I tell churches all the time that the three most important rooms in a church building are the Worship Center, Restrooms, and Nursery. Most churches don’t understand the importance of these rooms. How do I know this? By simply looking at the way most churches take care of these three rooms. In far too many […]
July 17, 2014 by 2 Comments
An Effective Bar Ministry
I got a note the other day asking about what a bar ministry might look like. There are a couple ways that churches are doing successful bar ministries. Here are the two dominant models. 1. A church buys a bar and operates it as one of its outreach ministries. These bars are far from “preachy” […]
July 12, 2014 by 2 Comments
Why Your Church Won’t Be the Exception
I just returned from a church growth training event at a local church where we reviewed and evaluated their vision. Their vision statement was a bit wordy, but overall it got high marks. But a question arose from some of the members: “What about those in the congregation who don’t support the vision … who […]
June 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Hiring and Firing Staff
Today, I had a conversation with one of the church planters I’m coaching. During the coaching call he asked me, “What are some of the ways to help staff be more productive?” I made several suggestions and then I said to him, “That is not the most important question on this subject. The more important […]
June 24, 2014 by 1 Comment
For Church Planter’s Eyes Only
Over the years I’ve noticed something about church plants that might be helpful to you. Somewhere around 125-200 in worship many semi-successful church planters lose their focus on outreach and bringing more people to Christ and the church stalls out. I’ve noticed several reasons for this loss of focus on outreach and evangelism. I share […]
June 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Ultimate Measurement
Have you ever wondered why the vast majority of the growing churches today are outside of the mainline stream? In fact all of the mainline denominations are in decline. I have a theory on why. Well, it’s more than a theory; it’s what I have observed in working with both mainline and non-mainline churches for […]
June 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
How to Grow Your Church
There really isn’t any mystery to growing a church. The principles and practices for how to grow a church are the same ones that have been used since the beginning of the church. The problem isn’t so much about knowing how to grow churches as it is rolling up your sleeves and putting what you know […]
May 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Time Management for Church Leaders
One of top questions we’ve heard during the Only Four Things Grow Churches tour has to do with the allocation of the pastor’s time. When we suggest that a pastor leading a church of under 450 needs to spend between 70 – 80 percent of their time networking with the unchurched, the grumbling becomes audible […]
May 27, 2014 by 2 Comments
The Church Growth Movement Revisited
The church growth movement has taken a bad rap the past decade. Many unfair comments have been made about in an attempt to either discredit it or make it obsolete. I’m sure there are many reasons for the attempts to either discredit or make the movement obsolete. At worst the attempts were the acts of […]
April 28, 2014 by 1 Comment
Grow Your Church with Invite-Able Events
Unfortunately, there is a current reality that most church members are unaware of and most church leaders are in denial of: Virtually nobody really wants to come to church. And the truth is, it’s easy to check this claim. Go downtown, to the major workplaces, and/or door to door and simply invite people to “come […]
