For the week of January 03, 2005
Mission Statements
By: Tom Bandy
Biblical visions are revealed, never created. That principle is forgotten so often! Churches accommodate to the corporate culture around them by assuming vision to be a function of strategic planning. Instead, vision is a function of adult faith formation … an extension of spiritual growth. […]
Although my book High-Voltage Spirituality is a compendium of forty-eight different spiritual habits (disciplines), in practice I maintain there are five core spiritual habits that provide a foundation for personal maturity and church growth.
And so it was with a mix of horror and relief when I was informed my book High-Voltage Spirituality was going […]
You’ve got the vision. You’ve got the mission-critical goals. Now, what you need is the time management strategy to make it all happen. In a world where pastors are expected to be spiritual leaders, counselors, and administrators, time is your most valuable asset. Let’s talk about how to prioritize it effectively.
The ABCDE of Time […]
I. Introduction
A. Let me contextualize my thoughts.
1. It is my contention that the world, and especially North America, is more like the first century than the 20th century. If that is true, our strategies must be different and the world is ripe for a major new movement that could reshape the world. The question is […]
Think about the implications of that statement. If you’re committed to growing your church, that means:
The people you’re trying to reach intentionally didn’t want to go to church.
And more to the point: They didn’t want to go to YOUR CHURCH.
There are a LOT of reasons why the unchurched “say” they don’t want to […]
With kids going back to school, now is a great time to think about reaching kids with the gospel of Christ by attracting them to your children’s ministry. I have long believed that attracting young families can be crucial to your church’s growth. I even dedicated a chapter of my new book Church Turnaround […]
When I talk to pastors a common phrase I hear is ‘getting back to normal’. That is never going to happen. Because of the very nature of change, things are never going back to whatever you think normal was. I also hear pastors mention ‘a new normal’. Forget about it. Churches should never conform […]
Church Work is never ending. There’s always something that needs to get done.
The worship slides need to be updated
The trash needs to be emptied
The newsletter needs to be edited
The plumber needs to be called
The copier needs to be replaced (or updated or unjammed …)
In recent weeks, one pastor or another has given me […]
I was recently asked what advice I’d give to a pastor getting ready to start a new transformation effort in a small church that’s been in decline for years. Here are the top 10 things I recommended.
Hand off everything you possibly can. Hand off regular hospital visitation, shut-in visitation, member care, etc. Instead, […]
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