One of the things that has always impressed me about the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Harvest Crusades and Luis Palao ministries is their commitment to following up with those who make decisions to follow Jesus. They understand that evangelism must be connected to the local church. As church leaders, our role is to help new believers connect to the local church because that's where they are going to grow to maturity in Christ. How do we do that? 3 ways: 1. By creating a system that outlines the steps new believers should take 2. By making the process and each … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Great day at Calvary! – I team taught Judges 4-5 with Pastor Mark. – We talked about leadership and influence. – Lots of feedback from the message. – The message today was looooooong. That's what happens when you have 2 long winded preachers teaching together. – George Martinez did a great job leading worship. It's amazing what a great worship leader he's turned into! – We've called October "Missions and Outreach" month at Calvary. We've been highlighting several of the missionaries and organizations we support. Great feedback. – Don't expect people to know what you're involved in. You need … Read More
Q and A: Staff Compensation (Part 2)
"What about longevity in the organization? How important is that is determining compensation?" I believe longevity has great value, but what's of more value is the skills and leadership each individual brings to the table. But here's what's most important about staff when it comes to compensation: are they growing with the organization? Because some staff can help a church get to a certain level effectively, but without continued learning and growth the organization grows beyond their ability to lead or make an impact. So I'm always looking to see how staff are growing are developing themselves. Of course, as … Read More
Q and A: Staff Compensation
The issue of staff compensation is one that comes up in every coaching network I lead. There's no doubt it's a complex issue and there's no one size fits all answer. Having said that, there's 3 questions that should drive all staff compensation discussions: 1. What do you do? 2. How well do you do it? 3. What would it cost to replace you? As far as I'm concerned, these are the most important compensation questions. One of my philosophies is that not every job is a career. While a custodian is an important job for any church with a … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Great day at Calvary! – I taught Judges 3:12-31. – Ehud is one of my favorites characters in Judges. – I talked about the type of person God uses. – Lots of people took next steps – I have felt great about my messages over the last month. I pray it continues. – I'm not teaching this Sunday. Looking forward to taking care of other stuff in the office this week.
In Case You Missed it…
We've got a brand new resource at www.church-strategies.com! It's called "The Church Budget" and it covers everything you need to know about budgeting and compensation. Here's what I know will be on special interest to Senior Pastors: This resource has an entire CD devoted to staff compensation.I've served on 10 church boards over the last decade and I've learned a thing or two about staff compensation. This resource has the 15 most important principles of staff compensation. This alone is a CD that you'll come back to time and again. Here's the resource description from the www.church-strategies.com site: Make Your Budget Make … Read More
Why is Your Direct Mail Not Working?
One of the reasons churches get poor results in their direct mail is because they don't track their results. Here's the truth: if you aren't tracking your results, you have no idea if your direct mail is working or not. Butts in the seats is not the only way to see if your direct mail is working. While I would agree that someone attending your church is the end result we want, there are other factors involved. 1. Someone could get your direct mail and go to a confusing website and not attend 2. Someone could get your direct mail and … Read More
The 411 on my new outreach coaching network
Here are the details on my new Explosive Outreach Coaching Network: – It's only 4 sessions (1 session each month starting in October) – You get over $400 in www.church-strategies.com resources! – You don't have to be the Senior Pastor to join this network. When you're accepted, your church is accepted. So you can have as many staff as you like on the coaching call. – You get a 2 hour coaching session each month where you will get graduate degree info on marketing – You will learn how to reach your community for nickels compared to what most churches are … Read More
I Got Church Direct Mail in My Mailbox
I recently received a piece of church direct mail piece in my mailbox (which I get happy about). However, then I looked at what this church had sent out and my joy dissipated. What was wrong with the mailing? Plenty. But I'll highlight 5 issues: 1. It wasn't in English (even though I speak Spanish fluently, English is still my first language) 2. There were 5 dates on this postcard (it was letting me know the title of every week of the series and the date they would be taught). Instead, give me the big picture of the series, write … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Not even sure what to say about today. – I was prepared to teach on Judges 3, but I felt a nudge by the Holy Spirit to deal with an issue in our church. So at 6PM on Saturday evening I started writing a message to deal with it. – I felt God move in our church like few times in our history. – As hard as the message was, people responded amazingly! – The band sounded great. I'm so proud of those guys. – I taught out of Deuteronomy 26 and Amos 4 (I know. Passages that get … Read More
