Tag: discipleship

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The Greatest Resource for Ministry is Not Money

When I ask Church Planters how I can help them, they almost always request money. Those who are revitalizing exisiting churches usually make the same request. Even Pastors who are leading thriving churches are quick to list finances as their greatest ministry need.

“If I just had (x dollars), we could (fill in the blank)…” 

But I contend that money is not the greatest resource for ministry. While this is not my focus, it must be stated that our greatest ministry needs are spiritual in nature. But for this article, let’s talk about a tangible issue.

The Greatest Resource for Ministry is Relationships

We need people more than we need money.

We need friends more than we need buildings.

We need confidents more than we need staff.

We need others who care more than we need equipment.

We need advisors more than we need volunteers.

We need people we love and who love us more than we need the latest program or method.

Solid, steady, growing and trustworthy relationships will lead us to all of the other necessities for ministry. But those relationships must be:

  • Pure – free from ulterior motives. If you’re making friends with rich people in an effort to get their money, shame on you.
  • Intentional – we must be purposeful in building relationships with people who we normally wouldn’t know.
  • Diverse – make friends with a wide variety of people, inside and outside of the church.
  • Mutually benefical – it’s not a healthy relationship if it is one sided.

Ministry is relationships. If you’re starting a church, seek people, not money. If you’re rebuilding a stagnate church, it’s about people. Pastors of strong churches, keep the folks as your main focus. 

Let’s get relationships right, then ministry will be right; needed resources will accompany relationships. If relationships aren’t right, nothing is right. 

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What are We Good At, What are We Not?

design-48Definitions for this article:

  1. Product: The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  2. Promotion: Marketing or advertising the Gospel.
  3. Presentation: The method utilized to deliver the Gospel.
  4. Productivity: The positive results of the Gospel of Jesus.

We don’t have a product problem. We don’t have a promotion problem.

We have a presentation problem. Because of this, we have a productivity problem.

While visiting a large suburban mall, I noticed that the Apple store had relocated. They had outgrown their space and moved to a larger spot in the same mall. In a few moments, we walked by their new location. But here was my surprise: they had yet to put up their sign. There was no indication anywhere on the outside that this was the Apple store. I wondered about their decision to open the new location without first putting up the sign. But, as you can see, everyone knew exactly what store it was – the place was full; business as usual.

Apple has great products. They’ve done their promotions. Their presentation is unquestionably effective. Of course their productivity is unparalleled. They have been so good at what they do, the temporary lack of a sign had no negative effect whatsoever.

I don’t work for Apple; I work for the Church.

Let me say, church signage is very important. Like it or not, we must brand our churches. We must market the ministry. In our culture, if people don’t know about us, they aren’t coming. But I don’t believe our biggest issue (why more people don’t come) is promotion.

I know for sure that our product (the Gospel of Jesus) is the most valuable and important product ever.

I believe we have two problems that we should address and solve:

  • Our presentation suffers sometimes. The way we communicate the most important product is sometimes subpar. A lack of quality, ill prepared sermons and worship services, and ignoring the needs of our “potential audience” can really hurt our efforts. Our “potential audience” is our unsaved community. Churches that operate in ways that disconnect them from their unsaved community will suffer.
  • Our productivity is stifled. In many churches, very few people are coming to salvation in Christ. The harvest is sitting in the fields. This is a major problem.

I would remind you that the product needs no adjustment. The Biblical Gospel can stand for itself. I would also suggest that better promotion might not be the answer. If our presentation is poor, the best promotion in the world won’t help. The fact that our productivity is suffering is enough to cause us to evaluate and adjust our presentation.

Pastor, don’t change the product. Go ahead and improve your promotion. But if your productivity is less than you desire, invest in changing your presentation.

We’re not Apple. But wouldn’t it be cool if our presentation of the product was so amazing that promotion wasn’t necessary? It’s possible!

We don’t have a product problem. We don’t have a promotion problem.

We have a presentation problem. Because of this, we have a productivity problem.

