How to Get First-Time Visitor Contact Information
If you don’t follow-up on your first-time visitors within a few hours of their visit, you shouldn’t be surprised if your church isn’t growing. Every single study shows that follow-up is critical, and yet I still hear pastors handing out their … pardon me … lame excuses for why they don’t do it. If your […]
Is Your Vision Visionary?
Without vision, the people perish. Granted, that’s a bad translation of Proverbs 29:18, but the proverb itself is spot on. The problem is that most church visions teeter on a balance between insipid and impotent. Which is one of the reasons why so many congregations are going through the motions of “doing church” instead of […]
Six Steps to the Best Christmas Eve Ever
Christmas Eve is the one time in our culture where people are still somewhat likely to consider going to church when that is not the norm for them. So good preparation and prayer are essential for this prime moment. I am writing this at the end of October. By now you should have a good […]
Obsessions That Have to Go for Multiplication to Happen
The more I study the multiplication movement, the more I realize that for it to be successful, several sacred cows will have to be slaughtered. These sacred cows will be much harder for mainline churches to barbeque than for independents. Let me share the biggest ones. Seminary training. Most of the training of church planters […]
Stop Developing Leaders, Get More Ministry Done, and Grow Your Church
The lack of leadership is one of the top reasons pastors and other church leaders point to for why their church isn’t growing. “We need more leaders to get the job done. Our current leadership is tired and overworked.” When quizzed about what they’re doing to raise up more leaders, the answers tend to include […]
Anatomy of a Movement
History has not been overly kind to most movements. Just reflect on what has happened to the Civil Rights movement after the death of Martin Luther King. It lost most of its momentum. Movements need a strong, charismatic leader. When the leader dies, most movements wane. For these movements to have a lasting impact, it is […]