September 8, 2010 – 7:41 am
Evangelism or Discipleship? Which will your church be known for? I have heard the debate before…do we want an evangelistic church or a disciple making church? Which is more important; discipleship or evangelism and where should a church put their energy and focus? Are we to just go deep in discipleship where we are after “quality” [...]
September 2, 2010 – 2:32 pm
We looked last week at the term plateau, church health, and church growth. Let’s think some about how to get off the plateau. Kirk Hadaway has conducted much research over the years with Southern Baptist churches in particular. He also attempted to determine the characteristics of plateaued churches and what he called, “Breakout churches”–those that [...]
August 31, 2010 – 7:59 am
We use these terms all the time when we are attempting to share about how our churches are doing, so let’s define what we mean by these three terms: plateau, health and growth. Plateaued: A plateau is a relatively level or stable period in the life of an organization. The word itself denotes a ledge. [...]
August 22, 2010 – 6:32 pm
1. Teach your members the difference between “having friends at church” and “being genuinely friendly to guests.” • People come to church looking for a friend not looking for a friendly church. • Churches are friendly but it is usually to each other, not to new people. • We have one chance to connect with [...]
August 14, 2010 – 3:03 pm
In 1870, the Methodists were having their annual conference in Indiana. The presiding Bishop was asking a group for an interpretation of current events, when the president of the college where the conference was held volunteered his input: “I think we are living in a very exciting age. I believe we are coming into a [...]
This series of blogs will help you keep the people you reach and help you discern if your church is more like Teflon or Velcro? We have a twofold challenge…getting new people to attend and getting people to stick after they join and not slide off. Without new people coming to Christ and joining your [...]
These series of blogs will help you keep the people you reach and help you discern if your church is more like Teflon or Velcro? We have a twofold challenge…getting new people to attend and getting people to stick after they join and not slide off. So is your church currently more like Velcro, people [...]
These series of blogs will help you keep the people you reach. One of the challenges churches face today is not only getting new people to attend but getting people to stick after they join and not slide off. Would you say your church is more like Velcro (people stick) or teflon (people join and [...]
Religion News Service reports that a new Gallup Poll found that Americans’ self-reported church attendance has increased slightly since 2008. When asked “How often do you attend church, synagogue, or mosque?” 43.1 percent of Americans in 2010 said they attended church “at least once a week” or “almost every week.” That’s up from 42.8 percent [...]
Many of us have been impacted by an old book written by a young brilliant German theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the book, The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer could have left Germany to teach in America and avoid what was happening in Germany in the 1930’s. He struggled with the decision. Ultimately he declined the teaching offer, [...]