Source: Have You Lost the Vision?

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By Carey Nieuwhof: What will drive future church growth in the post-pandemic era?

It’s an important question to ask, because for most church leaders the pandemic has been a question of adaptation and survival, both personal and organizational.

The pandemic has been both discouraging and frustration for many church leaders.

Not only are the return-to-church numbers remarkably low,  but there’s evidence as many as 1 in 5 people dropped out of church in 2020 (see this post on the new exodus for why so many suddenly left the church).

There’s no question that many habits and patterns are being reset right now, but with every obstacle comes opportunity.

So what’s going to accelerate the growth of the future church?

Time, of course, will tell, but here are five things that will in all likelihood help churches accelerate growth into the future.

1. A Focus on the Core Mission

Before the global crisis hit in 2020, most churches were struggling, but so was church. Liberal and conservative churches were transfixed on politics and ideas (more than the core message of Christianity) were often struggling to reach new people.

Even attractional churches, which made up the majority of growing churches in the last two decades, were finding growth much harder than it used to be. (I wrote more about why here.)

If there’s one trend to watch moving forward, it’s that America likely accelerated its journey into becoming a post-modern, post-Christian culture.

Which means the future church will have to stand as an alternative to the culture, not an echo of it.

The future church will have to stand as an alternative to the culture, not an echo of it.

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As a result, in the future church:

Cool won’t cut it

Hype won’t cut it

Fun won’t cut it.

Real will.

A focus on the core purpose of church: introducing people to a relationship with Christ, with each other and life-changing discipleship, will be the one thing that church can offer that the world doesn’t.

Churches that focus on this will grow. Churches that get lost in politics, ideology, hype or anything off mission won’t—at least not the long term.

In the future church, cool won’t cut it. Hype won’t cut it. Fun won’t cut it. Real will.

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2. An Actual Experience

So what kind of experience will help people move into an authentic faith?

For years, churches have grown through delivering great content. And trust me, excellent preaching still matters.

The problem is that great content is no longer scarce.

What used to drive church attendance—join us in the building at 10 a.m. for a brand new series—will no longer do so, because everyone now knows whatever message you’re preaching will be live-streamed or available later on demand.

And if your message isn’t, no worries. They can choose from a million others that are. For free. Here’s more on the new scarcity and why content alone won’t cut it in the future.

Our culture is drowning in a sea of information.

When people come to church, they’re not just looking for information—they’re looking for transformation.

Sure, people definitely need some information, but fewer are looking for information about God; they’re looking for an experience of God.

When people come to church, they’re not just looking for information—they’re looking for transformation. They’re not looking for information about God; they’re looking for an experience of God.

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Today, information is everywhere. Transformation is scarce.

What does this mean?

Churches that focus on something more than head knowledge in their services or a ‘fun’ experience will likely see greater traction than those that don’t. Even pre-pandemic, churches that had a more charismatic, emotional experience were growing when many other churches weren’t.

In addition, churches that have a clear path into discipleship…that get people engaging their faith or at least experiencing it, will see greater success than churches that invite you to merely attend.

Today, information is everywhere. Transformation is scarce.

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3. Community and Connection

Content used to be a competitive advantage. For the most part, it isn’t any more.

What is deeply scarce right now are community and connection.

A year into the pandemic, people are more isolated than ever. That’s playing out the crisis in mental health, rising addictions and the fractionalized tribes we’ve seen form in our culture.

Authentic, loving and genuine community are more scarce than they have ever been in our lifetime.

Every church should be running to fill that hole.

Community means connecting people to each other in groups, serving, friendship and relationships.

Nobody should be able to out-community the local church.

Connection means that even for those joining online or attending in person for the first time, the primary job becomes connecting with them and then helping them find connection with each other.

In the same way the purpose of a dating app isn’t to get people to connect with the app, but with each other, the goal of the church should be to get people to connect with one another, not just the senior leader. I realize that’s not a great analogy, but you get the point, right?

Moving forward, the competitive advantage of the local church isn’t content, it’s community and connection.

Moving forward, the competitive advantage of the local church isn’t content, it’s community and connection.

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4. Church Online

What happens to online church once we’re move into a post-pandemic world?

Simple…it becomes your front door and side door, and as a result, becomes the greatest opportunity for you to reach new people (front door) and keep people in your church connected (side door).

In the pre-digital era, it took a lot to get someone to come to your church for the first time.

