Equations for the Emerging World

I have said many times that our world is in between rules. What used to be normative is now passé. What used to work now seldom does. Leaders who lead like they did ten years ago are finding their efforts to be ineffective. The old equations for ministry simply do not work anymore.

However, a […]

How Possible Is Church Multiplication?

Often when I write or talk about churches that are planting multiple churches I get pushback in the form of the question “I wonder how many of these church plants are more like house churches?” I’m not sure why I get that question more than “I wonder how many people these churches are reaching?”

So […]

Why Most Church Consultations Don’t Make a Long-Term Difference

We at 21st Century Strategies have been doing church consultations for over twenty-three years and we’ve had the opportunity to study why some churches thrive after a consultant has done their job and why other churches fail. Conversations with other church consultants reveal a lot of the same data. Here’s the bottom line: for […]

The Five Bare Minimums of Church Growth

Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of pastors and congregations who claimed they were ready to grow their churches. I’d love to tell you that virtually all of these congregations flourished, but the truth is, that’s rarely the case. The fact is, most churches fail to grow because they miss out on […]

The “New” Pastor

We are seeking a Pastor who is an inspiring pastor, preacher and teacher, a good counselor who is honest and trustworthy, thoughtful and pastoral, passionate about reaching young people and families, gregarious and people-oriented. We desire a pastor who is committed to attracting new members and retaining current members and whose sermons are spiritually […]

Unlocking Your Church’s Potential: The Transformative Power of Vision

The Secret Ingredient to Church Growth

Ever wonder why some churches seem to be magnetic, drawing people in, while others struggle to fill seats? The answer often lies in one word: Vision. Vision is the secret ingredient that fuels your church’s engine, propelling it from a stagnant entity to a thriving community. But what exactly […]

Attracting ‘Super’ Men to Your Church

Pastors
of churches all over our country continue to ask the question,  “Where are all the men”? Women comprise more
than 60% of the adults in the typical worship service in America. Some overseas
congregations report ten women for every man in attendance. Volunteer ranks are
heavily female. No other religion suffers the enormous gender gaps that plague
Christianity. […]

Of Coaches, Consultants, and Pooled Ignorance

It happened again recently. I was in a large group of mainline church leaders who professed their interest in church transformation. We were all milling around the room waiting for the convener to launch the meeting, and the conversation was pensive. Then the “transformational church leader” stood up, thanked us for coming, and said, […]

What Do You Say After “Hello”?

As a church pastor, training your hospitality team to hone their greeting and engagement skills will help grow your congregation. Seeing that your guests are warmly welcomed by many of your members and engaged in conversation by a few will help bring back your first time visitors by treating them as V.I.P. guests.

We trained […]