Helpful tips on connecting newcomers and new members to the life of the church.
On May 11, Baptist Press quoted Henry Blackaby on his thoughts about the Great Commission Resurgence. His answers are very insightful to churches on why we are not growing and reaching this culture with the Gospel. I am not going to be the color commentator on his comments, or put…
Romans 12:13 says, “Practice hospitality.” Churches need to be places that are hospitable, friendly, loving, and welcoming. They should be places where people smile and one can easily see the love of Jesus. This is Part 3 in this series on making guests feel welcome, but to be honest we…
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,…
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…
It is not the newest book concerning church growth and health, but Barna’s book, Turn-Around Churches, still has lots of insightful material to help churches get back on track. In particular, his Eight Symptoms of declining churches is still relevant in any situation. We will look at the first four…
Today I say farewell as the writer of 28Nineteen. On November 2, 2008, I will assume the Senior Pastor position at the First Baptist Church of Shelbyville, Kentucky. My family and I are very excited about our new assignment from the Lord. Read about our move in this Kentucky Baptist…
This past Saturday at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, the Kentucky Baptist Convention offered a variety of great training opportunities. If you missed the event, similar training is being offered at five other locations across the state. One of the discipleship faculty was Tim Holcomb, Director of Discipleship…
Recent studies by Dr. Chuck Lawless and Dr. Gary L. McIntosh indicate that more and more churches are utilizing new member classes. Although some require the class for membership (31% according to Lawless), the majority do not. Regardless of whether the class is required for membership or not, it can…
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.