Hospitality Is the Key

These are four of the most important questions you and your staff should be asking when it comes to visitor retention. What happens when a new person visits your church? Are they greeted in the parking lot, at the door, and at the information desk? What happens with the new person the week after their […]

For Long-Tenured Pastors

multiplication ripples

Anyone who has stayed at a growing church for more than 15 years knows that several things are inevitable. Sooner or later you will hit burnout. I did my 10th year. It was so severe that I told my board I wanted to quit. Instead they sent me off for a three-month sabbatical. It was […]

The Summer Express: What I’ve Learned from Locomotion

The Summer Express

It’s always bothered me to spend months busting my backside to get an effective ministry launched in September/October only to have it roll to a virtual stop by mid-June. Sure, there are lots of excuses for the “summer slump,” but it turns out that most of these slumps happen because churches don’t just get “ready” […]

Summer Slump is Coming

an empowered staff

The “summer slump” that many declining churches experience is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Most declining churches actually take actions that lead to a summer slump: they combine worship services and the choir takes the summer off.  No wonder church attendance is down in the summer. Ever wonder what would happen if your church was a year-round […]

Do You Measure Up?

What Great Leaders Measure

How you measure up as a leader is largely determined by what it is you measure. It turns out, one of the differences between an average leader and a great leader can be found by looking at what they put on their spreadsheets. Actually, that’s a bit misleading. Most of the important measurements don’t actually fit […]

A Great Preaching Text for Doubling First-Time Guests

viagra I know some of you have purchased our “I Love My Church Day” program designed to double the number of first-time visitors and then retain 50% of them.  So I wanted to share this preaching idea with you. One of the great texts to use the Sunday before you conclude the program and ask […]