Tag «Monday/Wednesday Featured»

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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Five Ways to Hurt Your Pastor Deeply

The times sure have changed. Yes, the statement is cliché, but it is one I often make about the challenge of pastors today versus several years ago. When I was a pastor, I had my challenges. But they pale in comparison to what pastors face today. Why is pastoring so challenging today? There are several…

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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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The Top Ten Lowest Attended Sundays in U. S. Churches

Most pastors, staff, and active church members have a good idea when attendance will drop on a given Sunday. Churches develop a discernible pattern that is repeated each year. We asked over 400 people, mostly church leaders, to identify their lowest attended Sundays on a recurring basis. Though our study was not scientific (comments and…

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The Looming Deferred Maintenance Crisis in Many Churches (and How to Solve It)

“It’s a custom color. Bradenton plum.” The church council member and I laughed together about the project in front of us. He had been part of the original capital campaign in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “The color was popular then, but I think it’s time for an update,” he said as we prioritized…

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Church Leaders Wandering Past the Cross

Many years ago, I visited a rocky hillside in Jerusalem that some scholars believe is the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. On this hillside were three trees that reminded me of the crosses at Jesus’ death, and in front of the hill was a busy bus station. The stench of diesel fuel hung in the air….

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Five Cautions about Church Budgets for the Next Twelve Months

The call from the pastor was not that unusual. Indeed, it was a part of a pattern we’ve observed at Church Answers. “Hey Thom,” the pastor asked, “Are you seeing anything about church giving declining? We thought it was a temporary pause at our church, but giving is consistently down about five percent.” While we…

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Why Your Congregation Is Likely More Optimistic about the Future Than You Realize

Over 80% of churchgoers predict a promising future for their churches. Is this figure what you would expect? Until I saw the research, I would not have guessed optimism was so high among churchgoers. Where did this statistic originate? The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) conducted a national survey in August 2022 of almost 6,000…

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This Book Changed My Life 10 Years Ago

It was ten years ago that I did something I had never done before. I turned a short blog post into a book. Much to my joy and surprise, the book became one of the bestsellers in its genre. It stayed at number one on the bestselling list for quite a while. Now, nearly two…

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