Category: Ministry Teams
From Preview to Launch
By Ron Sylvia: Have you ever attended a private movie screening or sneak preview? It’s a promotion strategy to create a buzz of excitement around a new movie before its general release. Similarly, one of the most effective strategies for starting a new church is the Preview Service. Like a private […]
Do These 5 Things Now to Give Your Christmas Services More Impact
by Rich Birch: Christmas is a really big deal at your church. It’s the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and it also represents some of the largest services you may host all the year long. From this vantage point, all these weeks away from the crunch time, […]
6 Mistakes I Made as a Church Planter
By Mark Dance: One of the greatest joys of my ministry was planting a church in northeast Tennessee in 1991. I made several mistakes, which hopefully you can learn from the easy way, through my pain, not yours. These are not the only mistakes I made in the ten years I […]
Strong Leaders Mine “Crisis” Moments
by Ralph Moore: Leadership is a funny thing. Often it requires little more than looking at a situation from a different angle. Good leaders do this well. When dealing with “crisis” moments we can either let them beat us up, or we can mine them for the gems hidden within. Leaders […]
If You’re Tired of Doing Everything Yourself As a Leader, Read This
by Carey Nieuwhof: Tired of doing everything yourself? Most leaders are. And yet we feel we have to do it or it won’t get done right, or maybe it won’t get done at all. I’ve been there. I get it. But the question is why? Why do so many leaders end […]
12 Steps of a Multisite Launch Timeline
By Ethan Welch: So you’re thinking about laughing a new campus? There are many questions every church faces when exploring this opportunity. Topics like location, facility, staffing timelines, and finances are all important to cover and address in the process. Let’s walk through 12 steps to help your new campus launch well. 1. Decision Early on, your […]
How to Tell if A New Volunteer is Truly a Leader (Or Simply a Doer)
by Carey Nieuwhof: I recently surveyed 1400 small and mid-sized church pastors to find out what they struggle with most as their church grows. They overwhelmingly identified developing leaders as their top challenge. Don’t get me wrong, there were many more issues (I address the big eight in my new course, […]
The Top 8 Reasons Most Churches Never Break the 200 Attendance Mark
by Carey Nieuwhof: While social media and even traditional media are still preoccupied with mega churches and multi-site churches, the reality is that most churches in North America are quite small. The Barna Group pegs the average Protestant church size in America at 89 adults. Only 2% of churches have […]
Everyone’s a Genius: Unleashing Creativity for the Sake of the World
by Greg Ligon: Many people in our churches are heading toward burnout in the areas they serve, but they still feel like no one has invited them to do anything challenging, exciting, or creative for the sake of the world. Their passion meter is low while their frustration meter is high. What if, […]
Why There Should Never Be Another Bored Christian
By Brandon A. Cox: Some of the best advice I received when we first started planting Grace Hills came from Todd West, who planted Oasis Church in North Little Rock. Todd said, “Don’t give people positions. Give them a project. Then, give them another project. If they’re faithful with enough projects, […]