Alternative facility options — spotlight on: happy campers!
For an 18,000-square-foot worship center for the new Oklahoma Assembly of God State Youth Camp in Sparks, OK, a metal building system made the most sense. Here’s why.
Read More >Church Growth Archives - Page 39 of 55 - Church Executive
Lawrence Fudge: helping Hollywood feel like home at MOSAIC
Ask most people, and they’ll say the appeal of MOSAIC — a world-regarded Millennial-revered church in the heart of Hollywood — is, in some ways, intangible. Executive Pastor Lawrence Fudge would agree … to a point.
Read More >Familiarity breeds awesome: a leadership lesson from the USAF Thunderbirds
There’s an old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” I don’t know who coined the phrase or what the circumstances were, but they were wrong for the most part — at least with regards to leadership.
From nearly entry vantage point of church leadership, I’ve found familiarity to be an asset.
Read More >Why local influence is more essential than a national platform
Pastor A has a top-ranked podcast, a book deal from a well-known publisher, and 150,000 Twitter followers.
Pastor B is the secretary at the local Rotary Club, is the assistant football coach at the middle school, and recently joined a bowling league.
Both pastors have influence. Both are doing God’s will. Both enjoy their callings.
I will make a bold statement: Pastor B’s local influence is ultimately more vital to church health than Pastor A’s national platform.
Read More >Get to the ‘why’ in ministry
Over the years, I’ve attended many training sessions. I’ve taught more than my share of them and have found that often, it is the simple ideas that can be the most profound.
In my ministry of equipping pastors and churches and sharing our vision of the Church, one of the lessons I’ve learned and teach often is the What, How and Why. All are important, but it’s the Why that matters.
Read More >The big Baby Boomer opportunity
The Boomers are now 30 again. They doubled-up on years and are entering their 60s. From this point until 2030, about 10,000 Boomers will retire every day. The leadership baton is passing to Millennials. A new people are beginning to lead churches. As one among the oldest of my generation (I was born in 1980), I have been the first Millennial pastor of a few churches, following Boomer pastors in leadership. Like a lot of new, younger pastors, I inherited a large population of Boomers in my congregation. We are left with a key question: What should we do with all these Baby Boomers?
Read More >Making mobile giving work for multi-site churches
Multi-site churches face unique challenges — and require unique giving solutions. Case in point: Momentum Christian Church, a nine-year-old church plant with locations in McDonough and Stockridge, GA. “Our two campuses are about 10 miles apart, but in some ways they’re worlds apart,” says Executive Pastor David Powers.
Read More >New-build? Renovation? How to know what kind of project makes sense
Some would argue we shouldn’t evaluate the church’s ministries. Even if a church doesn’t invite critique, it takes place every Sunday on an informal level. We know guests make a decision about a church within the first seven minutes of arriving on the campus.
Knowing this, your church (and every church) needs a partner to design its facilities — one who understands your ministry. Having the right team to first guide in an effective evaluation, and then begin to create and design a facility that functions for your ministry, helps your church be more effective.
Read More >Multisite & portable churches: create the team & establish the process
Your volunteer vision, strategy, attitude and approach to launching portable churches and campuses will greatly impact the success, discipleship, spiritual formation, community impact and long-term growth of your church.
You’re going to begin life in a rented, secular space like a school, theater or community center. So, is your glass half full or half empty?
Your attitude and approach do matter!
Read More >Church communication tools: keeping youth in the loop
Millennials are exposed to a bewildering array of social, cultural and commercial influences, each one pulling them in a different direction. Average daily screen time among 18-to 24-year-olds is close to 10 hours, 61 percent of which is spent on desktop and mobile devices.
And yet, despite spending all that time interacting with friends, watching videos, researching homework, consuming news media, shopping and countless other activities, a hefty portion of Millennials still describe a ‘fear of missing out’ on updates and events affecting their peer group.
How do you make a meaningful connection with a generation overwhelmed by choice? Where do community youth groups fit into the landscape of the so-called “digital native”?
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