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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.
In a recent post, I talked about the importance of following up with first-time guests (FTGs). On either side of that process, there are often assumptions: the assumption from the guest is that if they give a church their contact information, someone will actually follow up. The assumption from the church (or church staff member)…
The post 7 Steps to Structure Your Guest Follow Up Process appeared first on Church Answers.
For years, the conventional wisdom has been that increasing the number of worship services is the best path to go. You rarely heard leaders advocating decreasing the number of services. The concern is that the reduction of choices results in lower overall attendance. So, don’t consider going from three Sunday morning services to two or…
The post Five Reasons Why Decreasing the Number of Worship Services Might Be the Best Move appeared first on Church Answers.
Are the worship wars over? While the answer is not definitive, we see signs that the post-quarantine world may include an unexpected benefit: worship wars are waning. While our evidence is anecdotal at this point, it is still worth looking at five significant trends that have developed or accelerated since the pandemic quarantine. 1. More…
The post Hymns, Hymnody, and Hymnals: Five Significant Trends appeared first on Church Answers.
I don’t often write about my story, but this topic—a topic I trust you will see relates to Christian leadership—was on my heart this past week as we celebrated Father’s Day. My first memory is being a frightened three-year old as my father wrecked our home in a fit of anger. Now almost sixty years…
The post A Thought on Leaders Making Memories appeared first on Church Answers.
Let’s start with the basics: we should aim to talk to our guests all the time. When they show up on the weekend, they are our honored guests (that’s why we call ’em guests, and not the V-word). But there are strategic times during the worship service when we should especially address our guests. When…
The post 6 Times to Talk to Your Guests appeared first on Church Answers.
It’s painful enough to lose any church members, but it is particularly painful when the church member was highly committed. We call these dropouts “Goners,” because they were once one of your best church members. Now they are gone. It has been both painful and amazing to see the consistency in the patterns the Goners…
The post The Five Stages of a Church Dropout: From Highly Committed to Goners appeared first on Church Answers.
God created leadership for the church. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, and He sets aside other shepherds to lead the church by serving under Him. Members of the church are to follow those who keep watch over their spiritual development. Additionally, these leaders should not abuse their authority but rather lead by example. This relationship…
The post Avoid Bringing This Leadership Baggage into Your Church appeared first on Church Answers.
When my husband and I first arrived at our church in 2017 and he began to serve as lead pastor, I was approached by a number of women who wanted to talk about “women’s ministry.” I quickly learned that the definition of this term varied widely. It was obvious that our church was full of…
The post How We Reignited a Women’s Ministry in our Church appeared first on Church Answers.
My personal experience and anecdotal studies have shown that prayer is the most difficult spiritual discipline for many believers. It assumes dependence on God, and we simply don’t default in that direction; we default into independence and self-dependence even when we don’t want to. Here are some things that happen, though, when we church leaders…
The post 7 Things that Happen when Church Leaders Don’t Pray Much appeared first on Church Answers.