About Bill Tenny-Brittian

Bill is the Managing Partner at The Effective Church Group. He began ministry as a church planter in the early 1980s and over the past 40 years he's grown churches from one side of the nation to the other. In 2002 he joined Bill Easum's consultation group and began partnering with churches and church leaders to help them reach their fullest potential. He is the author of twelve books and the editor of Net Results magazine. Reach Bill here.

Top Five Blog Posts of 2014

2014 was a banner year for The Effective Church Group at 21st Century Strategies.

We provided church leader training resources to over 44,000 church leaders this year, including:

Access to over 1500 blog posts on EffectiveChurch.com
Over 200 training videos on Church-Talk
Over 325 issues of Net Results magazine

We worked in person with over 300 pastors […]

The Effective Church Board in Action

We often get questions about what kind of decisions an effective policy/accountability board is responsible for.

Below are a couple of brief scenarios that demonstrate decision-making processes a board should and should not engage in. (These are hypothetical examples that may or may not reflect issues facing your congregation.)

The petty cash policy limits the […]

The Six Most Powerful Accountability Words

“That won’t happen again, will it?”

There shouldn’t be question mark at the end of that question, because it’s not really a question. It’s a statement that should actually end with a period. In fact, it’s a statement that says much, much more than just those six little words.

I first heard those words from a pastor […]

Sample Staff Meeting Agenda

Just a few hours ago, we posted a sample board meeting agenda. Within minutes, we started receiving requests: “What would an effective staff meeting agenda look like?”

The primary difference between a board meeting and a staff meeting is that the staff is leading the programs and ministries of the church. They’re responsible for making […]

Sample Church Board Meeting Agenda

Every so often we get asked, “What would an effective board [or council or session or vestry] meeting look like?”

As you look at the agenda, remember that a board’s top priority is to hold the pastor accountable for mission alignment and vision achievement. It is NOT a board’s job to manage anything. However, for the […]

Is Your Vision Visionary?

Without vision, the people perish.
Granted, that’s a bad translation of Proverbs 29:18, but the proverb itself is spot on. The problem is that most church visions teeter on a balance between insipid and impotent. Which is one of the reasons why so many congregations are going through the motions of “doing church” instead of […]

Understanding the Role of Your Pastor

The “golden years” of the church, for many key leaders in churches across the US, were the 1950s. Back then “everyone” went to church – and if someone didn’t go to church, they knew they should! Back then, the pastor didn’t get caught up with trying to reach one generation or another. Everyone “liked” […]

Radical Disciple Making: Session 03

Download Revised RDM Session 03 Handouts: CLICK HERE

Better Than a Secret Handshake – Signs!

I was looking for the storefront church on Sunday morning. My GPS said I was at the right address, but nothing jumped out and said, “Hey, you! Come join us for worship!” Eventually, I parked and walked down the sidewalk. I finally found the church right where it should be – but the stenciled […]