Getting ready for company is an important element to growing churches. Growing churches expect guests each Sunday and spend much energy and time getting ready for their arrival. When the James Gang have company coming to our house I usually do the vacuuming and I must tell you, I am…
Churches spend lots of energy, money, and time enhancing the worship experience. We spend some really big bucks on sound, video projecting, lighting, banners, worship music, etc. That is a good thing, but is it enough? For that matter if a pastor spends 20 hours preparing for his message on Sunday,…
Everywhere you turn we are hearing about the economy and the stimulus package. Honestly, I don’t completely understand what’s contained in this stimulus package, but I do hope it helps our economy and especially my annuity! How did we get in this economic melt down? I don’t have a degree in…
Discipleship is a step (decision) followed by a walk. In the Bible we discover a great one-word description of what discipleship is. Read the following Scriptures… 1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” 2 John 6 “And this is love: that we walk…
John 12:42-43 says, “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” I am…
In my last blog we discussed the research related to reaching young adults and their receptivity to our invitations and ministries. There have been numerous studies detailing who are more likely to visit our churches or join based on all kinds of empirical data. New books come out each week…
Tobin Perry writing for Baptist Press says, “There’s a surprising new description for unchurched young adults in the United States: spiritual. Despite popular reports that young people aren’t interested in spiritual matters, newly released survey data from LifeWay Research and the Center for Missional Research at the North American Mission…
In my last blog we talked about the first four of these nine habits for reaching and keeping people based on research by Dr. Thom Rainer. They were…Habit of Intentionality, Habit of Cultural Awareness, Habit of High Expectations, and the Habit of Clear Doctrine. Here are the remaining five with…
We are all looking for the key factors that reach people and keep them. There are no magic bullets but there are some key indicators. While serving as the pastor of one church, it seemed like every other person I met in the community said they use to be a…
In my last blog post we looked at four of Barna’s Eight Symptoms of declining churches. They were; Demographic Changes, Inadequate Leadership, Poor Management, and Old Blood. Here are the next four with a few brief comments. 5. Building Campaigns “From coast to coast, the roadside is littered with the…
Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.
In John 13:34-35, three times Jesus said, “Love one another.” Your group is the ideal place to practice and launch the kind of love for one another that shows the world that we are His disciples.