If you’re at a loss as to why the church you serve is no longer growing, you’re in good company. Every week I hear from highly gifted Senior Pastors whose churches have grown in the past, but for some reason have stalled. When I get permission to look under the hood and poke around a bit, asking questions and analyzing data and trends, I tend to hear the same response to … [Read more...]
8 Things To Keep In Mind When Budgeting
Recently a Senior Pastor friend of mine attempting to lead his church of 180 in growth asked if I had any thoughts I could share with his governing board about crafting an effective budget for their church. Since I know this is something many of you are thinking about right now, I thought you might appreciate listening in on the conversation. Here goes… Dear Governing … [Read more...]
How Time With Another Church’s Staff Ahead Of Your Growth Stage Can Save Your Soul
When I was leading a church that was stuck, one of the most important things I did to find my way forward was spend time with pastors who had led through the stage that had me stuck. One of them was Charlie McMahon, Senior Pastor at Southbrook Christian Church in Centerville, Ohio. Charlie had led Southbrook from 150 to 1,500 and had been through some rough stretches and … [Read more...]
Why Increasing Church Attendance Matters
Contrary to what contemporary church thinkers might say, church attendance is absolutely an important spiritual indicator in the life of the church. Church attendance matters because… The Book of Acts tells us that the corporate church continuously met together (Acts 2:42-47) and Luke made it a point to count it as a way of marking progress and participation. God … [Read more...]
The Difference Between Amateur And Professional Senior Pastors
Amateurs wait to write their sermons until they feel inspired. Professionals work on their sermons on a schedule, focusing on creating consistent writing habits that lead to inspiration. Amateurs take criticism about various aspects of the church they serve personally. Professionals seek feedback, even if it is negative, and view it as necessary to growth as an … [Read more...]
Chuck Swindoll On Senior Pastors Being Themselves
17 years ago I wrote Chuck Swindoll, seeking his advice regarding preaching and church leadership. At the time Chuck Swindoll was one of the most popular and beloved Senior Pastors in the United States. I wrote him because I had become convinced that I was not cut out to be a pastor – I didn’t have the right personality, and instead of slick self-help sermons, I simply … [Read more...]
Three Ways To Increase Staff Meeting Effectiveness
Here are three thoughts for making staff meetings work better for your team: 1. Know that the larger your church gets, the smaller your staff meetings must become. At first, all new or smaller churches are like start-up companies in someone’s garage. The problem is Apple would have never become the organization it is today by staying at that stage. Each stage of church … [Read more...]
10 Characteristics Of An Amazing Leadership Team
Last night I walked out of the room shaking my head. God, I don’t know how you pulled this off, but this team is simply amazing. Unified. Visionary. Encouraging. Fun. Passionate. Gifted. Transparent. Gracious. These are just a few of the words I’d use to describe the people who faithfully serve on CCV’s Leadership Team. Your church may use a different name – Leadership … [Read more...]
The Incredible Paradox of Comfortable Christianity
In a letter historians call, “The Epistle To Diognetus,” an unknown 2nd century disciple wrote to a skeptic named Diognetus to answer his questions about this strange new religion called “Christianity.” The opening lines of his letter capture what people must have found so appealing about followers of Jesus roughly 1,750 years ago. “I have noticed, my lord Diognetus, the deep … [Read more...]
10 Questions To Ask Senior Pastors Who Have Led Through The Attendance Barrier You’re Facing
In my last post, I mentioned that I’m spending this summer interviewing Senior Pastors who have led their churches through the 1600 attendance barrier. I thought you might like to see the questions I’m going to ask each of them. Knowing what you know about me, and the church I serve, how would you answer the following questions… 1. If I died tomorrow and you became the … [Read more...]
5 Keys to Breaking the 600 Barrier
More Senior Pastors give up trying to grow in the 400 to 700 range than any other spot along the growth spectrum. That's because: Many Senior Pastors feel that having led a church to the 400-700 range is "enough" to prove they have been successful in ministry. They feel like they can retire knowing that while they would have liked to grow more, they are content not … [Read more...]
The Three Buckets: The Key To Reigniting Growth
If you are trying to restart your congregation, or jumpstart growth, what I'm about to share with you is hands down the single most important thing you need to understand. I call this principle "The Three Buckets." The Three Buckets Picture before you three buckets. The bucket on the left is called the "Sunday Bucket." The Sunday bucket represents … [Read more...]
13 Senior Pastor Mistakes That Flatline Growth
Here are 13 common mistakes Senior Pastors make that contribute to sluggish growth, or even decline. Fix these and watch what happens. 1. You Are Afraid To Fire Staff Bill Hybels once said that the time to fire someone is the first time you think of it. In other words, once you’re convinced they're not the right person for the job, you either have to move them to another seat … [Read more...]
Why Churches Should Euthanize Small Groups
As Senior Pastors, one of the most important questions we need to ask ourselves on a regular basis is, "Are we actually making disciples?" We must evaluate everything we do with that question in mind. No program or initiative can be kept if it does fulfill the objective of making more and better disciples. Asking this question, and taking action, can be quite painful. But it's … [Read more...]
The #1 Secret Of Church Growth
When I was pastoring a church that took off like a rocket from 150 to 150 in four years, I wrote every pastor of a growing vibrant congregation over 1,000 I could find. I asked them for their best advice on how I could lead my congregation to become a healthy, growing, outreach-focused church like theirs. I purposely sought out people who had led their church through my exact … [Read more...]
4 Changes Senior Pastors Must Make To Break The 200 Barrier
If your church is under 200 in attendance every weekend, you’re in good company. Every study out there suggests that more than half of the 300,000 churches in the United States are in the same boat. The bad news is that the 200 barrier is where congregational and pastoral dreams for evangelistic impact come to die. The challenges that stand before you are extraordinary, but … [Read more...]
You Must Believe You Can Lead Your Church To Grow
Not only must you believe your church can grow in order for it to happen, you must believe you are the person to make that happen. The problem is it is a whole lot easier for we Senior Pastors to believe that our churches will make it through the desert to see the Promised Land than it is to believe that we'll be the ones to get them there. For instance, it snowed again this … [Read more...]
You Must Believe Your Church Can Grow
Whether you’re trying to break 100 or 1,000, you have to believe three things before your church will go anywhere. The first is the hardest: You must believe your church can grow. Like seriously-deep-down-inside believe it can happen. Trust me, if you don’t believe that it can, it won’t. I know that from first-hand experience. The "Yeah, But" Syndrome A strange thing happens … [Read more...]
The Painful Cost Of Unity
Unity within a church is the indispensable key to accomplishing the Great Commission. Show me a church with tremendous talent, resources and potential, but no unity, and I’ll show you a church that is already dead in its tracks. But show me a unified church with limited resources and significant challenges, and I’ll show you a church that will find a way to win every … [Read more...]
Should You Start A Saturday Night Service?
A number of years ago a friend emailed me and asked my advice about whether or not I thought his church should start a Saturday night service. Lots of pastors routinely weigh whether or not this is a good move, and rightly so. I thought I'd share what I told him. It's the same advice I share with Senior Pastors I coach: Vince, Here was our experience in a nutshell: 1. We … [Read more...]
