Recently, Leadership Journal printed again the eight criteria for church health from Natural Church Development. Each of these eight components can serve as an MRI to look underneath the surface of your church and evaluate the true health. Look at these and see if you have balance. Where are you…
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…
When Dr. Tom Rainer served as Dean of the Billy Graham School at Southern Seminary in Louisville, he ran a consulting company that helped churches across America. In his consultations, he discovered that the overwhelming majority of the churches needed marked improvement in the area of assimilation. As a result,…
In a recent post called Offer Multiple Connection Points, I discussed the important role that Sunday School and small groups play in connecting newcomers and new members to the church. I also recommended other ways to connect people since some will not become involved in Sunday School or small groups.…
Is a person who teaches a Bible study class on Sunday morning a Sunday School Teacher or a Disciple Maker? I believe they are both! I commend men and women who faithfully teach the Bible every week in our churches. After preparation during the busy week, they share information from…
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.