My friend Perry is putting on a one-day conference on March 4th called "Unleash". I love this conference for several reasons: 1. It's one day. Most conferences are too long. 2. It's affordable. If you can't afford $59 for a day of teaching and leadership training, you've got problems. 3. Perry is going to bring the heat. 4. There's few places (if any) you're going to hear of today's top leaders all day for $59. 5. It's a great opportunity to bring your staff, leaders, and volunteers and get a bigger vision for what God is doing at your church. … Read More
How often should you do Direct Mail?
This is a question that I get a lot. It's probably because I'm pretty adamant about saying that if you're only going to mail once don't mail at all. I believe it takes time for people to notice you. That's why I believe in narrowing the list you mail to (there's an entire approach to this) and mailing several times to that list. We're gearing up for a big direct mail campaign for our new Miramar campus and we'll hit the list we have 3 times within the 2 weeks before the first service. I recommend mailing at least … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Awesome day today! – I taught Esther 2:1-18. I took a bit of a different angle on it. – Most Bible teachers focus on how godly Esther is. I just don't see that from the text. – Esther doesn't reveal that she's Jewish, eats non-kosher, and marries a Gentile (all Hebrew no-no's) – Daniel on the other hand lets everyone know he's Jewish and won't eat the king's delicacies (Daniel 1) – Thankfully, Esther turns things around by chapter 4. – Anyway, I talked about the stuff that we cover up. Great response to the message. – The band … Read More
Why do you teach through books of the Bible?
Over the last 9 1/2 years we've taught 23 books of the Bible (it'll be 24 once I finish Esther in February). If you know me, then you know one of my life goals is to teach through the entire Bible. I'm sure there a few that I'll teach more than once, but my goal is to teach the 'whole counsel of God'. Having said that, why would I want to teach through the entire Bible? Here's a few reasons: 1. It's the primary way to disciple new believers. 2. It teaches people to work their way through the Bible … Read More
Does Direct Mail still Work?
The answer is a resounding Yes! In fact, to prove this point, let me post some stats from the U.S. Census Bureau that might encourage you to delve into the world of sending out direct mail for your next big Sunday at church. 85% of people sort, process and open their mail everyday. 75% of people say they are examining their mail more closely for coupons and other special offers and events. 55% of people say they receive greater enjoyment opening their snail mail than their email (and this includes the 18-39 age group, by the way). 40% of people say they … Read More
If you’re looking to grow as a leader…
Then I want to invite you to apply to my new tele-coaching network for Senior Pastors that's starting on February 25th. Here's what we're going to cover in this 6 month network: – Staffing (hiring, leading, managing and firing) – Raising up leaders from within your church – Increasing the volunteers in your church – Church governance (board of directors, bylaws, etc…) – Developing follow up systems for 3 critical ministry areas (New believers, first time guests, stewardship) – The personal Development of the Senior Pastor – Goal setting – Outreach strategies that get great results Here's what a … Read More
Direct Mail Secrets!
This is the newest www.church-strategies.com resource that was released today! After sending out a 50,000 piece mailer that got dismal results, I was ready to give up on direct mail. But then I thought, "There are companies that get great results from direct mail. What am I missing?" That's when everything changed. The next direct mail piece we sent out got amazing results. What happened? We had learned the secrets that make direct mail work. This nuts and bolts 4-CD resource will teach you what's keeping your direct mail pieces from having a bigger impact. It will also teach you … Read More
Your Best Year Ever!
If you want this year to be different than last year, it all boils down one word: goals. Set good goals and follow through, and you'll see your life go to the next level. But if you walk into 2010 expecting things to change just because the calendar changed and you'll be frustrated this time next year. So how do you set good goals? Use this 5 point strategy for setting SMART goals: S – Specific - Don't write down "Lose weight" as a goal. Instead write, "I want to lose 25 pounds in 2010." M – Measurable - taking … Read More
Today is the last day!
My staff gave me the report last week that in 2009 we saw 555 people make first time decisions to follow Jesus! That doesn't even count the 757 people who rededicated their lives to Jesus in one of our services at Calvary Fellowship. The question that people ask me regularly is, "How did this happen?" Some of you know my story, that we didn't see one person come to know Jesus in the first 18 months of our church. Then we got serious about evangelism and reaching people far from God and in the last 2 years we've reached … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Great morning at Calvary! – Good crowd. Pretty rowdy bunch for the 2nd service 🙂 – We kicked off our new series in the book of Esther called "Engage: Uneash the Power of Now". – I taught Esther 1 and talked about the difference between an engaged life and a disengaged life – Band sounded great – Great response to the Gospel this morning! – I'm excited to hear about so many people reading through the Bible this year. – We're looking forward to having Michael Franzese at Calvary Fellowship on January 24th. If you don't know who he … Read More
