Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 222

Four Kinds of Church Members Your Church Will Always Lose

On the surface the issue looks hopeless.

Your church will lose four categories of church members; and you can do absolutely nothing to stop it.

Of course, this membership and attendance loss is in every organization where resident membership is part of belonging.

Churches are no exception. Here are the four categories:

Members who die. I went through the membership roll of a previous church I served as pastor. I discovered nearly 40 members on the roll who were deceased. Of course, those deceased church members were not able to attend worship services.
Members who move out of the community. I know some churches have this strange category of members called “non-resident members.” There really should be only a few types of members who are granted such status. Those in the military and those in college are two good examples.
Members who are disabled and unable to attend. Of course, these are not members we take off the membership roll. But they have some type of physical condition that precludes them from attendance.
Members who are homebound or in care facilities. Like those who are disabled, this category of members are not lost to membership but to attendance.

For clarity, the “loss” of these church members is an attendance loss for all four, but typically a membership and attendance loss for the first two.

The reason I am stating the obvious is to help you church leaders understand the impact of such losses. The impact is measured by a number we call the Natural Attrition Rate (NAR). It is a simple calculation. Add all of the four categories above for a full year. Now take your average worship attendance and divide it by the total of the four categories.

Members lost to natural attrition / average worship service attendance = NAR

So a church with an average worship attendance of 300 that loses 15 members to natural attrition has an NAR of 5% (15/300 = 5%).

I recently surveyed a number of church leaders and asked them to calculate their NAR. With thanks to the pastors I emailed and the Church Answers mentoring group, I was able to discern a median NAR of 6% (My approach was not a scientific study).

Congregations with many senior adults and churches in a military community tend to have a higher NAR.

A church with an average attendance of 200 and an NAR of 6% will thus lose 12 members each year before church dropouts and church transfers in the same community.

If your church is experiencing declining attendance, a large portion of it may be due to natural attrition. And though you as church leaders can do nothing about natural attrition, it is information you need to know for planning, budgeting, and strategy.

I hope this exercise was helpful and not too messy.

Let me hear your thoughts.

8 Mistakes to Avoid as a Young Pastor – Rainer on Leadership #253

Podcast Episode #253

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

Experience takes time and doesn’t come without mistakes. Today we discuss a recent post on rookie pastors and the mistakes they make as well as how to avoid them.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Most rookie pastors have never had to handle HR issues until they’re in charge and then have no experience.
You should not go into personnel issues without guidance or someone by your side.
If you’re a pastor, you will get criticism. It comes with the territory.
The pastorate is the place for both workaholics and lazy bums.
It is so easy for pastors not to be disciplined with their time.
You can find help in almost any area. You just have to ask.
You can have friends; you can have people you hang out with; but you cannot show favoritism in the church.
Leaders are learners.

The eight mistakes to avoid are:

They handle personnel issues with difficulty.
They amplify criticisms.
They are not disciplined with their schedules.
They don’t often ask for help.
They demonstrate favoritism.
They don’t seek feedback or coaching.
They don’t continue their education.
They are influenced by the latest fad or group.


Episode Sponsors

Midwestern Seminary, located in the heart of the Midwest, is one of the fastest growing seminaries in North America and offers a fantastic array of academic programs, including multiple online and residential options at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Midwestern’s new 81-hour Mdiv program, online program, and doctoral program have all been recognized as some of the most innovative and affordable in the country. There has never been a better time to begin your seminary education. Midwestern Seminary trains leaders ‘For The Church.’

Visit them online at MBTS.edu and start your ministry training today.

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.

Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast

Eight Common Mistakes Rookie Pastors Make
ChurchAnswers.com

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Four Types of Churches That Will Soon Die

Death is not a topic we enjoy.

Death of churches is not a topic I enjoy.

You see, I love the local church. I love it despite it’s flaws, sins, and hypocrisies. Jesus loves me despite my flaws, sins, and hypocrisies.

But too many churches are dying. And the rate of dying churches is accelerating.

I am concerned. Certainly from a biblical perspective, I understand the bride of Christ will be victorious. I understand the gates of hell will not prevail against her (Matthew 16:18).

But that does not mean individual congregations won’t die.

They are.

They will.

Unless God intervenes.

In simple terms, there are four types of churches that will soon die. It is sad to watch the churches in these categories. Some congregations are in more than one category. And some are in all four.

