The other day I was talking with a pastor about me possibly coaching him. In the course of the conversation I mentioned the need for churches to be more Kingdom minded than church minded and it went totally over his head. You could see in his eyes that he had no concept about what […]
I tell church planters, “If you can’t show someone the door and go home and sleep well that night, you shouldn’t plant.”
One of the things we’ve learned over the years is that planting a church is hard, lonely work. If you can’t let criticism run off your back like water off a duck and […]
One of the recommendations we make to pastors with churches under 200 is this: learn to do sermon and worship prep in less than two hours each week so you can spend the vast majority of your time reaching people for Jesus Christ.
It’s not a popular recommendation. Homiletics professors faint. Long-time pastors just shake their […]
Spending time mentoring staff is one of the most important things a pastor can do. When I suggest to a person I’m coaching that he needs to spend more time mentoring or training his staff, he usually asks, “What does that look like?” Here’s my response.
First, you should see yourself as the head coach of a ball […]
Getting a head start on your church plant is critical. How you approach the first years will usually determine the ultimate outcome.
How many honest spiritual conversations have you had with thoroughly unchurched people in the past 90 days?
How many unchurched people have you personally brought to Christ (not just to a worship […]
Here are a few questions you should be able to answer affirmatively before going multi-site.
1. Is my church growing a minimum of 5% per year?
2. Is my church 80% full at the main service?
3. Is my community 50% unchurched or more?
4. Does my church have a good reputation in the community?
5. Does my church want […]
I just returned from a place where I was working with a new church start from one of the “confessional” churches… one of those that, by and large, practices a formal liturgy. In this case, the church had relaxed the liturgy a bit, but to those not raised in a smells-and-bells church, even their relaxed […]
I spent the last week at a mainline’s church planter and church transformation training event. I wish I could say I was surprised at how great the training was. I wish. But the fact is, the training was long on the right theology and light on practicalities like the importance of evangelism in starting […]
I was with a group of church planters recently, and the conversation around the table focused on naming the church. Most of the planters had already named their ministries, but a few were still in limbo… which can be a very good place to be.
So, if you haven’t yet named your church, or you’re […]
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