Grow Your Church with Relevant 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, simply inviting people to “come to […]
The Four Core Processes: Not a Balancing Act
The Church: Mainline, 107 in average worship attendance The Location: Northeast US The Pastor: First call, seminary trained The Resources: Consultation completed, coach engaged The Presenting Issue: Lack of growth, few visitors, lots of busyness with little return The Real Issue: The pastor’s commitment to balance You can lead a horse to water. Sometimes, as […]
Curing Congregational Low Self-Esteem
Many churches I work with suffer from low self-esteem and a sense of hopelessness. There are many reasons for this malaise, a common one being that the congregation has come to believe their circumstances are insurmountable (they’re not, but that’s a post for another time). I’m working on a recommendation report from a consultation with a church […]
An Example of Communion Instructions
[fvplayer src=’https://s3.amazonaws.com/MiscVideo/CommunionInstructionsLow.mp4′ splash=”http://21stcenturystrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CommunionPlayButton.png”] Click Image to Play Video This is one of the best guest-friendly introductions to communion I’ve seen. Notice that Pastor Ted tells the congregation virtually every detail of how to receive communion. It’s also a good example of a lightened version of the Lutheran Liturgy for the Eucharist. Exceptional Practices of Note: Virtually […]
To Tech or Not to Tech? That’s Not Even a Question Anymore
The latest blog post by Bill Easum sparked a number of lively conversations on both our LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. I started to reply there, but as my response grew, it seemed more appropriate to bring it here to the public forum. The responses mostly included assertions that the church has become too focused or […]
Shift Happens 2014
Our culture keeps on marching… and unfortunately, the North American church seems to fall further and further behind. I regularly begin church training exercises by showing the “Shift Happens” YouTube video that was initially uploaded back in 2008. The response to the video by the average layperson is typically shock … especially for those who […]