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It’s that time of year when people partake in the annual ritual of making well-intended promises that end up broken by February. I also realize the presumptuous nature of this post—as if I could tell you what promises to make (and then inevitably break). However, I do believe every pastor should consider these ten resolutions….
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Christmas Eve is the most likely time an unchurched person will walk into your worship space. It’s a huge opportunity. My fear is some churches go through the motions since Christmas Eve is the peak of the busy season and volunteers are short in supply. Your Christmas Eve service is worth the effort. Families are…
The post Four Essentials of a Great Christmas Eve Service appeared first on Church Answers.
I wish I could tell every one of my young students that ministry will always be easy and churches will always be supportive. That’s not always the case, though. Sometimes this work is just hard. If that’s the case for you today, I hope these thoughts encourage and strengthen you. Here’s what the Christmas story…
The post 6 Things Christmas Means for Church Leaders in Tough Situations appeared first on Church Answers.
God is not done with our churches. His activity and his work remain powerful and pervasive. Let me share with you four examples of churches that have been used by God when they made a specific and powerful commitment: They wanted to serve and minister to their communities more effectively. 1. Single moms and the…
The post Four Success Stories from Churches that Made a Commitment to Know Their Communities Better appeared first on Church Answers.
The magical age for ministry is somewhere between 38 years-old and 56 years-old. I use the word “magical” because far too many churches look at the age of a ministry candidate as some sort of magic bullet. Any younger than the mid-thirties, and you’re too young. Any older than the mid-fifties, and you’re too old….
The post Ageism: The Real Struggle for Church Staff Close to Retirement appeared first on Church Answers.
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.
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…
The post Seven Ways to Equip Your Church to Give Sacrificially appeared first on Church Answers.
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…
The post 10 Reflections on Church Consulting for 25 Years appeared first on Church Answers.
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.