They had to gather the family, dress up (at least out of their PJs), show up and set aside hours for a first time experience. In a Christian culture, that was far easier and less intimidating than it is in a post-Christian culture.

The good news about church online is that the cost of entry is almost nothing to a first-time guest. Just one click and they’re with you.

In the future, wise leaders will realize that this is the best way to reach people, and if you develop a great way to meet people, connect with them and move them into relationship and a discipleship path, you’ll see significant growth.

The other opportunity for church online is its ability to act as a side door for people who are away for the weekend (or a season).

Again, in the pre-digital era, if you were gone…you missed everything. Now you don’t have to miss a thing.

So a robust digital presence moving forward can result in both greater growth and deeper engagement.

Plus digital church scales in a way that physical church doesn’t.

The old thinking was (and still is in many cases) that you’re competing with your in-person services by having a great online experience. That’s scarcity thinking at its finest.

You’re not competing with yourself by investing in a digital future, you’re expanding your mission.

Digital church scales in a way that physical church doesn’t. You’re not competing with yourself by investing in a digital future, you’re expanding your mission.

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5. Agility

One of the biggest temptations for all of us when the post-pandemic era arrives will be to take our foot off the accelerator, find a method that works and lock it in.

That might be a fatal mistake.

The era of set-it-and-forget it strategy is over.

In all likelihood, culture will continue to morph and change quickly. The pace of change will continue unabated, and that will create the need to stay agile.

The gap between how quickly you change and how quickly the culture changes is called irrelevance.

Too many leaders sacrifice the mission in the name of finding predictable methods. Agile leaders are willing to continually sacrifice methods to advance the mission.

Too many leaders sacrifice the mission in the name of finding predictable methods. Agile leaders are willing to continually sacrifice methods to advance the mission.

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I realize that sounds exhausting, and here’s some encouragement (and advice) on how to hang in there for the long haul.

What you’ll realize though is that remaining agile, open and ready to change is one of the greatest strength you can have moving forward.

And ultimately, agility is far less exhausting than decline is.

The era of set-it-and-forget it strategy is over. Agility is far less exhausting than decline is.

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What Do You See?

What do you see as you look to the future?

Anything you’re seeing that’s getting traction as you move into the future?

The post 5 Post-Pandemic Church Growth Accelerators appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Post-Pandemic Church Growth Accelerators

The post 5 Post-Pandemic Church Growth Accelerators appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: Five Ways to Know Your Community

The post Five Ways to Know Your Community appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Carey Nieuwhof: Having been through a year like no other, what can you expect as a church leader in 2021?

In all likelihood, this year will lead the church into the post-pandemic world. It won’t be the light switch you hope for (and suddenly, we’re all back!). Instead, it will be a gradual emergence into whatever our normalized future looks like. But at some point in 2021 you’ll look back and realize most of the pandemic is behind you and the future is ahead of you.

The question is, what kind of new reality will emerge?

For church leaders, it will be a different world for sure.

Since 2016, I’ve done an annual church trends post. For the most part, many of the trends have emerged and are still relevant to what we’re all experiencing right now. Some accelerated dramatically.

You can access the entire archive for free here:

The Original 2020 is History: 7 NEW Disruptive Church Trends Every Leader Should Watch

5 Disruptive Leadership Trends That Will Rule 2020

6 Disruptive Church Trends for 2020

5 Disruptive Church Trends for 2019

7 Disruptive Church Trends for 2018

6 Disruptive Church Trends for 2017

5 Disruptive Church Trends for 2016

While no one can say exactly what the future holds, here are 8 trends I’m watching and would encourage you and your team to consider and process as well.

2021 will lead the church into the post-pandemic world. It won’t be the light switch you hope for (and suddenly, we’re all back!). Instead, it will be a gradual emergence into whatever our normalized future looks like.

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1. The Majority of Attenders May No Longer Be In The Room

Physical church attendance has been in decline for decades and COVID in all likelihood accelerated the decline even further.

The average church has seen their re-opened attendance come in around 36% of previous levels. Almost no leader I’ve interviewed expects church attendance to jump back to pre-COVID levels for a while.

For years, most pastors didn’t know how to handle anyone who engaged the message or mission outside of their facility.

Moving forward, many church leaders will realize that people who are engaging from home or other places will count just as much as those who are attending in a facility.

Moving forward church leaders will realize that people who are engaging from home or other places will count just as much as those who are attending in a facility.

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Over the last year, so many things have shifted home: work, shopping, food, fitness, school and (at least for a season) church.

