Tag «Grow»

Why We Need to Ask More Numerical Questions about Our Church

I’m well aware that it’s easy to get focused on numbers when evaluating church growth. Too many church leaders report “butts in the seats” and “bucks in the plate” more than anything else—without really evaluating even those numbers. For example, we might report a significant attendance increase without pointing out that most of that growth…

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The Death of Evangelism: Five Issues We Must Address

The issue may be the biggest surprise of my ministry. On the one hand, I am surprised at the decline of evangelism in most churches. But that is not the biggest surprise. The issue that perplexes and surprises me the most is that very few church leaders and members are even acknowledging the death of…

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Why Your Church Is Larger Than You Realize (And Pastors Are Busier Than Ever)

How big is your church? It’s a common question. The top metric of success in a church is worship attendance. Maybe it shouldn’t be. But average weekly worship attendance is the most common and most touted church health metric. This figure includes children, assumes each person is counted only once, and includes all worship services…

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Why Your Church Will Die within Five Years

I became fascinated with dead and dying churches about thirty years ago. I know. It’s morbid on my part. My fascination turned into somewhat of an obsession that I wrote a bestselling book on the topic, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, several years ago. It still has robust sales today. It obviously hit a nerve. …

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8 Reasons Potential Pastors Would Rather Begin Ministry with an Internship or Assistant Pastorate

When I started pastoring more than 40 years ago, most of us called to pastoral ministry wanted to get started on the task quickly. Right or wrong, we typically leapt into ministry as soon as we could. Now, young leaders preparing for ministry are much more inclined to look for an “entry-level” position before stepping…

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Top 25 Hymns: 2023 Versus Ten Years Ago

Many of you were definitely eager to share your favorite hymns via social media. We had over 2,000 responses when I finally stopped counting the results. I took your responses and compared them to a similar list we compiled ten years ago. There are some differences between the two sets of rankings. The 2013 hymns…

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Know the Psalms as Never Before

For centuries, Christians have turned to the Psalms to teach them to pray, to worship, and to grow as disciples. A new series from Christian Union offers you the opportunity to deepen your experience with God through the words of the Psalms. More than typical Bible study, these volumes offer a devotional commentary that is…

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Eight Ways Any Church Can Get the Attention of the Neighborhood

God’s mission travels in one vehicle: the church. In the same way that different kinds of vehicles travel our roadways, many different churches share the good news message. No congregation has a corner on the Kingdom, and every Bible-believing church has the potential to be an asset in the Kingdom of God. The neighborhood will…

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12 Ways Parking Lot Greeters Can Serve

Greeters make a difference in a church, and some of the strongest churches I know have them everywhere from the parking lot to the welcome center to the hallways to the small group rooms. Here are some things greeters can do in the parking lot: 1. Be a smiling face as people enter the lot. Some…

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Why Smaller Churches Must Be Better at Hospitality than Larger Churches

It’s not fair. I know. Smaller churches must be better at hospitality than larger churches. First, I will explain why. Then I will demonstrate how this perceived inequity is to the benefit of smaller churches. Guests have different expectations of different-sized churches. When new people or families walk into an extraordinarily large church, most will…

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