Church Growth Archives - Page 41 of 50

Church Growth Archives - Page 41 of 50 - Church Executive

THE CE INTERVIEW: JONATHAN STOCKSTILL

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CE Interview, church executive interview, Church expansion, Church Growth, Church leadership, faith leadership, jonathan stockstill, Leadership lessons, pastor leadership

August 1, 2015 at 1:20 pm.

Jonathan Stockstill was 30 years old when his father, the Rev. Larry Stockstill, turned over to him the leadership of Bethany Church. Interestingly, Larry was the same age as Jonathan when he took over for his dad, who founded the church in 1963.

Jonathan has led music at Bethany since he was 17. He says he always felt that he would be in full-time ministry, but it was not until he was in his mid-20s that he began to sense a pastoral call upon his life. At the time, he was leading worship and traveling with a band called Deluge. He wrote songs, recorded projects and did music tours, but he says God was dealing with him about a different kind of ministry. Jonathan also did several evangelistic crusades and went through a season where he felt he might plant a church in his late ‘30s.

“But God had a different plan,” he says.

An unforgettable guest experience

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church branding, church first impressions, church first-timers, church guest, Church leadership, church outreach, church visitors

July 27, 2015 at 11:21 am.

What do we need to do at our churches to avoid this chasm in developing a great guest experience?

The one growth obstacle churches don’t admit

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Church expansion, Church Growth, Church HR, Church leadership, church pastor, Leadership lessons, pastor leadership

July 27, 2015 at 11:03 am.

Some churches stay in a perpetual cycle of growing and declining. The church peaks, then dips, only to peak again. It’s possible for a church to stay in this cycle for decades.

Examining a 10-80-10 delegation model

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church delegation, Church HR, Church leadership, church pastor, Leadership lessons, leadership strategies, pastor leadership, Pastoral leadership

July 27, 2015 at 10:54 am.

One of the most important aspects of leadership in any organization is the ability to delegate authority to others. Delegation is especially key for leadership development, as well as maintaining a healthy work / life balance. At some point in a growing organization, it is literally impossible for one decision-maker to make all the decisions — and the sooner others are able to learn how to make decisions and handle authority, the faster they develop the leadership skills necessary for both the individual and the organization to succeed.

You know it’s going to be a bad decision if …

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Church HR, Church leadership, church management, church pastor leadership, Leadership lessons, pastor leadership

July 10, 2015 at 11:39 am.

As leaders, we focus a lot on making good decisions. As parents, coaches, business and church leaders, we want to make the best decisions possible. However, there are actually times when the best decision is the ability to not make a bad decision. Bad decisions will happen; they are a part of life. But, some of them can certainly be avoided.

The biggest roadblock to greatness

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Church leadership, church pastor leadership, Leadership lessons, pastor leadership

July 10, 2015 at 11:15 am.

All of us view life through a prism of our own experiences. All of us view life through a particular paradigm. For better of worse, our view of things is shaped by the mindset we bring to each opportunity life presents to us. Our view of people is shaped by what we have been taught about people and what our past experiences have been with people. Our view of God is shaped by what we have been taught about God and what our past spiritual experiences have been. Our views of politics, art, business, religion, and every other facet of life are shaped by what we have seen, heard, and encountered throughout our lives. To a great extent, therefore, perception becomes reality. What we come to think about people and things determines the way we see those people and things, and the way we “see” life determines our interaction with the thousands of experiences and opportunities that life sets before us. In other words, your thinking shapes your life.

Leaders: don’t miss the power of symbols in your church

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Church leadership, church meaning, church symbolism, Leadership lessons, pastor leadership

July 10, 2015 at 10:11 am.

Symbols are powerful. They add a richness to routine. They inspire hope. Symbols arouse emotions more quickly than reasoning. Symbols elevate the “why” above the “what.”

4 reasons church leaders need to slow down

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Church leadership, Church stress, Leadership lessons, pastor leadership, Pastor management, Pastor stress, pastor time management

June 2, 2015 at 12:49 pm.

One of the worst feelings in the world is seeing those flashing red-and-blue lights in your rear-view mirror signaling that you’re being pulled over by a police officer. More often than not, those lights indicate that you were driving too fast for the road you were on … at least that’s my pattern. (Yes, it is, unfortunately, a pattern in my life — pray for me!)

As leaders — bosses, parents, coaches and leaders of all kinds — we often are also driving too fast for the road that we’re on in life.

The missing ingredient in church leadership

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church accountability, Church leadership, church leadership lessons, pastor accountability, pastor leadership, pastor leadership lessons, pastor lessons learned

June 2, 2015 at 12:37 pm.

In the 1970s, one researcher noted: “There are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept.” According to these definitions, leadership is influence, power, mobilization, motivation, processes, inspiration, among many others.

The same could be said of the church: “There are almost as many different ways of leading the church as there are persons who have attempted it.”

An introduction to church facility stewardship

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church buildings, church facilities, church facilities managers, church facility care, Church maintenance, church management, facility stewardship

May 26, 2015 at 10:49 am.

I’m a firm believer that everything on earth belongs to God. Our money. Our houses. Our cars. The word of God. Our families. The people we encounter — and the facilities in which we worship. God has entrusted us with the stewarding of all these items.

For me, stewardship is less about what we give and more about taking care of what we have been given — of all that’s entrusted to us.

So, how do we define “entrusted”?