In this three-part series, I am introducing and explaining the value of a discipleship planning team. Too often churches enlist a key leader, such as a discipleship director, to do all the discipleship work. The work is often too large for one person. In Part 1, I mentioned scaling the…
Are you seeking improvement in the overall health of your church? Do you need help equipping your leaders and members? Leaders, staff and volunteers in the areas of assimilation, church finances, revitalization, security, preschool/children’s ministry, prayer ministry, Sunday school, worship/music, women’s ministry, and youth ministry are all invited to come…
Would you like to increase second time guests? I read new member survey results from some Georgia churches in another denomination. The survey asked the question, “What brought you back to the church for your second visit?” Here were the responses: 44% said it was the warm inviting nature of…
Rick Ezell has written a great article called 5 Must-Know Facts about First-Time Guests. Church leaders need to be aware of these five significant facts about first-time guests looking for a church home. It has been my experience that churches that are growing pay lots of attention to folks who…
As a pastor I studied each church I served to see what we could do to grow and reach more people for Christ. One of the things we attempted to do was to define where the walls were that were stopping growth and then we attempted to move them one…
Easter is coming. Are you ready? Will you make a great first impression? Review these tips and plan to do so: Found People Find People! Invite someone to attend with you on Easter Sunday. People are very receptive to attend church on Easter so think about a neighbor, work associate,…
First time guests won’t become second time guests unless we make a good impression. Consider these suggestions working with your guests: Call them “guests” not “visitors.” The term visitor denotes that they are just passing through and will probably not be back. Do you have a visitor’s bedroom or a…
Charles Arn is the president of Church Growth Inc. and has done extensive research to discover why people come back to a church after visiting. He says that the number one reason people return for a second time is because the church was friendly. Most of us would assume that…
I know most of us are wiped out from Easter Sunday. Many churches did an extra worship in order to reach more people. In all of my pastorates we added one or two worship times and saw the highest attendance of the year. With all the special preparation for sermons,…
Many new guests will walk through your church’s front door in December, maybe even some members who have been absent for a long time. During these special days, make sure you are ready to make everyone who enters your church feel welcomed and at home. Hospitality is biblical. Romans 12:13…
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.