Tag «Grow»

How to Evaluate Your Church’s Discipleship Program

*This article is an excerpt from Disciple: How to Create a Community That Develops Passionate and Healthy Followers of Jesus. Some months ago, I published the book Disciple: How to Create a Community that Develops Passionate and Healthy Followers of Jesus. In that book, I point out that many churches that think they’re disciplemaking churches…

The post How to Evaluate Your Church’s Discipleship Program appeared first on Church Answers.

Seven Insights from Churches about the Recent Easter Weekend

We’ve done a lot of listening and learning the week after Easter. We at Church Answers are grateful for consulting and coaching clients and for the large community at Church Answers Central. Though our information is more anecdotal rather than data-based, it is nevertheless insightful. Here are seven key takeaways we gleaned from church leaders…

The post Seven Insights from Churches about the Recent Easter Weekend appeared first on Church Answers.

How To Avoid These Costly Financial Mistakes Your Church Could Be Making

At BELAY, we’ve been helping busy leaders for over a decade, and we’ve learned, no matter what organization you lead, finances are paramount to your success – and church finances aren’t any different. Poorly managed church finances can hurt a pastor’s ability to lead church members and reach the local community. After all, very little…

The post How To Avoid These Costly Financial Mistakes Your Church Could Be Making appeared first on Church Answers.

Leading a Church When the Wrong People Hold Power

Can you lead a church without proper authority? Yes, but it is more challenging and complex. I’m assuming most church leaders would rather not step into a situation where they have the responsibility to shepherd without the corresponding authority. But there are churches with misaligned power structures in desperate need of good pastors. What if…

The post Leading a Church When the Wrong People Hold Power appeared first on Church Answers.

Seven Things We Didn’t See Coming in Churches at This Point after the Pandemic

Admittedly, it’s a tricky thing to find a precise beginning and ending point to a pandemic. We could accept the declaration from the World Health Organization that COVID-19 began on March 11, 2020. But the virus was rapidly spreading around the world prior to that date. The ending date is even more of a challenge…

The post Seven Things We Didn’t See Coming in Churches at This Point after the Pandemic appeared first on Church Answers.

Seven Things You Can Do to Become a Better Leader

If it hasn’t happened already, it won’t be long before a new generation of leaders are being tapped on the shoulder to step into service in their church or organization. In November 2022, the Federal Reserve shared an article titled “The Great Retirement Boom,” which details the rise in retirement during the era of the…

The post Seven Things You Can Do to Become a Better Leader appeared first on Church Answers.

Churches Are Getting Less of Total Charitable Giving—Here’s Why (And What You Can Do About It)

For decades, the church has lost ground with overall charitable giving. Charitable giving is up—a near record of $485 billion in 2021, despite surging inflation. Giving to churches has dropped even though giving to non-profits is up by 4%. In the early 1980s, churches received over half of all charitable giving. Today, churches receive less…

The post Churches Are Getting Less of Total Charitable Giving—Here’s Why (And What You Can Do About It) appeared first on Church Answers.

My Greatest Surprise about Churches Seeking Consultations

I’ve done church consulting for decades now. Over the years, I’ve worked with churches of various sizes, multiple denominations, differing polities, and diverse locations. I’ve learned a lot over the years. Some patterns are generally the same among these churches, which doesn’t surprise me. Some examples are that most churches are not doing evangelism well,…

The post My Greatest Surprise about Churches Seeking Consultations appeared first on Church Answers.

Five Reasons Why the Disappearance of the Offering Plate Is So Significant for Churches

My childhood memories are vague. Still, I do recall with some surprising detail the passing of the offering plates in my first church. I never questioned its validity or efficacy. It was just something churches did. Most churches used an offering plate or its equivalent prior to the pandemic. Now, most churches do not. It…

The post Five Reasons Why the Disappearance of the Offering Plate Is So Significant for Churches appeared first on Church Answers.

What Is Our Story?

How can Americans, and American Christians in particular, work toward a more comprehensive and equitable national narrative for all? The exclusivist aspects of the core narratives that have defined the United States make clear that we need a new narrative. We need a general consensus of values and a feeling that we’re part of the…

The post What Is Our Story? appeared first on Church Answers.