The Ex-Bible Church. These churches have abandoned the truths of Scripture. A few are explicit in their denials. But many just give lip service to the Bible. The congregation does not study Scripture. The pastor does not deal with the biblical texts and the whole counsel of God. The Bible is just another book that rarely gets read, studied, or proclaimed. The Word of God has no power in these churches.
The Country Club Church. Members in these churches see their membership as perks and privileges. They want their styles of music, their worship service times, their types of architecture, and their preferred lengths of sermons. They pay their dues, so they should get their benefits. Or so the thinking of the members goes. Don’t ask them to evangelize, to put others first, or to make sacrifices. After all, it is their church.
The Bad Words Church. If you want to see a “good” fight, go to these churches. Their business meetings are more contentious than a presidential election. You can count on many of these church members to speak to or email the pastor regularly. And those words of communication are not nice words. These are the churches where bullies go unchecked, where personnel committees and boards work in darkness, and where gossip and backstabbing are common. These churches expend most of their energy on bad words. They thus don’t have the time or energy to share the good news.
The Ex-Community Church. Go into these churches and look at the members. Go into the community and look at the residents. They don’t look alike. They don’t dress alike. They don’t go to the same places. The community has changed, but the church has not. “Those people” are on the outside. “Our kind of people” are on the inside. The idea of building bridges to the community is resisted if not repulsive.

How many churches in America today clearly fall into one or more of these categories? I have not done objective research, but I would not be surprised if the number is more than 50 percent.

Too many churches are dying.

So how do I remain an obnoxious optimist about churches in our nation?

The answer is simple. I am seeing how God is delivering a number of churches from these death throes. I will share more about that positive reality in the future.

In the meantime, let me hear from you.

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Pray for FBC Denham Springs

Location: Denham Springs, Lousiana

Pastor: Dr. Leo Miller

Weekly Worship: 9:30 & 10:45 AM, Central

Fast Facts: FBC Denham Springs is located in Livingston Parish, one of the most affected areas by the recent floods in Louisiana. Estimates from the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office state that of the 137,000 residents, 105,000 experienced a total loss from the flooding. FBC Denham Springs also fell victim to the flood waters as the church building took on nearly six feet of water. Even with the devastation in the area, the church still plans to meet this morning for worship at a nearby facility. Please be in prayer for FBC Denham Springs and all the churches and residents affected by the recent flooding in the Bayou State. For more information on how you and your church can get involved with the disaster relief efforts in Louisiana, click here.

Website: FirstDenham.com

“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.

If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..

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Notable Voices: August 20, 2016

5 Words of Advice for Young Seminarians — Jared Wilson

School is back in session. For those headed off to seminary, Jared shares some valuable advice.

 

How Long Is the Average Sermon Series? — Charles Savelle

I’m not sure about the scientific accuracy of this poll, but the results are worth a look regardless.

 

4 Myths About Delegating — Art Rainer

Do you micromanage your staff or church members? Here’s how you can delegate more effectively.

 

10 Ideas for Using Snapchat at Your Church — Josh Burns

This is a question we’ve been getting more and more frequently. So for you who’ve been asking, here’s how your church can use Snapchat.

 

7 Simple but Effective Strategies to Get You Through a Bad Day — Carey Nieuwhof

We hall have bad days. How we cope with them and recover matters.

 

Making Changes in a Church — Nick Batzig

Nick touches on a few points I mention in Who Moved My Pulpit? as well as a couple I don’t.

 

The post Notable Voices: August 20, 2016 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

What Healthy Churches Will Look Like in 10 Years – Rainer on Leadership #252

Podcast Episode #252

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

Healthy churches of tomorrow will likely reflect these characteristics.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Pastoral longevity doesn’t guarantee health in a church, but a series of short pastorates almost guarantees an unhealthy church.
Most churches that have consistent health have consistent leadership.
Many Millennial pastors don’t see church hopping or ladder climbing as part of their future.
As culture becomes more hostile to churches, you church’s community presence becomes more important.
New members’ classes allow you to instill an outward focus into new members in the church.
Setting expectations and providing information are essential to assimilation into the life of the church.
The more adversity a church has, the more opportunities for gospel witness it has.
The assimilation rate for someone connected to a group is five times higher than someone attending worship alone.
When people are excited about their church, they naturally invite others to come.

