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14 Church Growth and Leadership Lies We Need to Stop Believing
People have frustrating tendency to believe statements that reinforce our previous opinions, even if those statements are obviously false. Christians are not immune to this. Neither are Christian leaders. And we seem to be especially susceptible to this when it comes to church growth. We believe what we want to believe. Facts are secondary.
I Don’t Like the Same Small Churches You Don’t Like
Let’s stop making assumptions about all Small Churches based on bad experiences with some Small Churches. Each one deserves to stand or fall on its own.
Small Church Hall of Fame: The Pilgrims
The people we now know as Pilgrims weren’t the only ones who were dissatisfied with the way things were in England. But they made a difference because they took action. Like a lot of their bible heroes, they left where they were without knowing where they’d end up. For many world-changers, action comes first. A plan comes later.
Adapt Or Die: 6 Ways to Create a Change Culture In Your Church
Because of our size, Small Churches are more capable of changing than our larger counterparts. Here are 6 steps many innovative Small Churches have taken to bake change into the core of who they are.
Reaching the World for Jesus is Too Important for Megachurches to Do Alone
Megachurches, we’re with you. You’re our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our partners in ministry. We know that the task of reaching our communities, nations, cultures and world is an enormous one. And an enormously important one. We don’t expect you to do it alone. It’s time for the 90% to come alongside the 10% and get our hands dirty together.
Killing the Megachurch Jealousy Monster – Before It Kills You
In the last few months I’ve heard two true stories about overcoming jealousy in ministry. Both stories have surprising similarities and contain a great lesson about overcoming a problem that happens to Small Church pastors more than we’d like to admit.
Forget the 200 Barrier – Small Churches Need to Break Through the Grasshopper Barrier
We need to retire the 200 Barrier from our church leadership lexicon. It makes some dangerous assumptions, starting with the assumption that over 200 is better than under 200. But the Grasshopper Barrier is a toxic mindset that keeps churches and pastors from recognizing The Grasshopper Myth for the lie that it is. That’s the barrier we need to break.
Your Church’s Mission Statement: Do It First, Write It Later
Writing a mission statement should be one of the last things a church does, not one of the first. The only real hope that a church will follow through on their mission statement is if it’s based on what the church is already doing.
We Need Each Other: And 20+ More Reasons to Have a Small Church Pastors’ Workshop
We need a Small Church Pastors’ Workshop for the same reasons we go to church. It’s about more than uploading relevant information. You can’t get everything you need from a book, a DVD or a website. We were created to be in the same room with people. Especially fellow believers. And fellow Christian leaders.
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Author
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Karl Vaters produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast, The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context. He has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience.
You can follow Karl on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn, or Contact Karl to inquire about speaking, writing, and consultation.
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