People have realized they don’t have to go to a building to engage. And as a result, some won’t do that nearly as much in the future.

As 2021 rolls on, many growing churches will see what you off-facility attendance (home partipation, micro-gatherings and distributed gatherings) eclipse facility-based attendance: the number of people participating in the mission who are not in the building on a Sunday will surpass the number of people participating in the mission inside the building.

More and more growing churches will embrace online viewing from home, micro-gatherings and micro-campuses as normal.

What pastors have to understand quickly is that this trend isn’t about people who are dropping out. It’s about people who are leaning in.

In the future, the number of people participating in the mission who are not in the building on a Sunday will surpass the number of people participating in the mission inside the building.

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If you can be good with the fact that micro-gatherings, distributed gatherings and people watching from home count, then you can mobilize those people in the same way you would people who are in your building.

In the same way retailers have come to understand that an online purchaser is still a client, and restaurant owners have embraced the fact that drive-thru, take out and delivery can still be fulfill their mission around food, so church leaders have to get good with the fact that people who aren’t in the main room count.

Your church is still around. The church is still around. It’s just left the building.

In the post-pandemic church, it’s possible that the majority of attenders as well as your most engaged people may not be in the room.

Your church is still around. The church is still around. It’s just left the building. In the post-pandemic church, your most engaged people may not be in the room.

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2. Growing Churches Will Shift Their Focus From Gathering to Connecting

This leads us to the second trend. Historically, the church has wagered almost everything on gathering people in a building.

This year, however, growing churches will focus less on gathering and much more on connecting. (Thanks to Tony Morgan for this language.)

Connecting people who are engaging from home both with the church and with one another will become and essential skill for all church leaders.

In 2021, if coming to Christ means coming to your church in a set location and a set hour, you need a new strategy.

In 2021, if coming to Christ means coming to your church in a set location and a set hour, you need a new strategy. Growing churches will focus less on gathering and much more on connecting

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The easiest way to think about this is the same way church leaders have thought about small groups for the last 25 years.

Almost no church leader today feels threatened by the idea that hundreds or thousands of people will be meeting in their homes to connect with other people. The church facilitates groups but doesn’t host them in a centralized facility.

Instead, leaders simply connect people who want to be connected and engage them in the mission.

This is where the potential for Sunday morning starts to move it to the new direction.

Small groups by nature tend to be closed and intimate. Gathering in people’ homes and outside the building on Sunday morning (or off-Sunday) would consist of micro-churches that are outward focused. Think of groups, but with an evangelism thrust.

The good news is that the scales in a way that gathered worship doesn’t period. It costs less and produces for more.

Gathering people on Sunday mornings will be as important as ever. It just won’t all happen in a building owned by the church.

Gathering people on Sunday mornings will be as important as ever. It just won’t all happen in a building owned by the church.

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3. Some Pastors Will Try to Fill Auditoriums While Others Focus On Fulfilling The Mission

The first two trends are disorienting and it’s easy to see why they would seem discouraging to many leaders. It’s a whole new paradigm the church is emerging into.

Just search the comments on this blog or social media and you’ll see church leaders who are having a really hard time coming to terms with what’s happening. I get it—it’s hard.

As a result, the natural tendency will be to ignore Trends 1 and 2 and focus on filling up auditoriums again once everything is fully open.

That might create a short term win but result in a longer term loss and missed opportunity. After all, for most leaders filling rooms was getting harder long before the pandemic.

So what’s underneath the obsession about filling auditoriums?

Often arguments include things like “Christians can’t forsake getting together” or “we have to gather in community.” That’s deeply true.

What’s not true (or biblical) is that the gathering has to happen in a building owned by the church (see the first two trends).

As someone who’s led a church for two decades, I promise you I like full rooms too. A little too much to be honest.

As much as they make for great pics on Instagram and make you feel better about yourself, full rooms do not guarantee a fulfilled mission.

Full auditoriums do not guarantee a fulfilled mission

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What’s under all this? Let me quote from a text a friend sent to me recently:

It would be interesting to know whether pastors value in-person attendance more than distributed attendance (micro-gatherings) or online attendance.

My feed had a lot of pastors quoting the stat that showed only people who attend in person saw improved mental health in 2020.

Personally, I saw that as very self-serving and bit dangerous as in “see…you need to come back to the building like I said you should…”

I’ve seen that in my feed too.  (I also haven’t seen any pastor mention that in the same poll, low income earners, young adults and single people fared better than others. No one wrote about the political findings either.)

