Church Growth
What To Do When People Want A Church To Grow…But Not Change
One of the tensions many of us wrestle with as leaders who are trying to navigate change happens when people tell us: I want our church to grow. I just don’t want it to change. Every time I hear or…
Ministry is Changing: 5 Things That Will Never Be the Same Again
You might think “things will never be the same again” is a conversation reserved for people over 70. But my guess is you’re struggling with that in ministry leadership right now. Even if you don’t realize it. And you’re probably…
6 Keys to Breaking Church Growth Barriers (200, 400, and Beyond)
While there’s a lot of ‘sensitivity’ around the subject of large churches v. smaller churches, the reality is many leaders I know sincerely want to reach more people. The challenge is the church growth barriers you encounter along the way.…
7 Fresh Ways for Every Church Leader to Think About Money
If you’re going to be effective in ministry, you have to become comfortable talking about money. Few church leaders I know are. Here Come the Bullets It’s been a struggle for me too. You take a few bullets when you…
Is Church Transfer Growth Good? A Short Guide.
So your church is growing or wants to grow. But what do you do when churched people show up? I recently wrote about the challenges and opportunities you face when unchurched people arrive. But what about transfer growth? That’s a…
7 Signs Your Church is Making Inroads With Unchurched People
Just because a church is growing doesn’t mean it’s filling up with unchurched people. How do you know you’re really making inroads with the unchurched? First, you can find out whether you are attracting transfer growth or truly unchurched people.…
5 Healthy Ways to Handle A Difficult Volunteer
It’s one of the most perplexing problems many leaders face. How do you handle a difficult team member? Want to make the problem worse? That’s easy. Imagine the difficult team member is a volunteer. Then what do you do? After…
11 Ways Leaders (Accidentally) Destroy the Churches They Lead
The problem with ineffectiveness and sin is it’s so much easier to spot in other people than it is to see within ourselves. Chances are you’ve got some theories on why the leader down the road is struggling in their…
8 Reasons Most Churches Never Break the 200 Attendance Mark
This is one of my most-read posts of all time. Times change. I updated the post and the reasons here. In the meantime, enjoy this original post. While social media and even traditional media are still preoccupied with mega churches…
7 Reasons Churches That Want to Reach Unchurched People…Don’t
Almost every leader I know says they want their church to grow. And almost all of them say they want much of that growth to come from people who don’t go to church. But precious few churches see real traction…
Why You Need to Stop Thinking Your Church is For Everyone
Church leaders do it all the time. Ask them who they’re trying to reach. Their answer? Everyone. It sounds appropriate. I get that. What else are you going to say? After all, the Gospel is for everyone. But that’s not…
How to Craft Your Sunday Service To Engage Unchurched People
I had one of those rare Sundays off as a church leader yesterday. I went to our church, Connexus, with my family. (I took this picture from where we sat in the back row.) I didn’t serve, I didn’t have…