While escaping 2020 has been a stated goal for many people, there will still be challenges in front of us as we move into 2021. Churches will be among the organizations to confront clear and present challenges. Of course, the topic of COVID is unavoidable as congregations move forward to a new year. The devastation […]
For the past several years, at the start of the new year we have identified major trends and changes we see shaping the contours of congregational life. The year 2021 dawns at a time when the COVID-19 crisis has brought more change to our churches in a few months than most of us have witnessed […]
National church survey reveals important data about the state of the church in America today The survey has been conducted for the past several years in several hundred congregations from all denominations across the United States. All collected national trends provide information about essential ministry dynamics and characteristics of the local congregation like: Church Type […]
“Core values” are the driving motivators that cause the members of an organization to want to accomplish the mission and vision of the organization and provide the motivation to work hard to perform the strategy of the organization. They answer the question “Why do we do what we do as a faith community?” They determine […]
For the past several years since the beginning of ChurchInfluence.com, our team of experts has been working on collecting, compiling and analyzing the data from the nationwide survey [http://churchinfluence.com/survey/]. It has become a central topic in our conversations with congregations and leaders across the nation and around the world about church, God and beyond. Starting […]
Some highlights from today’s episode include: A vision statement is God’s specific plan for a specific church at a specific time. Too many vision statements are abstract and don’t click with the people in a church. The vision statement of your church should mirror your church’s discipleship process. Every ministry in your church should align […]
OVER 2,000 years ago, Jesus approached twelve seemingly unsuspecting Galileans and bid them: “Come, follow me.” For the next three years, they walked alongside him as he discipled them. Toward the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and do the same—to take the Gospel message to the world and make […]
National church survey reveals important data about the state of the church in America today The survey has been conducted for the past two years in several hundred congregations from all denominations across the United States. All collected national trends provide information about essential ministry dynamics and characteristics of the local congregation like: Church Type […]
The name ‘John Calvin’ is synonymous with many things, depending on who you ask. A straw poll of Western Christians would probably reveal labels like ‘great theologian’ and ‘totally biblical’ being neck-and-neck with a descriptor like ‘theologically misguided’ and other terms not suitable for publication. There are few more polarizing figures in the church than […]
The article’s title is all the introduction you really need. Here we go. All quotations are from Bruce Gordon’s Calvin… 1. If you want to make an impact beyond your little lifespan, teach people the Bible. “What made Calvin Calvin, and not another sixteenth-century writer was his brilliance as a thinker and writer, and, above all, his ability […]