At stake here is a full room versus a fulfilled mission.

In the future, leaders who only focus on filling a room will miss the biggest opportunity they have to fulfill their mission.

If the size of your vision shrinks to the size of a room you can fill, you’ve missed the church’s mission.

In the future leaders who only focus on filling a room will miss the biggest opportunity they have to fulfill their mission.

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4. Growing Churches Will See The Internet and Their Buildings Differently

So, what do you do with your building?

Great question.

You use it to equip people, not just gather them. Yes, people will gather in your building. And that’s awesome.

For too many years, pastors have been focused on one thing: Getting the greatest number of people in the room at the same time.

Sometimes that’s about ministry. Sometimes (honestly) it’s about ego. I’ll confess to both.

The church facilities of the future will be places where people assemble to be equipped to do ministry during the week. I realize that, theoretically, we’ve always believed that, but we often haven’t behaved that way. What we believe and how we behave are often two very different things.

The difference is that most of the people you’re equipping won’t be in the room. You may be speaking to them from the room, but they’ll in their homes, in their cars, at work and in the community.

Right now, most pastors are using church online to get people into the building. In the future, most pastors will use the building to reach people online.

Right now, most pastors are using church online to get people into the building. In the future, most pastors will use the building to reach people online.

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Just because they’re not attending doesn’t mean they aren’t engaged or in community. They can and will gather outside a church building.

In the future, churches that equip Christians will eclipse churches that gather them.

In the future, churches that equip Christians will eclipse churches that gather them.

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5. Content Alone Won’t Cut It. Community and Connection Will. 

The rush in 2020 was to get content online. Which was completely natural and appropriate.

Heading into 2021, the mood around content is shifting.

Pastors are complaining that views are down because people are ‘Zoomed out” or “Screened out.”

Sure, the spike in screen time has been a shock to all our systems, mine included.

But just because you personally feel screened out doesn’t mean the culture is.

If you think people are screened out, run your theory by TikTok or Instagram. Apparently, people aren’t nearly as done with screens as church leaders think.

If you think people are screened out, run your theory by TikTok or Instagram. Apparently, people aren’t nearly as done with screens as church leaders think.

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Which leads us into the fourth trend. Yes, content matters because sharing the Word of God matters…immensely.

However, many Christians now realize they they can watch or listen to their favorite preachers, content creators and voices in the world today any time for free. So they do.

One approach is to try to equal or match the exceptionally gifted and skilled communicators out there. But for most of leaders, that’s not a winning strategy. You won’t be able to compete.

Growing churches (and yes, that includes small and mid-sized churches too) will realize that connection and community will win out over content in the end, and they’ll focus their resources there.

Nobody should be able to out-local or out-community the local the church.

Nobody should be able to out-local or out-community the local the church.

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Absolutely produce the best content you can, but make the goal connecting with people.

When you provide connection (getting to know people, moving them into community, caring for them), it will provide a loyalty and sense of tribe that people can’t get elsewhere.

Therefore, make the goal of digital content connection, not consumption.

Make the goal of digital content connection, not consumption.

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6. Generational Differences Will Become Clearer Than Ever

Shifting gears a little, one of the creeping trends in the last few years is that generational differences are becoming sharper than ever.

While according to one survey, 71% of Boomers preferred physical worship as opposed to digital or hybrid church, only 41% of Gen Z preferred physical worship. Everyone other than Boomers had a preference for hybrid (a combination of in-person and digital gathering) or digital gatherings.

Many studies these days show stark differences between younger adults and older adults.

And while leaders love to pick part data, try a simpler approach. If you think attitudes about worship, racial justice, sexuality, economics, and even things like climate change aren’t morphing where you live (i.e. folks around here are pretty traditional), talk to a youth pastor.

Youth pastors more than almost anyone else sense where trends are heading.

If you want to get more personal, talk to some churched and unchurched teens and young adults.

While this doesn’t change core Christian theology, it does probably means wise leaders will think about their tone and approach.

If you want to get a sense of how the dialogue is changing, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyon’s UnChristian is still remarkably relevant even fourteen years after its first publication while Faith For Exiles offers an updated perspective.

As Gen Z emerges into the workforce, attitudes and beliefs most leaders were thinking were aberrations and exceptions will become mainstream.

Leaders who understand the emerging culture, its language and its values will have the best chance of reaching it.

