“What’s happening in churches?” That is a question I often hear from pastors, elders, and renewal leaders. Over the past few years, I have had the gift of surveying and talking with church leaders about …
Does Your Guest Pathway Feel Like a Maze?
In this series, we are exploring ministry bottlenecks that can keep churches from moving forward. We have already looked at the pastor bottleneck and the decision-making bottleneck. Now it is time to consider another common …
A World of Campfire Stories
Imagine sitting on chairs in the church’s parking lot; multiple “campfires” are burning safely in their containers, and people are roasting marshmallows and telling stories. They smile as they tell small “c” campfire stories about …
Facing Reality: Stalled Outreach
In this series of newsletters, we have been naming six challenges churches today cannot ignore. We have already discussed aging congregations, leadership pipelines running dry, and the decline of volunteerism. Today, we’ll turn to the fourth challenge, stalled …
Comparing Five Church Planting Models
Church planting is one of the most effective ways to reach nonbelievers with the gospel. As we noted in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, they tend to be more nimble and more …
A Fresh Look at Church Planting
If you care about church renewal, you cannot ignore church planting! As we seek to move our congregations out of maintenance mode and into a multiplication mindset, church planting should be on all our radars! …
Four Ways to Reach the “Nones”
When churches rediscover their core mission, they naturally turn outward with the Gospel. In today’s culture, many of the people outside our walls identify as “Nones” — people who say they are atheist, agnostic, or “nothing …
How to Become an Outward-Focused Church
The gravitational pull of churches will always be toward the wants and needs of insiders. It takes intentional effort to keep a church focused on its mission of reaching those outside the faith. At a …
Encouraging People: Being a “Barnabas” in a “Paul” World
Recently, I was on a call discussing the need for encouragement in this season of life and ministry. Many of our friends and colleagues are walking away from ministry and the church. It can be …
Praying Together For Church Renewal
Church renewal is fueled by, sustained by, and powered by prayer. As theologian Karl Barth said, “to clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” Many …