cross", which is also the name of an early 20th century hymn.

The Incarnation's congregation has increased by 35 percent since 2008, with a regular attendance presently around 1,300, but expected to reach 2,000 within ten years. more >>