Leaders who understand the emerging culture, its language and its values will have the best chance of reaching it.

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7. The Political and Ideological Churches Will Lose Influence With the Unchurched

If 2020 surfaced anything, it’s how political and ideological some kinds of churches have become.

It’s easy in a tribalized culture to become tribal. And while that might score some short term points with like-minded people who are angry and self-righteous (both are characteristics of the political left and the right), in the long run it will diminish your influence with most of the people you’re trying to reach.

Unchurched people aren’t looking for an echo of the culture, they’re seeking an alternative to it.

Unchurched people aren’t looking for an echo of the culture, they’re seeking an alternative to it.

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Moving ahead a few years, the future church will consist of Christians who look, live and sound much more like Jesus than the political candidate of their choice.

What many church leaders are about to face is this truth: Unchurched people aren’t looking for politics or ideology. They’re looking for Christ.

I pray they find him in our churches.

The future church will consist of Christians who look, live and sound much more like Jesus than the political candidate of their choice.

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8. Spiritual Entrepreneurs Will Thrive

These are hard times for all leaders, but as the dust settles and we emerge into the post-pandemic world, leaders who see opportunities instead of obstacles will thrive.

The missing gift set in the church is spiritual entrepreneurship—something the New Testament calls apostleship. It’s the kind of radical determination, innovation and fierceness the Apostle Paul showed.

As I wrote about here, the church today is filled with shepherds, to the point where shepherds are perhaps over-represented in church leadership. What we need most as we navigate new waters in a post-Christian culture is not more shepherds, but spiritual entrepreneurs.

Whether you call it spiritual entrepreneurship or the gift of apostleship, what we need is a new generation of Apostle Pauls who forge out in new directions.

Who experiment boldly. Who dare greatly.

Spiritual entrepreneurs are the kind of leaders who will find tomorrow’s solutions when most leaders can only see the problem.

Spiritual entrepreneurs are the kind of leaders who will find tomorrow’s solutions when most leaders can only see the problem.

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In a marketplace that’s in love with start-ups and new ventures, we need some leaders who are inclined to spend their lives in the marketplace who will take their God-given talents and energy and throw them full time behind the mission of the church.

Some of the ideas that will become widely embraced five years in the future are being birthed right now.

New ways of gathering people, mobilizing and equipping people and moving the mission forward are being developed as you read this.

Micro-churches, the distributed church, community focused churches, the location independent church, and many other new forms of expression are leading the way into the future.

Right now, most of those approaches will get more criticism than praise. In the same way few people thought private citizens renting out their homes and vehicles to others was a good idea (Airbnb and Uber), so a lot of the ideas for church you’ll see in 2021 will be denounced and dismissed…until they’re not.

In the same way few people thought private citizens renting out their homes & vehicles to others was a good idea (Airbnb and Uber), so many ideas for church you’ll see in 2021 will be denounced and dismissed…until they’re not.

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As is often in culture, the leaders you criticize today will be the leaders who coach you tomorrow.

So be open. A lot of good, messy, untested, might-not-work initiatives are going to launch. It’s out of that the future is always born.

As is often in culture, the leaders you criticize today will be the leaders who coach you tomorrow.

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2021 Is Here. Free Help on Digital Preaching, Team Burnout and More.

As hard as it might be, what if 2021 could be a year of real growth for you and your church?

You know that in 2020, some organizations grew while others struggled. I’d love to help your church thrive in 2021.

I know, that sounds crazy (especially after a post like this), but like most things, it’s crazy until it’s not.

I believe 2021 can be a great year for you and your team, and I’d love to help you make it happen.

That’s why I created the 2021 Church Leader Toolkit.

Inside, I cover:

How To Produce Content That Actually Gets Read & Watched
5 Keys To Better Digital Preaching
7 Strategies To Deepen Digital Engagement
How To Keep You And Your Team Out Of Burnout
3 Key Pivots For Every Organization In 2021

The toolkit is free.

You can get access and share the kit with your team here!

What Do You See? 

There could easily have been a dozen trends and I kept it at a meta-level to hopefully spark some creative thinking.

Watch for my 2021 Leadership Trends posts to follow in a few days.

What do you see as you head into 2021? Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 8 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2021 (The Rise of the Post-Pandemic Church) appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 8 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2021 (The Rise of the Post-Pandemic Church)

The post 8 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2021 (The Rise of the Post-Pandemic Church) appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: 6 Ways Pastors Struggle

The post 6 Ways Pastors Struggle appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Justin Gravitt: The future is coming. If you look closely toward the horizon you can see a hint of light pushing against the darkness. As the future rises now is the time to seize the day! Though we currently sit in the darkness of the in-between, a new day is dawning.

