Donald A. McGavran, the founder of the church growth movement, became fascinated by one predominant question: Why do some churches grow rapidly while others don’t grow at all? Related to that, he began asking how he and his fellow missionaries could strategically begin to cultivate the harvest where the soil was more pliable while giving consistent, yet less, energy where … Read More
Does Donald McGavran Still Matter Today?
Donald McGavran is the single most important thinker on how we do ministry today. His life’s work is the foundation of what you and I know about growing healthy, impactful churches. Yet, if you are under the age of fifty, you may have never heard his name. Rest assured, Donald McGavran’s life impacts you. It impacts me. All of us who … Read More
Stop Using Direct Mail – proven methods to reach more people (two days only)
That is, stop using direct mail – and watch your results drop exponentially! Direct mail is just one tool in your evangelism toolkit but no matter what you’re doing with it now – if you want to reach more people for Christ this fall, NOW is the time to be prepping your marketing and evangelism plan. That’s why today and … Read More
McGavran Monday: A Universal Truth
In honor of Dr. Gary McIntosh’s new biography of Donald McGavran, here’s today’s Monday moment: “A Church Growth principle is a universal truth which, when properly interpreted and applied, contributes significantly to the growth of churches and denominations. It is a truth of God which leads his church to spread his Good News, plant church after church, and increase his Body.” … Read More
Is your church an organism or an organization?
The following post is from my good friend Dr Bob Whitesel. Bob serves as Professor of Christian Ministry and Missional Leadership for Wesley Seminary and holds two doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary. He currently serves as president of the Great Commission Research Network as well as a board member for The Society of Church Consulting. The church is an organization that must … Read More
9 Biblical Church Growth Principles to Build a Faithful Church
So how much do you want your church to grow? It actually depends how you answer this larger question — How much do you believe God wants your church to grow? After all, Jesus didn’t say, I may build it or I might build it. He said, I WILL build it. God wants his church to grow! He is not a God of a static, plateaued or declining church — He is … Read More
How Robert Schuller Shaped Your Ministry
Today’s guest blog was penned by Warren Bird for Leadership Network. Dr. Bird serves as Director of Research and Intellectual Capital Development at Leadership Network. An ordained minister with background as both a pastor and seminary professor, he is an award-winning author or co-author of 27 books for ministry leaders. “Possibility thinker” and pioneering pastor Robert H. Schuller died April 2, 2015, at … Read More
Dr. Elmer Towns: You Too Can Be Influential
One of my great mentors is Dr. Elmer Towns (co-founder of Liberty University) and I’m excited to share with you a challenge from him today inspired by a recent intensive study he conducted on the Ten Most Influential Churches (see the PS for an exclusive resource based on that study). This study was about finding the 10 most influential churches … Read More
John Wesley, Small Groups, and Becoming Students of the Word
The following post is from my good friend and John Wesley authority, Dr Bob Whitesel. I had the tremendous privilege of traveling with him on a UK tour to study the “Footsteps of John Wesley.” This immersion was so powerful that I invited Dr. Whitesel to speak for a half day on the church growth principles of John Wesley (we … Read More
Leadership Lessons from John Wesley
John Wesley didn’t intend to start a denomination – but he created a movement. The leadership principles he developed during this extraordinary period of church growth were so effective, they simply became known as “The Method.” Though we just celebrated John Wesley’s 312th birthday, when we look closer at Wesley’s story, it’s clear how similar his situation was to ours – and … Read More