Focus on your presentation of the most amazing product ever, and productivity will take care of itself.

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The Future of Church Planting in North America

design-2Based upon current trends and what some experts are saying, we will see an increase in a change of approach and methodology in the planting of new churches in America. These changes may not be good or bad per se, but we should be aware and consider our approach. These are all in practice in many places, perhaps we are not aware. Below are a few observations about some new approaches:

  • More house churches. More small churches will be established in homes and will stay there, by design. Once they reach a certain numbers, they divide in order to multiple in additional locations. We have seen this tendency in Latin America for many years; the results are remarkable.
  • Fewer large church buildings built. Most church planters want to avoid the strangulation of big debt. Fewer worshipers want to pay big mortgage bills. They prefer instead to invest in life-changing ministry.
  • More opportunities to worship on days other than Sunday. Like it or not, there is a move away from Sunday as “the day” to worship.
  • Large churches planting new churches in other cities and states, even other countries. This is nothing new but it seems to be on the increase. These large churches sometimes serve as a mother church on an ongoing basis.
  • More church planters planning to remaining bivocational. Perhaps out of necessity, but partly because of strategy, many church planters have no desire to be in full-time ministry.
  • Less glamor and glitz in church planting. Many worshipers are unimpressed with expensive and entertaining worship. “Keep it simple” is becoming more of a mantra for some church planters.
  • More marketplace churches. Factories, stores, businesses and coffee shops are increasing becoming the venue for new church plants.
  • “Second career” church planters. More folks are retiring early or are strategically entering ministry once their kids are raised.

I believe that we should consider any and all methods of planting healthy churches. There is no “best” model; the one that is best is the one that works.

For more details about church planting, click here.

Let’s plant churches!

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It’s Time to Simplify Church Planting

designMy church planting friends may think that I’ve regressed about 30 years. I have not. Possibly, I am looking ahead a few years into the future of effective church planting.

I am increasingly concerned with how complicated church planting has become. I’m afraid that, in our efforts to systematize the starting of new churches, we have eliminated a lot of would-be planters and new churches.

Think about it:

Sign up for two years of training, travel to conferences, meet regularly with your coach/mentor. Submit to multiple personality assessments. Raise $30,000 – $50,000 (cash). Build and train a launch team. Engage in the latest social media marketing campaign. Do a direct mail blitz. Rent a local school or theater. Have preview services. Start a church.

There are only a few people who can realistically comply with all of these requirements. Do we really believe that they are the only ones who should start new churches? I think not. I personally know guys who want to start a church but they are waiting for everything to line up. If we wait for everything to be just right, we’ll never start.

I am a proponent of building a solid infrastructure before launching a church. I have no beef with the very successful church planting organizations around the country. My concern is that some would-be planters are stuck because they think they can’t plant unless they are immersed in the process with one of these organizations. I think we have inadvertently overcomplicated the process of starting churches.

Eventually, the current church planting pot of gold will run out. All of the school auditoriums in town will be rented. Facebook ads will no longer be effective. I think it’s time to reconsider our approach. While stats prove that a strategic system increases the odds of success, I am not convinced that everyone fits into the mold.

I want to encourage any aspiring church planters who read this. Don’t allow the status quo to hold you back. “Best practices” are awesome but God is not limited to what is considered conventional thinking.

If you want to plant a church, try this:

Pray like crazy. Make sure God is calling you. Start meeting with people. In coffee shops, in your home, just come together for prayer or Bible study. You don’t need permission to get together with friends. If the group grows and the need becomes evident, you can start a church. Successful church planting is simply evangelism and discipleship that results in the need for a new church. Rather than starting a church so you can reach people, reach people so you can start a church.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a 6 digit budget. You don’t need a fog machine. No one has ever come to salvation in Christ because of the amazing countdown video your creative team produced.

Simplify.

I believe that in the future, the big production churches will suffer. People are looking for authenticity and relationships. That can’t be manufactured.

Just love people. If you can love enough people, you can start a church.

It’s time to simplify church planting.