224 results found for: church

Singles

Singleness and the Church: Not overlooking the overlooked in our midst

 In this classic episode, Dr. Darrell Bock, Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla and Kari Stainback discuss singleness, focusing on how the church can better minister to singles.  Timecodes: 00:16 Kuruvilla and Stainback share their stories of singleness 04:50 the church’s struggle to minister to singles 08:16 Singleness comes in different forms and different circumstances 15:30 1 Corinthians 7 and practical implications in the local church 21:57 Advice for pastors and church leaders in ministering to singles 28:40 Singleness and small group ministries 31:45 Experiencing community as a single person 38:25 Advice to singles for gaining greater community 41:00 Ministering to those who have reentered singleness through death or divorce 47:45 Singleness […]

stuck

3 Ways Almost Every Church Gets Stuck

Resharing with kind permission from Carey Nieuwhof.  At some point, almost every church gets stuck. If yours isn’t stuck right now, just wait a while. Every church and organization gets stuck at some point. Usually, churches get stuck because what was working stopped working, When that happens, leaders aren’t sure what to do. While figuring that out is complex (and a frequent subject of many posts on this blog), trying to find a solution is difficult if you’re looking in the wrong place. It’s easy to think that churches are prone to get stuck in the past. And that’s true. If there’s a trend, it’s […]

unchurched

5 Things That Give Pastors a Bad Name With Unchurched People

I’ve been a pastor since I was 30 years old, but even now, I still don’t really like telling people what I do. I have a heart for unchurched people and am always trying to find a way to build bridges and tear down barriers. But I feel like telling people I’m a pastor or lead a church almost automatically creates a barrier—a barrier that seems to grow with every passing year. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel there’s a funk associated with the idea of being a pastor that might be a combination of Confusion…I’ve never actually met […]

feedback

The Art of Giving Tough Feedback In The Church

Reposted with kind permission from the Breeze Church ChMS . By Aaron Buer I don’t know about you but I’ve found that one of the most challenging aspects of leadership is giving feedback. And I don’t mean, “Hey nice job on that presentation!” I’m talking about, “Hey, did you notice that everyone was sleeping during your presentation? Let’s talk about that.” I used to hate conversations like this because I’m naturally a people pleaser. But, over time and through a lot of bumps in the road, I’ve grown to appreciate these conversations because I know there is incredible value in helping people see their blind spots […]

drive

Four Things That Shouldn’t Drive Church Growth

Article shared with permission from Carey Nieuwhof. Something’s driving your church.  There are a variety of things that drive a church…the challenge for many church leaders is no one is really quite clear on what that is. What drives your church is critical because it impacts everything you do. Ultimately, it directly impacts both your health and your growth as a congregation. As I talk to leaders of churches of all sizes, I find different factors at work. As much as we’d all love to say Jesus runs the church, the reality is that church is a partnership. God seems to delight […]

difference

The Difference Between Churches That Grow and Churches That Don’t

So…what’s the difference between a growing church and a declining church? Well, there are many, but one of the biggest differences I see is the attitude of the leaders. The leaders of growing churches almost always share a common attitude. So do the leaders of declining churches. And the attitude has a huge influence over the results each church sees. Attitude may or may not be everything, but it’s close. Here are 5 attitude differences I see again and again in growing churches and declining churches. 1. WE CAN V. WE CAN’T Perhaps the biggest differences I see between growing churches and declining churches is the attitude around […]

5 Hard Truths About Healthy Church Growth

Most church leaders I know would love to see their church grow. Similarly, most leaders I’ve met want their church to grow for what we might call the ‘right’ reasons: they sincerely want more people to encounter the love of Jesus Christ. That’s amazing. And yet there’s a strong reaction against growing churches by many leaders. For some reason, many people love to take pot-shots at growing churches and large churches. Some are categorical denouncements. I don’t know what to do with those. Sometimes I sense that underneath the anger are jealousy and resentment on the part of leaders whose […]

unchurched

8 Signs Your Church Is Actually Reaching Unchurched People

Reshared with kind permission from Carey Nnieuwhof So are you really reaching unchurched people at your church? How would you know…for real? Just because a church is growing doesn’t mean it’s filling up with unchurched people. Hoping to reach unchurched people is one thing. Reaching the unchurched is quite another. When unchurched people actually start connecting with your church, things change deeply. So how can you tell you’re really making inroads with the unchurched? When you see these 8 signs pop up in your church, you will know that you are really making inroads with the unchurched. Hoping to reach unchurched people […]

missions

A Missions Organization Focused on the Church: The Story of Leadership Resources (Part 2 of 3)

Resharing with kind permission from Leadership Resources International. This is Part Two of a series. Read Part One that shares Bill Mills testimony and about the early years of Leadership Resources’ ministry or listen to the complete interview below.  Bill: [Following how God was moving] led to some drastic changes in the nature and direction of our work. We were doing one-to-one discipleship. People were coming to us from all over the place—students from seminaries and Bible schools, housewives, business guys. It was a rich and rewarding ministry. But the more we studied the Scriptures, the more we realized that we were taking […]

how-to

How to Grow as a Leader as Your Church Grows

There has been a lot written about church growth barriers, what they are, how to break them and get past them. The reality, though, is a church will only grow as much as the leader grows. Every church experiences barriers at different points, but they are usually around the same size: 60, 100, 200, 400, 800, etc. While barriers can happen at other times, these are usually the ones discussed. I was talking to someone the other day about how things change at different times in a church, and it got me thinking about the barriers and what changes at […]