Why isn't my church growing?

After reading Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof, you can reflect on reasons for lack of church growth and here are a few that hit home.  I understand this a hard subject to talk about, but here are some reasons to think about:

• You're focused on yourself
  There are a number of churches that are self-focused organizations that happen to be filled with self-focused people. People need and want to feel welcomed, valued and included.  We have to focus on people outside on the walls of the church if we want to grow.  
• You don’t take risks
  Fear and pride often gets in the way of taking risks.  You have to trust God and leave the results to Him.  Sometimes, our greatest fault is our current success because it gets in the way of the future success.  
   
• You talk more than you act
  We under-think and underact. Effective leaders act and don’t spend a long time debating issues.  
   
• You don’t think anything is wrong with your church 
  Church leaders often think there is nothing wrong with the way they are doing things or the way they are leading.
   
• You have the wrong focus
  You're focused on growth so much that you have forgotten about God and His mission.  We are called to lead people to Jesus, not to our own mission or church.  The focus has got to be Jesus for lasting life change.  It's time to take an honest evaluation of where your heart is at.  

Are you about your mission or God's mission?

Do you need a mentor?

How important is it to have someone in your life that speaks into it and makes you grow? A number of people would disagree with me, but I think that YOU HAVE TO have someone in your life that serves as a mentor.  I am working on my Master's and each class has required a mentor and I have had the opportunity just to sit down and talk with mine. It was encouraging for me to meet with him and speak with a man that I respect greatly. I think that you have to have a person that will speak some life into you, and help you in your good and tough times. I think this will only help you and bless you in the biggest way possible. Sometimes you need someone to listen and being heard is not overrated. Don't be too cool to find someone that will be honest and love you. Hard times will come and having this type of person in your life will only make things easier on you.

How has a mentor helped you?

5 questions every leader should ask

A leader should always be good at asking questions in different areas of their life.  I want to share 5 questions that I ask myself on a regular basis. 

1. What have I learned recently that has made me a better leader?
2. What did I learn in God's word this week?
3. Is my burden for prayer increasing or decreasing?
4. Is my heart growing bigger for people and God or is it getting smaller?
5. Do I feel closer to God today than I did a year ago?

How do these questions sit with you?  What other questions would you ask?

5 questions to answer to grow your church

When is comes to growth in any organization, especially church, you have to be intentional.  If you want people to show up you must answer these questions.

1. Is your service designed to attract guests?
2. Do you follow up with the people that attend your service?
3. Do you have a presence in your local community?
4. Are you encouraging your church to invite others?
5. How are you spending your advertising and marketing budget?

There are a number of reasons that people don't attend church in general and your church in particular.  Growth doesn't happen by accident. You have to be intentional if you want growth. 

5 questions for people in ministry

Here are 5 questions for people that are leading people in a ministry setting.

1. Is the vision you have, so big, that it can only be accomplished with God?
2. Are you doing ministry from memory or are you seeking direction from God?
3. What faith risk is God calling you to take?
4. Have you said, "I am sorry" or "I was wrong" to your team at least once in the last year?
5. Is you motivation for ministry coming from God or are you seeking selfish desires?

What other questions would you ask yourself?

Do's and Don'ts for Ministry Growth

In my 10 years of ministry experience, church growth is the number one topic that is talked about. Here are a few do's and don'ts for ministry growth...

1. You don't need a logo. A new logo isn't the key to having a successful ministry. Life change happens in the context of relationships. Only Jesus changes lives. Don't get me wrong, there are times that you need to update your branding, but it will not make or break your ministry.

2. Your fancy flyers won't help. Statistics show that 80% of people that show up to your ministry are coming because they were personally invited by someone. If people aren't inviting their friends, it may be a ministry problem, not a promotions problem. 

3. Put people first.  People over programs wins every time. If your ministry isn't helping people connect relationally, inside and outside the church, then it will be hard to see your ministry grow.

4. Lead your ministry. People want to be led. You should focus on leading your ministry. Spend more time being with people doing ministry and less time worrying about promoting your ministry.  

RELATIONAL MINISTRY

If you are in ministry you hear the term "relational ministry" used a ton.

I guess my question is...what is relational ministry? Is it a bunch of programs that bring lost people in and share the word of God?

I think that relational ministry goes a lot farther than that. I think that it is getting into their life and investing in them. It means meeting them where they are currently in their lives.  Sitting across the table and sharing a meal goes farther than
anything I can ever do on a Sunday morning. Going to coffees, lunches and meeting with them in a small group setting... that is relational ministry.

What are you doing to get inside their world and on their turf?

Growing up, I can't remember one message that my youth pastor said, but I can tell you the times we hung out. I think that we have to figure out how to do relational ministry since Sunday morning programming is only going to go so far in the lives and memories of the students we teach.
 

The Energy Bus

It talked about the energy and how energy inspires your team to be fueled by energy. The story is about a man named George that was having some problems with himself, life, and work. In this story, the bus driver gives him 10 rules from The Energy Bus that changed his life.

Here are the 10 rules:

1. You're the driver of your bus
2. Desire, vision, focus moves your bus in the right direction
3. Fuel your bus with positive energy
4. Invite people on your bus and share your experiences for the road ahead
5. Don't waste your energy on those who don't get on your bus
6. Post a sign that says"no energy vampires allowed" on your bus
7. Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them during the ride
8. Love your passengers
9. Drive with a purpose
10. Have fun and enjoy the ride

It's a great read! After reading it, it had me think a lot about my team, the vision and passion of the leader, and how it must be greater than the fear, doubt, and disbelief of the team.

Favorite Quotes:

"You must fill up every day with positive energy, positive thoughts, and positive actions. Without it, your ride will stall. "

"The goal isn't to be better than anyone else, but rather be better that you were yesterday."

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