I was once on staff at a small church in the Houston area. We had less than 150 people weekly, but our property situated on a busy road where nearly 30,000 cars a day passed us by. One might think…
Church workers need a new target other than numbers
Life requires replication. If something does not replicate, its kind will not continue on-just ask that Shaker you know. A 1000 person church is impressive. A church of 100 folks that over the course of 40 years empowers and sends…
A church reborn
On a Thursday afternoon in a poor, run-down section of Durham, N.C., the parking lot outside Shepherd’s House United Methodist Church is full. On the second and third floor of the neo-Gothic brick building, the floorboards creak as employees and…
Coping with opposition
While living in Louisville, Kentucky (while attending seminary many more years ago than I would like to admit) I was briefly employed as a youth minister for a 150-year-old congregation located downtown. Situated in what had been a very prosperous…
The real reasons we don’t invite friends to church
Dear church, here’s why people are really leaving you
By John Pavlovitz Being on the other side of the Exodus sucks, don’t it? I see the panic on your face, Church. I know the internal terror as you see the statistics and hear the stories and scan the exit…
Andraé Crouch, Expensive Pianos, and Church Priorities
Unless I slept walked through it, I never had the chance to see Andraé Crouch perform live. I heard plenty of his music. But I was never in his presence. I have been places where he performed, but only years…
Five things that might happen if your church never got another member
By Derek Penwell My dad was six-foot-one-a fair sized man. As a child I thought he was pretty much what God intended when creating men. Big. Strong. Smart. Obviously, my dad was a lot of things I wanted to be….
Top 10 unhealthy negative reasons people are NOT leaving Your Church
Who in your church do you wish would leave? Yes, I know, that is not a Christ-like attitude. But it is true. Everyone has someone they wish would leave. The church would be a better church without them. There is…
Top ten healthy, positive reasons people are NOT leaving your church
Surely you have heard the organizational management idea that you want to get the wrong people off of the bus and the right people on the bus. Well, this is an article on why the right people stay on the…
8 elements of a healthy small church
What does a healthy Small Church look like? It looks like a healthy big church – in all the ways that matter, anyway. No, a healthy Small Church is not just a miniaturized version of a healthy big church. Pastors…
DNA of an Unfriendly Church
Categories: Church Culture, Culture Imagine the worst church experience you have ever had. Perhaps you can relate. I walked in wondering if anyone had ever visited this church. I do not believe we should have a critical attitude towards churches….