What does quality look like in a Small Church? That may be one of the biggest challenges for Small Church pastors – especially for ministry to millennials. For decades, we’ve been taught a list of elements that need to be done well for a church to be great. But many of those elements can only be […]
The Very Active Ingredient of a Healthy & Vibrant Small Church (Podcast) Read More »
Our grandparents took relationships for granted and needed to build structures. Our kids and grandkids take those structures for granted and need to build relationships.
According to church leadership experts, most people will subconsciously decide whether-or-not to come back to a church within the first 7-10 minutes of driving into the parking lot.
If your church is doing everything great, keep it up. But that’s not the case for most of us. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit we do some things well, but there are other aspects of the Sunday morning service we struggle with. And some parts we’re just awful at.
What’s worse, many churches take the things we don’t do well and put them at the beginning of the service. That means our church guests have made a yes/no decision about being a part of our congregation when all they’ve seen are the things we’re not that good at.
Front-Load the Value: One Simple Step that Can Make Any Church More Appealing to Guests Read More »
Big churches and Small Churches bring different gifts to the body of Christ. They also face different sets of temptations, based on their size.
The biggest problem with church size isn’t that there are too many big congregations or too many small ones. I also don’t think there is an ideal church size or a bad church size.
The biggest problem with church size is when we use it as one more excuse for Christians to throw stones at each other.
Big Church Sins vs. Small Church Sins: Who’ll Throw the First Stone? Read More »
For decades (yes, decades!) I refused to acknowledge that my church was small or that I was a Small Church pastor. Not any more. Now, I’m not just OK with it, I celebrate it.
Some people don’t like using the term Small Church because, in their minds, that term equates with a church being sickly, settling or worse. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
8 Reasons Why It’s OK to Call Your Church a Small Church Read More »
Too many church leaders spend too much time on too many things that aren’t essential to an effective church.
But what are the essential elements of an effective church? Good news. I’ve found the definitive list and today I’m going to share it with you.
Finally, a Definitive List of Every Essential Element for an Effective Church Read More »
It’s taken me a long time to hit “publish” on today’s post because, when I raise an issue, I like to provide solutions or alternatives. But I don’t have a solution to this one.
So today’s post is not about answers. It’s a recognition of our shared pain. With the hope that we can find some sort of solace by knowing we’re not alone in these feelings. Here are some painful truths many of us have felt when people leave our churches.
When People Leave: The Private Pain of the Small Church Pastor Read More »
There is nothing noble about suffering. Pain, sorrow, poverty, sickness, disease, violence and death have no redemptive value. They are not a part of God’s plan to save the world. They are what Jesus came to save us from.
We need to remember that this weekend.
The Cross Is Not a Celebration of Suffering, But of Jesus’ Victory Over It Read More »
I wish Easter wasn’t called Easter. It would be great if everyone knew it as Resurrection Sunday. But they don’t. So, while our church uses both terms, Easter is our go-to – especially when we invite people to join us.
If your church doesn’t use the word Easter, I’m not arguing that you should. But here are five reasons why we do.
Yes, My Church Still Calls It Easter – Here are 5 Reasons Why Read More »
Jesus never wrote a book or erected a building for his followers to rally around.
His trial was a farce, but his torture was real. At his death he hung naked, and bleeding. His flesh hanging in strips from his barely-recognizable body. As he died, he didn’t just feel forsaken by God, he actually was forsaken by God.
Jesus’ ministry was a failure.
Until…
The Next Time Your Ministry Feels Like a Failure, Remember This Read More »
