Posts with the category “church-planting”

I'M A LITTLE FIRED UP RIGHT NOW.SOMEONE JUST TOLD ME THEY DIDN'T MAKE AN ASK BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T THINK THE PERSON WOULD GO FOR IT.IN OTHER WORDS, THEY SAID "NO" FOR THEM.They "passed" on behalf of the person without even giving them the chance to say "yes."Let me tell you something...When it comes to making things happen, everyone has a job.Your job is to dream audaciously, act courageously and ma...  Read More

Thinking of starting a new church from scratch?Got the itch to "graduate" from leading the youth group to becoming the lead pastor of your own thing?Sure, church planting looks hot and sexy on Instagram, but take it from me, there are 5 Reasons Church Planting Will Ruin Your Life... You will never have all the resources you used to have at your cushy, all-expenses-paid, endowed former established ...  Read More

"You know what intimacy is? It's into-me-you-see.” - Martin de Maat The original pioneers of improv-comedy in the 1950s included now-famous names like Alan Arkin, Mike Nichols, and a very young Joan Rivers. A famous story from the annals of Second City recounts how Rivers was once on stage and asked for an audience suggestion for a scene. When "marriage" was shouted back, Joan initiated the scene ...  Read More

I am currently deep into the process of my doctoral studies through Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University.  My experience thus far has been fantastic and I have learned so much not only about my cognate of Evangelism & Church Planting, but more importantly I've learned so much about myself.The focus now in this later track of my cognate is to complete 4 research projects that become pa...  Read More

THE THREE STRUGGLES OF PASTORS- by Chad Graves -In the last week I have had meetings with multiple pastors. It has been a reminder and an eye-opener. Pastors all over the country are dealing with intense stress. Recently, 3 different churches asked me if I knew of anyone I would recommend as a possible candidate for them. Many churches are without pastors. I will repost something I worked on a cou...  Read More

Sunday morning's event is free and open to publicby Jon Becker, for the Midland Daily News  |  May 19, 2022 MIDLAND — Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and … church? Yes, you read that right. America’s pastime is not normally associated with passionate preaching, live bands and a worship service, but that’s exactly what’s going on Sunday, May 22 at Dow Diamond.Life Church, a Great Lakes Loons 2022 par...  Read More

I’m not concerned about being criticized for taking risks to reach people far from God.  I’m concerned about not being criticized. Recently I was invited to teach a breakout session at a conference in Chicago based on my book, Holy Shift.  The topic was so popular among church leaders that we ran out of seats!I had fun sharing my journey in comedy and ministry, the unique story God is writing at L...  Read More

Are you ready to climb the mountain again? Maybe you've set goals for yourself or your business. Maybe you've decided to take a risk. Whatever it may be, I know this much to be true: with a little hard work and consistency, anyone has the ability to build something good. But what does it take to build something GREAT? 1. A PACE THAT WILL LAST A LONG TIMEI recently heard this quote about money that...  Read More

We often think about what our team owes us -- what we expect from them.But there are four things we owe them, as well:1) GRACE: Not expecting them to be perfect.2) HONESTY: Shooting straight and being transparent.3) PROPER PLACEMENT: A place where they can thrive.4) PRAYER: This opens our hearts to them and provides wisdom and insight to love them....  Read More

Are you an inspirational leader? There are three steps you can take right now to become more inspirational:  #1 = Lead with the why People need to know the purpose behind the work. Particularly over the past few years, team members have determined that they want to give their lives to something that matters. #2 = Celebrate progressLook back. Make sure everyone on the team knows that you see what t...  Read More

Before the quarantine, the median worship attendance was 65. Today it is 55. In 2000, the median worship attendance was 137. In 2010 it was 105. In 2020 it was 65. Today it is 55. Median worship attendance has declined by 60% in two decades.The occupancy rate of worship centers was 33% before the quarantine. Today it is 28%. The median size of a worship center is 200. If the church has more than o...  Read More

Staying organized is a constant battle when you're leading a growing church.For what it's worth, there are several tech tools that I've discovered which make my life happy.Here are the tools I use. I am a HUGE notetaker and constantly am churning through Moleskins.  The problem I have is keeping my various notes organized by subject and having no way to quickly access my notes digitally.  Enter Re...  Read More

What it takes to be a GREAT Campus LeaderBIG IDEA: Campus Leaders have Hustle + Intensity about the Total Guest ExperienceHustle = Self-Led CHASES Jesus on their own with passionINITIATIVE - Does not need constant motivationJon would rather REIGN IN a STALLIONthan MOTIVATE a MULE!Secure as a Son of the House (Old Testament Idea)- Son of the House > Hired Hand- As the House spreads out, the Sons ha...  Read More

Marines get stuff done.They face impossible missions yet always prevail. 2 Timothy 2:1-6 tells leaders to think like a marine. During a recent Coaching Session, I shared 8 Leadership Lessons from the Marine Corp: Common Sense Principles for Success.I hope these 8 Leadership Lessons encourage you and your team to fearlessly lead your church to grow!...  Read More

Based on chapter five of Planting Missional Churches,1 three different leadership models are presented for church planters: The Apostolic Harvest Church Planter, The Founding Pastor, and Team Planting.  Each model offers different strengths and weaknesses, which will be briefly explored here.The Apostolic Harvest Model occurs when a church planter starts a new church, raises up leaders from within...  Read More