I get this question is various forms. The question is about how to create a culture of evangelism in your church. We did not have an evangelistic culture in our church when we started. In fact, after 18 months we didn't see one person come to know Jesus. That was a wake up call for us. Then we started taking steps and eventually the culture of our church changed.  Here's 5 steps we took that changed our culture: Step 1 – Confront Reality (don't sugar coat it. Admit that things are bad and start from there.) Step 2 – Start teaching on evangelism … Read More

The biggest mistake churches make in their by-laws is giving too much control to the wrong group of people.  Too many church planters begin their churches by adopting the same by-laws their sending church had.  This can be a great blessing if you've got the right by-laws, but can also be deadly to the health of your church if they are the wrong by-laws. There's nothing in the Bible that says we should have congregational voting.  Why churches do it escapes me.     If you're a church that reaches unchurched people, here's what they are expecting: for the leaders of the church to … Read More

– Awesome day at Calvary!  – We continued our "He Said/ She Said" series and talked about the wife's role in marriage.  – Talking about submission is never an easy thing, but my wife co-taught with me today and it went great. – Carey is a really gifted teacher and everyone agreed that she did a fantastic job. – Taking next Sunday off. I need it.  – We're taking Mia and Xander to Disney World – This is the trip we were supposed to take for Mia's birthday, but had to cancel due to Mia being in the hospital. – … Read More

Easter is just 8 weeks away, so I thought I'd share a few tips for those churches that are planning on doing direct mail for the Big Day! 1. Keep any direct mail that you like. It doesn't matter what it's advertising. Great direct mail is always a source of good ideas.  2. Keep the "worst of the worst" direct mail you get. A lot of church mail tends to fall in this category unfortunately. But this file of direct mail will remind you what sins you should never commit.  3. Political mail - Some of the best ideas in sizes, shapes, and … Read More

"Bob, can you talk about how you teach expositionally and still reach unchurched people?" I get this question pretty regularly. The reason is, many guys who teach the Bible verse by verse aren't interested in reaching people far from God. On the other hand, a majority of the Pastors who take evangelism primarily teach topically and believe this is the best way to reach unchurched people. This question hits on 2 things that are very important to me: 1. Preaching verse by verse through the Bible 2. Reaching people far from God By answering this question I have to deal … Read More

– Amazing day at Calvary!  – We continued our "He Said/ She Said" series today.  – I taught on Ephesians 5:25-29 and I talked to the men about what it means to be a godly husband – I hit the guys pretty hard, but many guys came up to me afterwards and thanked me – Next week, my wife Carey and I are teaching together on the wife's role. – This is the 1st time Carey and I will be teaching together on a Sunday. We'd appreciate the prayers.  – I had several Pastors email me and let me know … Read More

We announced a couple of weeks ago that we're starting a Wednesday night service at Calvary on March 9th. A few Pastors have asked about the strategy behind our decision. So I thought I'd lay out our reasoning as to why we decided to do this.  First, we reach A LOT of new believers. That being said, new believers don't have any Biblical foundation. So while we offer our New Believers Class to ground them in the basics, there will remains a gap that isn't covered as quickly through Sunday teachings alone.  Our Wednesday night format is different than Sunday … Read More

– Great day at Calvary!  – I taught on what it means to be one flesh from Gen. 2 – I've been blessed by all of the positive comments from this series – I love how God is using this marriage series! – I'm totally convinced that we can't simply preach tips and tricks about marriage. We must preach the heart of marriage and the essence of what makes couples one flesh. – I've taught on marriage several times and have quite a catalog of marriage sermons. But I decided that wasn't going to look at any of those old … Read More

The rumors of direct mail's death have been extremely exaggerated. Direct mail still works… if you do it right. The real question is, why is most church direct mail not working? The answer is because most churches aren't doing it right.  Most churches get very limited results for several reasons. Here's one: churches try to mail to everyone in their area. Churches that get great direct mail results understand who they are and focus their direct mail efforts on reaching those that are most likely to attend their church.  We are say that it takes all types of churches to … Read More

– Awesome day at Calvary!  – We kicked off a new series called, "He Said/ She Said" – We're talking about the differences between men and women.  – This is the 2nd of 2 topical series that I'm doing this year. Everything else is expositional.  – Looking forward to talking about the roles of husbands and wives in marriage for the next 2 weeks. – Carey is going to join me teaching when I teach on the role of wives. – We announced that we're starting a Wednesday night service on March 9th! Can't wait to start in Genesis and work … Read More