The 10 signs of healthy churches 10 years from now are:

They have the same pastor they did ten years ago.
The pastor, staff, and church members have a decade of calling to the local community.
The church will be as diverse as the community.
The church will have responded to its international mission field in its own backyard for ten years.
The church will have had a consistent and strategic outward focus for a decade.
All new members the past ten years will have attended a new members’ class.
The church will have seen the cultural changes of the decade as opportunities rather than threats.
At least 80 percent of the worship attendance will have moved to a small group over the decade.
At least 50 percent of the attendance will have invited at least four people to church each year.
Every year for ten years these churches will have become more joyous and fun.


Episode Sponsors

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.

Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Midwestern Seminary, located in the heart of the Midwest, is one of the fastest growing seminaries in North America and offers a fantastic array of academic programs, including multiple online and residential options at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Midwestern’s new 81-hour Mdiv program, online program, and doctoral program have all been recognized as some of the most innovative and affordable in the country. There has never been a better time to begin your seminary education. Midwestern Seminary trains leaders ‘For The Church.’

Visit them online at MBTS.edu and start your ministry training today.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast

Ten Traits of the Healthiest Churches Ten Years from Now
Invite Your One
Evangelism in the Early Church
For the Church Conference

The post What Healthy Churches Will Look Like in 10 Years – Rainer on Leadership #252 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Six Keys to Engaging Church Communications

By Jonathan Howe

In a previous post, I outlined three essentials of a church communications plan and promised to develop the three points further. Today, we begin with the keys to engaging your audience. Remember, your audience includes both church members and potential guests alike. So it’s imperative that you craft messages for both and to each segment.

Engagement is most successful when you start with the goals of your communication in mind and work backwards: consider the desired result, decide the best platform to reach your goal, and word your message accordingly. This can be seen more fully in these six strategic steps:

Keep the audience in mind. One main reason for communications failure is not considering the audience for the message. When you don’t think from the audience’s perspective, you tend to miss details or context clues that are needed in communications. A good example of this is using acronyms. Members may know what you mean, but church acronyms are often lost on guests. Simplify your messaging to reach the widest audience possible as clearly as possible.
Decide on the best channel for communications. Not thinking about the audience often leads to using the wrong channel of communication. Not every message has the same audience, and not every message requires the same channel. Some announcements are better made in print, others are better online, and still others need to be communicated verbally.
Find the best timing. A major church event needs weeks of lead-time when you’re communicating to your members and guests. A Wednesday night supper menu doesn’t. But for weekly events, don’t wait until the last minute or the day before to promote them. Promote them early and often. Finally, when using social media, consider posting at times when you know people will be online and able to respond or share your posts.
Think about the wording. Every word matters. How you label something or the words you use to communicate will have an effect on how people respond or digest the information. A pastor I know once referred to “tithes and offerings” as “church revenue” in a blog post. He received several angry emails and letters as a result. It was an honest mistake, but it goes to show how using the wrong wording can cause the message to be missed.
Use appropriate imagery. Images should compliment the message, not distract from it. There are several free or low cost image sites online for churches to use. If you use imagery wisely, you’ll better communicate with your audience. Please, no clip art. Please.
Proof relentlessly. Some mistakes will slip through. It happens. But you should do everything possible to proof everything that is sent out from your church. Find someone other than the creator to look over something before it’s sent. Familiarity with a document or message will cause you to miss errors. A fresh set of eyes is always best to catch spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors.

Once you’ve moved through this progression, you should have a more fully developed and engaging message to communicate.

How do you engage your audience with your church’s communications? Is there something that is particularly effective for you in your context?

Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources, the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.

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Six Terrible Ways to Recruit Ministry Volunteers in Your Church

Would you like to do the worst possible job of getting people involved in ministry in your church?

Sometimes I think church leaders take the most negative approaches in an attempt to encourage more people to get involved in ministry in the church.

There are several common blunders. Here are six of them:

Don’t pray about it. We often give lip service to prayer. We say we believe in prayer, but we don’t act like it. We know that getting people involved in ministry in the church is one of the most important things we can do; but we try to do it in our own power. Try praying before asking a ministry volunteer. God just might surprise you.
Make a general announcement. Ever heard something like this statement in a church? “We need someone to teach the third grade Sunday school class. If you are interested let me know.” Granted, you might get some volunteers. Those volunteers typically fall in one of two categories: the overworked already, and the person who has no business teaching that class.
Wait until the last minute. If you are recruiting people to lead small groups two weeks before the groups are scheduled to start, you will frustrate and discourage them. That is something that should have happened months earlier. You are communicating to those recruited that the ministry is not that important, that you are asking them as an afterthought.
Do not consider the gifts, abilities, and schedules of those you are recruiting. It’s the worn out cliché: Trying to put a square peg in a round hole. If you ask me to do something that requires manual dexterity, forget it. I’m not sure which end of a hammer to use. We are all different. We are all gifted differently. We all have different schedules.
Send the person on a guilt trip. Great ministry volunteers are naturally (or supernaturally) motivated to do their ministry. Guilt is a negative motivation that guarantees the person will be miserable in the ministry. He or she will be perpetually frustrated or drop out. Neither option is good.
Don’t follow up. Lack of follow up indicates you were just trying to reach a quota or fill a blank. It’s a path toward making the ministry volunteer feel unappreciated and unwanted. I recommend you mark your calendar for three quick emails after a person accepts a volunteer ministry position: 30 days later; three months later; and six months later. Ask them two simple questions: How are you doing? What do you need?

