Like Clay

I was living in eastern Washington when Mount St. Helens blew megatons of rock, dirt, and ash into the sky back in 1980. For more than two days we watched the ash fall and accumulate in the fields until it blanketed almost everything. Though there was a good bit of fear about the effects it might […]
How to Boost Discipleship Participation

Way back in the world of Christendom, discipleship was presumed to be a part of what the church did. Back then, most church members had been raised in the church and they would bring their children as a matter of course. Today, however, the world has changed dramatically. Two generations now exist in the US that […]
S.O.A.P Bible Study
What is S.O.A.P.? S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. It is a way of getting more out of your time in God’s word. Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope, Oahu introduced us to this devotional study plan … and be fair, I use a form of it almost every day. How does it work? […]
Make Meetings Matter

One of the biggest complaints we hear from committee chairs is that their committee members don’t come to the scheduled meetings. When we hear that, we almost always know that the primary issue isn’t about having a bunch of members who are slackers without integrity. We tell the committee chair, “The reason your members don’t […]
Small Church Thinking

This is an excerpt from our upcoming book, 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth. One of the key differences between a stuck small church and a growing church (of any size) is found in the way the average church member thinks. In stuck small churches, the members believe and behave as if their wants, needs, and preferences […]
Blended Services… or Not

The following is an excerpt from our upcoming book, 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth. One of the consistent messages we hear during onsite consultations is that the church is committed to reach those beyond the church walls. One of the realities these churches have to face is that there are a limited number of non-active […]