For church leaders the transition from now to next has already been dizzying. Even the most experienced pastors are on a steep learning curve. Instead of a ministry marked by the incarnational presence of Jesus, their ministry is marked by technology. Life on life has been replaced by life to screen. Their connection to the flock has been disrupted. Even regular rituals such as weddings and funerals barely recognizable.

The dawn of what’s next for the culture and the church isn’t comfortable, but it shouldn’t intimidate us. After all, we are God’s people. Jesus himself, promised that the forces of evil would not conquer us (Matt. 16:18). Still, in order to thrive in the future churches must adjust their methods while adhering to the mission.

The time is coming for churches to shift their focus from surviving to thriving. During this in-between season, they have leaned into practices that have allowed the past to continue into the present. As churches think through the new landscape, there are four focus shifts that will help churches make disciples who make disciples in the days to come.

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1. Shift from a Content Focus to a Connection Focus

Most churches have responded to the pandemic by producing more content than ever before. I get it. Pastors miss interacting with their people. They wonder how they are doing and want to communicate the importance of faith during this time. Too much content muddies the water of what’s important. The answer to separation is connection, not content.

Disconnection was a problem even before the pandemic. Consumerism teaches us to solve our problems with information rather than connection. It’s the reason we ask Alexa instead of a neighbor. Our true problems are solved by connection, not content. Consumerism isn’t going away, so churches that want to thrive in the future will focus on ministering to people by fostering meaningful connection to one another and to God.

2. Shift from a Digital Focus to a Tribal Focus

There’s no doubt that digital is here to stay. Online experiences allow people an easy way to connect and to test the waters before getting in. For churches, an online presence is helpful, but only if it leads to deeper engagement and connection. Too often an online experience has replaced offline connection. In other words, the means have replaced the end.

Instead of a digital focus measured by clicks, views, and comments churches of the future will measure emerging tribes. In tribes, people know they belong to one another and out of that belonging develops a way of being. In other words, a common culture. It’s the mindset that says, “people like us do things like this.” As churches move into the future, instead of optimizing for eyes, we must cultivate a sense of being through connection and culture. When connection only happens online a common culture IRL (in real life) isn’t possible.

3. Shift from an Entertainment Focus to an Equipping Focus

One of the biggest challenges churches face is getting people to engage the mission of Christ. Many churches work hard to make their services entertaining. The result is some come, while most don’t. Even the best attractional churches lose the entertainment game to the likes of Netflix and Amazon. In the future, churches who focus on entertaining people at the expense of equipping them will simply not survive.

Entertainment is nice for consumers looking for a show, but soldiers, athletes, and farmers (2 Tim 2:1–13) prefer to be equipped for the task at hand. The thriving church of the future not only connects people to one another, but they also connect people to the mission of Jesus. Instead of focusing on entertaining, they focus on equipping. As people see the important role God has for them, they will find tribes of people who are committed to that mission and who can help train them for success. The church of the future is smaller, but mightier.

4. Shift from a Focus on Breadth to a Focus on Depth

The last shift is almost required if the first three are to take place. It’s a shift that has already occurred in many segments of society. Books, tv shows, and movies are made for a segment of society rather than everyone. In doing so, niches have emerged that allow people to go down deep rather than out wide.

Churches that make this shift are comfortable saying, “we do this not that,” and “we must grow, not just go (and vice versa).” A focus on depth is a commitment to individual and tribal development that’s at least as strong as global development.

Churches who commit to fleshing out the details of these shifts will be poised to thrive as the future comes. These focus shifts allow disciple making to thrive in a future that could be very challenging to our past models of church. Which focus shifts will you and your team make NOW?

By Justin Gravitt

The post The Future of Disciple Making: Four Focus Shifts Churches Must Make NOW appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: The Future of Disciple Making: Four Focus Shifts Churches Must Make NOW

The post The Future of Disciple Making: Four Focus Shifts Churches Must Make NOW appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: New Churches

In Episode 512 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Todd discuss what causes success to be killed and what leaders need to avoid those success killers.

“What are the common things that kill the success of leaders?”

