Church in the post-Covid era is similar to church before Covid (in more ways that you expect)… yet drastically different (in more ways than you know). For pastors, this is a critical time, with weighty decisions to make about attendance, safety, programs, online church, staffing, and much more. The question is: How do you navigate these unprecedented times? What if I … Read More
Let’s make the next year, your best year (an invitation)
Let me introduce you to two true but seemingly contradictory statements: • Church now, on the other side of Covid, is far more like Pre-Covid church than you expect. • Church now, on the other side of Covid, is far more different from Pre-Covid than you expect. That’s something of a head-scratcher, right? It’s a complicated and critical time for … Read More
Donald McGavran on the Ground to Be Gained
“Let us analyze causes for growth and non-growth. Let us remember that the task is indeed great and complex and ours is only one part of the whole. Let us ask God to forgive our sins – and push resolutely forward as if we had not sinned. There is much ground to be gained and there are many adversaries to … Read More
Donald McGavran on Christian Mission
“Christian mission is bringing people to repent of their sins, accept Jesus Christ as Savior, belong to His Body the Church, do as He commands, go out and spread the Good News, and multiply churches.” – Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, missionary to India and China, one of the premier missiologists of the twentieth century December 15, 1897 … Read More
Donald McGavran on the Key to Church Expansion
“Church growth follows where the lost are not merely found but restored to normal life in the fold — though it may be a life they have never consciously known. Faithfulness in ‘folding and feeding’ – which unfortunately has come to be called by such a dry, superficial term as ‘follow-up’ – is essential to lasting church expansion.” – Donald … Read More
My secrets to reading more – online this Thursday
Full confession: I wasn’t always the voracious reader that I am today, averaging 5-7 books a week. I certainly didn’t grow up with a love for reading. In fact, I never even completed a book from start to finish prior to age 17! I do like to say that “God gave me a passion to read” and while that’s true, … Read More
Q&A: Welcoming and following up with first-time guests
Today we’re revisiting one of the foundational church systems, Assimilation, and answering a few of the most common questions. Improving this system is the fastest way for your church to grow — especially coming out of a pandemic — so any time you invest here will reap great rewards later. Q: WHERE DO YOU START WHEN THERE IS NOTHING IN … Read More
Maximize Your Church by Maximizing Your Systems
We all use systems to help us accomplish our objectives every day. Think about the system you have for getting dressed in the morning. You don’t put on your deodorant until you get out of the shower. You drink your coffee before you brush your teeth. Right? There’s a system to the way you prepare yourself for the day that … Read More
McIntosh on How to Have a Healthy Church
“Healthy churches are constant in prayer. Consider the apostle Paul’s words to the Christians at Ephesus: ‘For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.’ (Eph. 1:15-16 ESV)” – Dr. Gary L. McIntosh, internationally … Read More
Great Over Good: Filling Your Groups During Promotion Month
The most basic element of filling your small groups is the promotion month–the period when you are recruiting, inspiring, encouraging, teaching, preaching and using positive peer pressure to motivate your people to sign up for a group. Make sure that your entire promotion month is dedicated exclusively to getting sign-ups. If anything is competing with group sign-ups, you will see … Read More