At first glance you’d probably think I’m resistant to change. I don’t drink Starbucks coffee. I’m still not used to women having tattoos. I’m not getting an earring any time soon. And my wife says I still have the same haircut I had when I was in fifth grade. I assume she thinks that’s a bad thing. By all appearances you’d think I’m someone that wants to keep things just the … [Read more...]
Why Churches Should Never Advertise To Christians (Like In The “Christian Yellow Pages”)
Since the first day we started CCV, until now, we’ve faithfully abided by one enduring value: we will grow our church through conversion growth only. Never transfer growth. The Mission of the Church To us the reason is simple – Jesus came to earth, lived, died, and was resurrected to send the Church out into the world to reach people who aren’t Christ followers yet. That’s … [Read more...]
You Can Only Offend One
If forced to make the decision, our church from day one has decided that we will offend the self-seeking Christian before the spiritually seeking non-Christian. I tell Senior Pastors that I coach, that I personally believe you can only strategically choose to offend one of those groups. Some churches are purposely designed to offend the spiritually seeking non-Christian, … [Read more...]
11 Ways Senior Pastors Can Re-Ignite Evangelism In Their Congregations
It’s not by hiring staff. It’s not by starting building projects. And it’s definitely not by doing direct mail and advertising. I believe in advertising, but in the same way publishers know that great marketing will only make a bad book fail faster, evangelistically passionate Senior Pastors know marketing will only give a false sense of excitement and growth. … [Read more...]
If The Senior Pastor Doesn’t Evangelize, Eventually No-One Will
Evangelism and church growth begins with you. When we first started Christ’s Church of the Valley in the suburbs of Philadelphia we quickly had seven families start attending from our street alone. When it came to evangelism, I walked the talk. Unquestionably. Since we made a commitment to God to grow through conversion growth only, waking up every day and desperately praying … [Read more...]