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

The top three things leaders struggle with
Why you need community and accountability

 Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

“An obsession or a fixation on money, sex, or power would have a tendency to take leaders out.” – @toddadkins
“When we look at the landscape of people we know who have been taken out of ministry, a lot of times it is because of money, sex, or power.” – @toddadkins
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – @danielsangi
“It’s pride that causes you to find security in money.” – @danielsangi
“What are the boundaries or guardrails in your life to prevent you from falling into that?” – @danielsangi
“We need to have people in our lives that are completely unimpressed with us.” – @danielsangi
“When you are praying with your wife, that is as accountable as it gets.” – @toddadkins

Help us Multiply the Mission:

Please subscribe
Leave a rating and review on iTunes
Ask a question by clicking Send Voicemail on the right hand side of NewChurches.com
If you’re on a phone or a tablet, then go to www.speakpipe.com/newchurches to download the app and record your message
When you’re recording, introduce yourself and your context in about 15 seconds and then record your question for 30 seconds

The post Episode 512: Success Killers appeared first on NewChurches.com – Church Planting, Multisite, and Multiplication.

Source: Episode 512: Success Killers

The post Episode 512: Success Killers appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: The Church.digital

When I was a kid, I was told that talking in church was not allowed. My parents would allow me to draw or put my head down, but talking was not permitted. As I got older, I was permitted to sit in the student section of church and keep quiet passing notes to my friends during the service. We would pay attention, but we also had our own conversation going on by passing notes. This was in the stone age that preceded text messaging and instant messaging available on a cell phone. We would actually talk about what we liked about the message and made plans for hanging out after church. It helped me solidify friendships in church and dig in deeper into conversation. Now imagine, I grow up and oversee Church Online now. Should I encourage people to be quiet during the service? No way! This is the big benefit of Church Online. You can encourage chat during the service. Online chat during the service builds community and helps people stay connected to the content of your church service. Online chat is a great way to begin the conversation that moves your online audience from a crowd into community. All this starts with a quality chat host.Here are three things chat hosts can drive:

Conversation: Your chat hosts are both greeters and small group leaders in the chat. They help people feel welcome, but also keep the conversation stimulating throughout the service. This is why it’s important to have primary and secondary chat hosts at each online service hour. Someone should be driving the conversation and someone should be supporting, as well. This way guests can also feel comfortable joining in. If two people are affirming guests, it makes them feel welcome and keeps them engaged throughout the service.
Consistency: Having the same team on a regular basis drives community. Think of it this way, who was the person you constantly said “hello” to when you first began visiting your church. You felt like you knew someone. It was the beginning of community for you. You might have had someone notice when you were out. They said things like “we missed you last week.” We see the same kind of community developing in our chat at Christ Fellowship. Volunteers are building friendships with guests. Guests are feeling more comfortable and choosing their service hours based on the chat volunteers that are attending. It’s creating consistency in their online attendance.
Conversion: I don’t just mean salvations. Yes, people are being led to Christ through our online services, but the chat helps get them connected to our church. Chat converts attendees by offering next steps and opportunities to connect to groups and attend our membership class. Chat hosts provide urls to forms and encourage guests to connect to our church. This is how we move from content to conversation to community.

Could you imagine if we offered chat, not just online but in physical services? I guess we’ll have to explore that idea soon. But in the meantime, think about how chat can make an impact on your digital platforms. Consistent chat volunteers can help you connect viewers to your church. It will require time and investment, so be prepared to build a core of people who are dedicated to serving your church. You can start small with just two volunteers at one service hour, but it is a great way to begin moving online guests into your discipleship strategy and get them connected to your church.

Source: The Need for Chat

The post The Need for Chat appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: The Most Urgent Things Your Church Should Be Doing Right Now

The post The Most Urgent Things Your Church Should Be Doing Right Now appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By Greg Curtis: I loved spending 25 minutes on Facebook Live with many of you, sharing what we are learning right now about engaging guests online at my church. I promised a written summary of that discussion with linked resources so here it is!

The session was built on a new conviction for Sherpas leading guests toward the summit of a fuller connection with God and others online:

“Engagement, not content will win the day. We will rise and fall during this quarantine on our ability online to engage people in community, not our ability to lead them in worship or deliver a great sermon.”

Here’s why your church’s growth will hinge on guest engagement, not worship services during the quarantine:

There’s too much competition

If someone wants to get a great sermon, they can go online at any other church. In fact, they could google and find the exact message they need to hear by topic. Or, due to the scaleability of the internet, we could all attend Saddleback Church and hear Rick Warren this weekend.

