A couple of weeks ago, I shared 10 of the books that have had an impact on my life and leadership (click here to see the list) and The Purpose Driven Church held a prominent spot in that list. Most of you know that I had the privilege of serving on staff with Rick Warren at Saddleback before starting The … Read More
What Could You Do with 150+ New People Serving? + Free Downloads
One of the new resources we released in 2009 is The Ministry Seminar. It is our newest systems seminar and it’s all about getting the maximum possible number of volunteers involved in serving at your church. Here’s a recent email I received from my good friend Roy Mansfield, Small Groups Pastor at Northstar Church in Panama City, Florida (and former … Read More
Serving Others – A Saturday Quote
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” — Muhammad Ali, boxer
The Ministry Ladder – How to Hold Volunteers Accountable
I have been excited to see how well my latest church system seminar – The Ministry Seminar – has been received and how many of you have jumped right into improving the way your churches mobilize volunteers. One of the parts of this resource that is proving to be helpful is something known as “the ministry ladder,” or the path … Read More
How’s Your Church’s Volunteer System?
I saw this study a few days ago: One out of every five Christian nonprofits is reportedly relying to a greater extent on volunteers to offset the economic downturn, according to a study conducted by J. David Schmidt & Associates for the Christian Leadership Alliance. In addition, with the downturn in the economy, more people are without current employment and … Read More
The Power Of Systems In Mobilizing Disciples
I wanted to share this brief article that I wrote recently: You and I may look different on the outside but beneath our skin we are a function of common machinery. We both have hearts that pump blood, even though we are different blood types. We both have senses that take in the world, though some of yours may be … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 4)
This week, we’ve been thinking about how you can work with the natural surge that God has built into the Christmas season to influence those who don’t yet know Jesus. We started by making sure we are outwardly-focused this season. Then, we talked about how to increase the number of guests at our Christmas services. Yesterday, we learned how to … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 3)
Yesterday, we learned how you can have more first-time guests than usual at your Christmas service. But what do you do with your guests once they arrive? How can you make them feel comfortable? Is there anything you can do now to make sure they’ll want to keep coming back to your church in the new year? Turning first-time guests … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 2)
Welcome to Part 2 of the “Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas?” mini-series. Yesterday, we talked about the importance of making sure your church is outwardly-focused, especially during the Christmas season. If you missed that post, you can check it out below. Now that you realize how important it is to focus your attention on non-believers this season, let’s jump … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 1)
Is your church doing a Christmas play? Hosting a church-wide party? Inviting all of the couples to a Christmas reception? Holding a Christmas Eve service? I hope you are doing at least one or two of these things. Christmas is a time for celebration! But as you go about your usual holiday festivities, let me challenge you to think about … Read More