11 Ways to Evaluate Your Preaching and Teaching
The more important our work is, the more imperative it is we strive to improve. If …
Resources for Best Practices
Nine Ways To “Pay” Your Volunteers
I recently spent some time with long-time pastor Steve Stroope, who’s been in the ministry now …
When You are Sick of Saying It, Your Leaders Have Just Heard It
The following is a modified excerpt from Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that …
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Church Discipline: The Outcome of Church Discipline
THE OUTCOME OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE As we have faithfully practiced discipline as a body, we are …
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Church Discipline: The Process of Church Discipline
The elders of The Austin Stone have studied, prayed and labored over the process of discipline …
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Generosity: Building a Generous Church
Encouraging generosity in the church is a matter I believe I can speak to because it …
John Bunyan once said, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone …
What to consider when hiring and firing team members
“We need him at the table! He has got to go!” The following post is a …
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How to build a team of volunteers for your church
You’re a church planter and have answered the call, raised the money and launched with a …
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Team Matters: Conflict Dynamics
Imagine a world without conflict. Two political candidates bound onto the stage in front of a …
Choosing your church planting team
Two summers ago, another pastor and I landed on Knoxville, Tennessee as our city for planting …
Principle of team building: Don’t be a lone ranger
Danger Ahead: 3 Ways Coaching Helps Navigate the Fog As a church planter, I’ve often felt like …
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Putting God first: Leading myself
The most difficult person that you will ever have to lead is yourself. You are a …
10 Ways to Drive Away First-Time Guests
If you attend a church regularly, you’ve probably noticed the phenomenon. A guest shows up for …
Ten Unique Challenges of Ministry
In an earlier post I wrote that seminary cannot prepare anyone to be a pastor. Only a church, …
10 Tips to Becoming a More Productive Pastor
The work of pastoral ministry is a joy, but it’s also demanding. Every pastor is on …
Is your church an evangelizing church? NAMB
During this blog post series, I am trying to help you assess your church by providing …
Financially supporting missionaries and church planters is a centuries old practice in Jesus’ church. Even now, …
Sending Church – Commissioning
When you begin to rattle off the names of the great characters of the Bible, there …
We’ve all heard the epitaph of the Church Planting Graveyard…80% of church plants fail in the …
How to identify and recruit team members
The question I get most often from church planters is: Where do I find people for …
Understanding context when planting a new church
Gaining an accurate understanding of context is critical to successfully plant a new church. Barry Whitworth, …
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Staying is the New Going – How to Do It
“God is going to use you in BIG ways someday!” I will never forget when someone …
Why neighborhood integration improves ministry opportunities
God has taken our family on a surprising, exciting and somewhat overdue journey the last two …
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Hospitality is NOT about entertaining. What have you historically thought about when you hear the word …
5 Principles to Becoming an Effective Multiplying Church
Dr. Dan Morgan is one of North America’s most experienced and insightful missiologists. He has been …
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How to stay healthy in the ministry
A few years ago I felt the itch to do something I had never done before. …
Of witness and fitness When planting a church, fitness doesn’t tend to show up on the …
5 Things to Keep in Mind when Planting Near a Military Community
All gospel – no gimmicks Military towns are inundated with gimmicky entrepreneurs and their schemes. From …
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How to help Christians deal with doubt
Christians tend to fall into one of three groups when it comes to doubt and questioning …
Six surprising traits of effective pastors
I have looked at characteristics of effective pastorsfrom different perspectives over the past few years. But this …
Nuts and Bolts – How to Build a Church Budget
Projecting Strategically The problem with generic funding packages is that there seems to be few generic …
7 helpful tips for using social media for church
Organizations across the world have integrated social media into their culture at a breathtaking rate. I …
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How to Create an Online Presence
Never has there been easier ways for local churches to get their messages out to more …
How to Brand Your Church Plant
I think most of us would agree that a logo is far from the most important …
Nuts and Bolts – Constitution and Bylaws
Is there any less desirable task for a church planter than writing a Constitution and Bylaws? …
Nuts and Bolts – How to Develop a Mission Statement pt. 2
Keep it simple The simplest task for a church planter should be choosing a mission statement. …
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Nuts and Bolts – How to write a mission statement
During the pre-launch phase of City Church, when we were just a core team, I remember …
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Details, details, details. There are people for whom details come naturally. I am not one of …
Six Ways to Evaluate Your Church’s Strategy to Assimilate New Believers
Maybe you’ve seen it happen. A new believer joins a local church, and is thrilled by …
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A Simple and Highly Effective Strategy to Get Church Guests to Return
There are so many elements that determine if guests will return to your church after a …
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How do I start a Mercy Ministry?
In the last blog post, I discussed the rationale for starting a mercy ministry in your …
4 reasons why Mercy Ministry is absolutely vital
If I say that mercy ministry is absolutely vital—which I think it is—to a church’s local …
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I could tell she felt terrible. I had just blessed and dismissed the congregation, and she …
It was spring break 1996 and I was a sophomore in high school. While other kids …
Very few Christians today use the word “propitiation” as part of their regular vocabulary, even fewer …
How To Mobilize College Students to Live On Mission
College students are flakey, immature, ignorant and the best missionaries to grace the church. Sure, you …
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How to make the most of an apprenticeship at your church
With the recent emphasis in church planting among evangelicals, there is now more than ever a …
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Embracing Fierce Conversations: Two Important Lessons for Coaches
“While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a …
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8 ways coaches help leaders who are stuck
In the coastal region of South Carolina where I live, there is a sticky type of …