Your teaching still has to be effective. But believe me, no matter how good your sermon is, it is not the primary reason people will stay with your church during the quarantine.

A friend of mine is on the Executive Team of the largest church in his denomination. He did not attend his own church online last Sunday. He attended a small church of 200 online in Central California. Why? Because they know him when he logs on and he can chat with them and pray. He was a part of that church back in the day and loves the connection.

Great services are plentiful on the internet. Great connections are not. Which leads to this reason why online engagement wins the day.

There’s an increased need for community

Families are quarantined, so are singles and seniors. The need to know that we are not alone but part of a community that knows us, cares about us and will be there for us is more important than ever. Online engagement is how people access that now.

To create community for guests online, follow the same “Four Ps” of a successful assimilation strategy that work when churches gather physically: Send guests to One Place to share their contact info for a digital welcome gift. Use that contact info to invite them to a digital expression of your One Program. Incorporate discussion and fun into the experience, designing the program to get guests into Two Process that lead them to Two Placements (an online small group and a digital team to help others locally until we regather physically).

Because name and email is the primary ask of online engagement, there is a 3rd crucial factor to keep in mind…

There’s a huge desire for consolidation

Right now your inbox is full with emails from your kids school, your bank, as well as everyone’s thoughts on living through the quarantine. Let’s not even talk about social media. If you’re a part of a church, you are probably hearing from the pastor via a daily video encouragement, the Communication Team via e-news, and emails from your ministry team leader about the latest digital application of your ministry. Information overload is a distinct sort of stress that people are under right now, so here is how we are addressing it as a church:

We are currently consolidating emails to guest by making our pastor’s daily “video of hope” our free gift. This is in lieu of emailing an Amazon gift card (which is what we did our first week online) followed by emails that invite them to our One Program. It saves money to do this too. We increased our new guest leads from 29 to 40 when we did this.

We are asking staff to list any emails going out to groups of 30 or more on a shared calendar spreadsheet. This is to insure they go out on different days and our paced well so people don’t get overwhelmed with too much communication or redundancy.

This desire for consolidation of information is not just for our guests. It goes for you and I as Sherpa leaders as well. There are so many emails just trying to get my attention focused on the latest thoughts on ministry during the COVID19 crisis that I have decided to only open ones that come from 3 friends/colleagues that I will recommend to you now:

Carey Nieuwhof’s blog (on leadership, assimilation and church online, Carey is Canadian, an author and is a pastor at Connexus Church in Ontario. Love it podcast too)

Danny Franks Connective Tissue (Danny’s laser focused on first impressions and guest services and is from Summit Church in NC)

Jason Young’s Saturday Rundown (A Saturday morning email on hospitality and leadership. Jason was on Andy Stanley’s Exec Team at North Point in GA).

If you are an Executive Pastor or on an Exec Team, than my friend Rich Birch at Unseminary is the one to be listening to. Check out his “COVID19 and the Path Forward Webinar” here.

That’s it for me. Everything else get’s deleted no matter how informative it looks. You need to come up with a quick decision making filter about your inbox during this time. I realize, I may not make the cut! That’s OK. Or you might pick only one or none of my recommendations. You know what resources energize you so open or delete with courage, confidence and wisdom.

The last 2 reminders I gave on the Facebook Live session on Tuesday were these:

With probably around 2 months of not having physical church ahead of you, this may offer the margin you needed to get a new assimilation strategy designed or upgraded. You just need someone to walk you and your team through the necessary steps in 6 online sessions and a checklist. I would love to be that guy and my video course is the ticket. Find out what you need to know to make that decision here.

You can watch the 25 minute video of last Tuesday’s live session on my Facebook page by friending me and watching it on my timeline. Share it with someone who needs it, and join me for the next Facebook live this coming Tuesday at 8am Pacific Standard Time and friend me first at facebook.com/Gregcurtis63.

This week I’ll be taking your questions and covering…

A formula for figuring out what your real attendance is online

What to ask of online guests and when

Ideas for creating an online engagement pathway not just a pitstop.

Much more.

See ya on the climb (even if it’s virtual),

Need this kind of stuff in your inbox once a week or so? I don’t post often so don’t worry. I wont bug you unless I have something new to say! Just let me know below.

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Thank you!

Source: Connecting Guests to your Church Online during the Quarantine (Facebook Live session 2 summary)

The post Connecting Guests to your Church Online during the Quarantine (Facebook Live session 2 summary) appeared first on Passion for Planting.