888-470-2456

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 35 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 nine books and the editor of Net Results magazine. Reach Bill here.

The Model Church

1 Thessalonians 1:6–8
You became imitators of us and of the Lord … And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you … your faith has become known everywhere.
The Thessalonian church had, at least ostensibly, become models of a functional church. They became […]

There’s No Dignity in Death When …

Evangelistic fervor that reaches out beyond the church and into the culture. That’s the call to every follower of what Paul calls the Way in this extended passage. And yet evangelism is the least practiced of all Christian disciplines, including faithful stewardship. Yes, more people actually tithe than regularly share their faith with Nones, […]

10 Things to Do – Turnaround Mid to Large Sized Church

Recently, I wrote a post about starting a turnaround effort in a small church that’s been in decline for years (Ten Things to Do to Lead a Turnaround). I immediately got requests from church leaders of declining mid-sized and large churches: “What about us? What should we do?”

So, here is a list of things […]

7 Things To Do Outside the Church Office

I teach the Pastoral Leadership Course for the Mid-America Center For Ministry. It’s an eight-week online intensive on what it takes to be an effective leader in the church today. One of the things I teach during the course is that a pastor cannot grow the church by staying in their office. There’s always […]

10 Things to Do to Lead a Turnaround

I was recently asked what advice I’d give to a pastor getting ready to start a new transformation effort in a small church that’s been in decline for years. Here are the top 10 things I recommended.

Hand off everything you possibly can. Hand off regular hospital visitation, shut-in visitation, member care, etc. Instead, […]

Can This Church Turnaround? Case Study #1

Established: ~1904

Tribe: Protestant Mainline

Worship Style: Rural traditional, family informal

 

Congregational Demographics: 
AWA: 32
Trend: 20 years steep decline; 8 years slow decline; followed by 10 years slight decline
Median Age: 61
Adult Generations: 21 Builders+; 8 Boomers; 2 Gen-X; 1 Millennial
Children/Youth: 2–3
Ethnic Mix: Anglo
SES: Mixed, mostly blue collar; income similar to ministry area
Debt: $0

Available Resources: ~$100,000 in endowments

 

Ministry Area […]

Five Why’s to Reality

Simon Sinek, the author of Start with Why, teaches that every company knows its “what,” a few know its “how,” but few operate – or even know – their “why.” I’d say the same is true for most churches … and in my experience, is absolutely true for all declining churches.

Take a look …

There’s any […]

Pursue Discomfort

I was listening to Craig Groeschel at the North American Christian Convention in Kansas City and was struck by something he said:

There was a sharp intake of breaths across the room when he said that. I suspect his words will be quoted in blogs like this one, and perhaps whispered furtively in a few […]

Book Review: God Dreams

There’s a saying, no one seems to know who said it first, that “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”  I try to stay out of those rooms whenever possible. So it wasn’t surprising to me when I found myself in the same room as Will Mancini and […]