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I’ve been doing trends and predictions for churches for many years. My track record is good, but it has nothing to do with my sagacity. To the contrary, my approach is straightforward. I look at the data points and try to connect them to see the trends. This COVID year is different. We know the…
The post Ten (Very Different) Church Trends for 2022 appeared first on Church Answers.
When a married individual works in full-time ministry, there can be the temptation to think the spouse should volunteer in the same area in order to help. Sometimes this temptation comes from the full-time minister pressuring the spouse to “support” his or her ministry via volunteering or sacrificing. Other times it’s the spouse that pressures…
The post Nine Pointers for Serving Alongside Your Spouse in Full-Time Ministry appeared first on Church Answers.
Giving patterns in churches are changing. The ways in which people give are changing. What does not need to change is the heart for sacrificial giving. How can you equip your congregation to give sacrificially? Here are seven items to consider. 1. Teach why sacrificial giving is necessary for God’s mission. If what you are…
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I’ve been doing some level of church consulting for over 25 years. If you’re a consultant (or one studying consulting through Church Answers), maybe these reflections will be helpful to you: 1. Assessing a church’s health requires much more than analyzing numbers. We can’t ignore numbers, but the factors that contribute to church growth or…
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Do you remember the first time your church responded to COVID? For most of us, it was early in 2020. Hundreds of thousands of churches closed their doors and stopped having in-person worship services. Many of us thought it was a short-term problem, that in three or four months, we would be back to normal….
The post What If COVID Becomes a Permanent Reality? 7 Implications for Churches appeared first on Church Answers.
Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you’ve looked at another church or pastor with envy. It’s that spark of elation you feel when first hearing about a mega-platform pastor falling—envy. I’ve felt the flicker of “I knew it!” without even knowing the person. Envy must be stomped out. Church envy happens at the local level as…
The post The Danger of Envying Another Church and How It Affects You appeared first on Church Answers.
For more than 25 years, I have studied the biblical reality of spiritual warfare. In no particular order, here are ten common strategies I’ve seen when the enemy attacks church leaders: 1. Encouraging leaders to live in self-reliance. Because most leaders can lead, they are always susceptible to leading in their own ingenuity and strength….
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If God can save any person, He can save any church. No church should die. Ever. Perhaps a church is far gone, deep into a toxic state of disunity. Perhaps a church has decades of decline. Perhaps a church has veered far from doctrinal convictions. Would the death of these churches advance the kingdom? Would…
The post A Brighter Tomorrow Awaits Your Church appeared first on Church Answers.
For the last two years, hospital visitation has been a challenge. That’s beginning to change, and it’s time to rethink the strategy for hospital visits. When I started pastoring, I didn’t think much about the strategy of a hospital visit. I just went. In most cases, a simple ministry of presence is the key. However,…
The post Nine Questions to Ask Before Visiting Someone in the Hospital appeared first on Church Answers.
Every Monday morning, I swivel in my desk chair—praying, pondering. Yellow legal pads fill with chicken scratch in a language only I understand. About fifty Mondays a year, around 3:00 p.m., I start to wonder if I’ll have anything worthwhile to say the following Sunday. The other two Mondays I’m on vacation. I know it’s…
The post Why Sermon Preparation is Not Devotional Time appeared first on Church Answers.