– Absolutely awesome day! – 98 decisions for Jesus this morning! – There were some recommitments in there, but a tremendous response to the Gospel – Attendance was great. – We took family portraits today. It was great to see some family members of those who come to our church attend for the 1st time. – Took a break from Revelation and taught on parenting this morning. I've never taught on parenting before, so it was a good challenge. I think I'll be teaching on it again in the not-too-distant future. – Yes, I sported … Read More
www.church-strategies.com Newsletter is out!
Yesterday the 1st edition of the www.church-strategies.com newsletter went out. I'm very excited about it. It's a weekly newsletter that shares one practical church strategy each week. We wanted to put something out that was highly practical and helpful for church leaders that didn't take a long time to read. Because I never read long newsletters. I have every intention to, but I never seem to get around to it. This newsletter is a quick read with high impact content! If you want to subscribe (it's totally free) click here and opt in. You'll be glad you joined the fun!
Q and A: What is the most important Aspect of a Tithe Challenge?
I recently got the question, "What is the most important aspect of the Tithe Challenge?" There's 4 major components of a tithe challenge that affect its' success, but I believe the most important aspect is the follow up. The better your follow up system for those who take the Tithe Challenge, the better your retention of those follow through for the whole 90-day period and beyond. We lose the impact of the Tithe Challenge when we share it from the stage, people make that decision an then they never hear from us again. Instead, once we give the Tithe Challenge, the … Read More
My Week…
It's been a crazy couple of weeks between my trips to Orlando and Chicago, but I'm finally back home and getting back into the swing of things. So here's what my week looks like: Monday: Taking the day off to spend with Carey and Mia after being away for nearly a week. Tuesday: We're rolling out a new resource at www.church-strategies.com called, "The Tithe Challenge: An Innovative way to Inspire new Giving in your church." I'll write more about this later in the week. Plus, I have the usual array of meetings planned. Wednesday: Studying for our special Mother's Day … Read More
Book Review: Vintage Church
As a Pastor, I try to read everything that comes out on the subject of church leadership. So when Mark Driscoll put out vintage church, I picked it up. First, let me say that I'm a big fan of Mark's writings. I've never walked away from a Driscoll book disappointed and Vintage Church was no different. What I love about this book is that it uniquely spoke to the church leader and the new believer at the same time (which is not an easy thing to do). For church leaders, the chapter on church discipline is a must read. … Read More
Free Stuff and Bonus Stuff…
As you know, my new book "Zero to Sixty: 60 principles and practices for leading a growing church" is going to hit on Tuesday, May 12th. I've gotten a lot of inquiries from people asking how they can get their hands on the book. So here's what I wanted to do in case you didn't want to wait until May 12th. If you order the Zero to Sixty book over at www.church-strategies.com this week (May 1-7), I'll give you a free copy of the Zero to Sixty ebook. So just add both the Zero to Sixty book … Read More
Our Journey from Reaching Zero to Many…
During the 1st 18 months of planting Calvary Fellowship, we did not see 1 person decide to follow Jesus at our church. There were a few re-dedications, but no 1st time decisions. This led to a bit of a personal crisis because I've always believed that evangelism and discipleship and the name of the game (so to speak). What God did during this time was show me the importance of reaching out and the need to have a process of discipleship should God send new believers to our church. Here's what happened: The 1st 18 months zero people decided to … Read More
Live Seminars in Chicago this Wednesday!
I'm going to be leading 2 seminars in the Chicago area on Wednesday, April 29th. I'm thankful to my friend Scott Hodge who's going to host me for these events. #1 – I'll be leading my all-new Zero to Sixty seminar – this seminar is based on my soon to be released book and discusses all the skills for leadership that we weren't taught in school. The seminar deals covers communicating vision, hiring and firing, personal development, strategies for leading at a higher level, recruiting volunteers, and tons more. #2 – I'll be leading a Fusion (Assimilation) seminar in the afternoon. This is the first time … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Awesome services today! – Taught Revelation 5:1-7 – Lots of people made decisions to follow Jesus – I love the fact that God entrusts us with so many new believers! – Over 110 140 people have prayed to receive Christ this year at Calvary Fellowship! Go God! – There's another 217 that have recommitted their lives to Jesus this year. I'm blown away at God's goodness! – We dedicated Mark's son Josh today. Great moment for our church – I'm so excited to see people growing. Watching lots of people taking discipleship seriously. – Totally blessed to hear … Read More
Radically Increase the Number of Volunteers in your church!
When we started Calvary Fellowship, we had no staff, no building and no money. I don't believe you need any of those things to see a church flourish. What you do need is a committed group of people who love God and will do whatever it takes to fulfill the Great Commission. I'm blessed to say that 50% of our church is involved in ministry in some capacity in our church. So I went into the studio and recorded the 25 most important things we've done that has helped us see 50% of our church involved in ministry. The … Read More
