Is VBS in Your Future?

It seems like every church campus I pass has a banner advertising their Vacation Bible School ministry. There are some new schedules I’m seeing this year … consecutive Saturdays, Sunday mornings, and one evening each week all summer. Let me ask you a tough question: What is your goal for this year’s VBS? No, not […]

Are You Ready for the Change?

My wife works in a pagan bookstore. She’s one of two Christians who work there – everyone else is Wiccan, polytheistic, or one shade or another of neopagan. (In a related note, the vast majority of those who patronize or work at the bookstore are former Christians who have turned their backs on the church […]

From the Latest Net Results: Is Evangelism Dead?

Why evangelism isn't working

Dr. Bruce Stevens reflects on a key reason many of our evangelism efforts are ineffective … and the reasons why might surprise you. (Get the newest issue of Net Results) In the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1–9) Jesus observed that the ground can be rock hard. Generations of preachers have concluded that the good […]

Disciple More by Leveraging What You’re Already Doing

Leverage Your Training

Every week, thousands of pastors spend hours and hours creating a sermonic masterpiece that will be heard once by fewer than 60 people. Every week, tens of thousands of Sunday school classes will meet to educate and ostensibly disciple less than a dozen people. The same goes for Bible studies, small group studies, and so […]

Stop Sharing Your Church Newsletter with Visitors – and Other Follow-Up Gaffes

Visitor Follow-Up Gaffes

I had a rare Sunday off a couple weeks ago and decided to drop by a local church that I’d never visited. I’d discovered the church on my annual Christmas Light Tour (where I drive aimlessly through random neighborhoods looking for great light displays) and I discovered this church tucked deep inside a neighborhood I’d never driven […]

Too Late Warning Signs

One of the sad realities about being a church consultant is that too often, churches don’t realize they’re “in trouble” until it hits their bottom line. Their finances. It seems that no one seems to take too much notice when the congregation begins to age out. There’s an expectation that the older folks will relocate […]