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

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

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

Over the last six months, I've probably had 50 conversations about church leaders who need were experiencing a cash crunch in their churches.  Many churches leaders are having to make tough decision and aren't sure what to do during this season.  Plus, leaders want to know how to get out of this crunch.  After a few of these conversations, Pastors would say, "I wish I had recorded this conversation so I could give it to a Pastor I know who is experiencing the same thing."  So I decided to take their advice and record what I've been sharing with church … Read More

Just wanted to put on your radar some free stuff that's available on the www.church-strategies.com site.   1. There's a special report I wrote called, "How to Think Like an Unchurched Person" – Free  2. There's an article I wrote on the subject of portable churches that appeared in Church and Worship Techonology magazine – free 3. There's the mp3 of a message I taught called, "Tuning in to God" on the subject of hearing God's voice – free 4. There's an mp3 of a message I taught called, "Who are you?" from a series I taught in Colossians.  It deals … Read More

I just finished listening to the Preach the Word Conference that was held in Southern California in November 2008.  Great stuff!   Check out this list of speakers:   – Greg Laurie – Chuck Smith – Chuck Swindoll – John MacArthur – James McDonald – Bob Coy  – Alistair Begg – And others!   If you're a guy who teaches expositionally, these conference messages will fire you up about continue to teach God's Word to others.  I highly recommend it! 

After being encouraged to do this for quite some time, I decided to put together a website that has resources for Pastors and church leaders.  The site is www.church-strategies.com.   The goal of my site is to offer "Practical help for spiritual leadership".   I hope you'll take the time to check it out.  church-strategies.com contains books, ebooks, sermons and audio resources for leading a healthy church.   So have a look around.  By the way, if you enter the coupon code welcome you'll get 20% off.  Enjoy!