The body of Christ is an amazing gift when its members are doing what God has called and gifted them to do. Read 1 Corinthians 12 to see how really important this ministry should be.

But don’t start poorly. How you recruit ministry volunteers will make an incredible difference, for good or bad, in your church.

Let me hear from you.

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The Insanity of God featuring Nik and Ruth Ripken – Rainer on Leadership #251

Podcast Episode #251

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

Nik and Ruth Ripken join us to discuss The Insanity of God and their story of God’s faithfulness.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

“On the mission field, you can’t look at lost people in the eye and say ‘I want to quit.'”
“When our son died, it’s not that it didn’t rip my heart out, it just felt like it was our turn.”
“Our kids would be stoned off their bikes in South Africa because they were mistaken for Afrikaners.”
“Until you cross the street to be with people, you don’t really realize who they are.”
“What is it going to cost us to share Christ with our neighbors?”
“It’s in the context of breaking bread with others that walls come down in our lives.”
“The loneliest person in the church is the pastor.”

About The Insanity of God

The Insanity of God books, resources, and study kits
The Insanity of God Movie
One night special event showing on August 30

Watch the trailer
Find a theater
Buy tickets




Episode Sponsors

Midwestern Seminary, located in the heart of the Midwest, is one of the fastest growing seminaries in North America and offers a fantastic array of academic programs, including multiple online and residential options at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Midwestern’s new 81-hour Mdiv program, online program, and doctoral program have all been recognized as some of the most innovative and affordable in the country. There has never been a better time to begin your seminary education. Midwestern Seminary trains leaders ‘For The Church.’

Visit them online at MBTS.edu and start your ministry training today.

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.

Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?

The post The Insanity of God featuring Nik and Ruth Ripken – Rainer on Leadership #251 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Four Perspectives on Who Should Know Specific Salaries in Churches

Who gets to see all the salaries in a church?

Warren Bird and Leadership Network have completed an exhaustive study on large churches (500 attendance and up) and ministry pay. The research is excellent and the conclusions are fascinating (see the study at leadnet.org/salary).

Dr. Bird prefers our article on the study to coincide with the date the story goes to the general public. For that reason, I will offer this teaser and provide the full story on social media when it’s released.

This study was broad. The researchers surveyed 1,251 churches. Most of the churches are in America, but a small percentage of them were outside North America. As a researcher of churches, I know this study has to be one of the most comprehensive of its kind.

Among the fascinating tidbits is that nearly three-fourths of the responding churches are growing. Simply stated, we are hearing from larger churches that are reaching people.

Here are four excerpts for you to consider:

No churches made the salaries available to the general public. That is 0%. None. Zero. Nada. Out of more than 1,200 churches.
Only 1% of the churches made the salaries available to the entire congregation. This data point was the most surprising and the most fascinating to me. I knew anecdotally that most larger churches do not give out the salaries to the full congregation, but I am really surprised that “most” equals 99%.
Of all the churches in the study, 82% made the salaries known to an in-house group that deals specifically with personnel issues. That in-house group includes boards, personnel teams or committees, finance and budget teams, or some sub-group of these larger groups.
Many of these churches likely offer a “hybrid” approach. This fourth point is not in the study, but comes from my own consultations and observations. Many churches do not make the salaries known to the congregation as a whole, but they are willing to share the information with church members individually on request.

Let me conclude with two points. First, this research is descriptive, not prescriptive. The Leadership Network team is simply offering the results of a study. Those who read the results are left to draw their own conclusions and express their own opinions. Likewise, this blog post is descriptive as well.

Second, please view the downloads available at leadnet.org/salary. This research team has provided an incredible service with this research. It deserves our attention.

I look forward to your discussion on this topic.

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