Hope or Hype?

There’s been a lot of talk across the channels about the Public Religion Research Institute’s release of the 2020 Survey of American Religion (PPRI 2020 America Religion Survey Results). The study is primarily concerned with faith adherents by faith affiliation, political affiliation, age, ethnicity, education, and location (by county). The study is statistically significant […]

A Church Planter and Church Transformation Self-Assessment

When it comes to professional pastoral ministries, the absolute must difficult job of all is effectively leading a church’s transformation. That’s a glamourless, thankless, painful, heart-wrenching, aggravating, and too often career-ending task. In fact, the only ones who intentionally consider engaging in this kind of ministry are either narcissistic, arrogant, savior-complexed martyrs or else the God-called […]

Disciple has Too Much Baggage to Be Effective

I’m constantly asked, “What’s the best curriculum for leadership development or discipleship?” as if either one is something that can be taught and learned in a course. My response is always the same – “You are the curriculum.”

I often get a blank stare because in the West we think of everything as if it […]

Churches Committed to Multiplication Part One: A New Movement Emerging in the West

There’s a new movement underfoot in the West that just might stem the tide of Western Christianity’s decline. Although it’s too soon to share the details (that will be done next year in a book from Exponential), what I can tell you now is that it will turn the value system of most Western […]

Churches Committed to Multiplication: Part One

There’s a new movement underfoot in the West that just might stem the tide of Western Christianity’s decline. Although it’s too soon to share the details (that will be done next year in a book from Exponential), what I can tell you now is that it will turn the value system of most Western […]

Dinosaurs to Rabbits: Chapter 03 – Introduction

The whole point of our Dinosaurs to Rabbits book is to help spur our colleagues in the Mainline Church to get serious about transforming the church into a multiplication monster (a good kind of monster!). But the heart of the matter is that in our experience, the Mainline Church has lost its heart for making disciples […]

Position Yourself for Growth

For the week of February 06, 2006

You Have to Position Yourself for Growth

By: Bill Easum

I talk with a lot of pastors who yearn for their church to grow. But when I ask them, “When was the last time you asked God to double your church” I get a blank stare. If we want our […]

Stop Losing Staff

“I’m tired of training staff only to see them leave to work in another church.” I heard pastors say this a lot when I was consulting. I always wondered what would happen if they didn’t train them and they stayed long term. 

“My staff is so competent that I’m afraid some church will steal them […]

A Change to Contemporary Worship

Grace UMC is located in South Central Pennsylvania about 60 miles north of Baltimore,Md. The community of Hanover is growing about 7-8% annually.  Overall population of the community within 10 miles of Grace Church is about 40,000. Grace Church has plateaued in its Sunday Worship attendance for over 15 years at 200 in two morning […]