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The Largest 500 Churches in the SBC – Rainer on Leadership #173

Podcast Episode #173

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One of the most popular posts every year at ThomRainer.com is the annual listing of the largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. While we don’t typically talk about specific denominations here on the blog or podcast, today Micah Fries joins us to discuss the SBC 500—a new list of the largest 500 churches in the SBC—and what we can learn from them. For the complete SBC 500 list, visit ThomRainer.com/SBC500.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Megachurches are not only reaching people for Christ, but they are increasing in number as well.
Southern Baptists are becoming a more urban denomination because the American population is becoming more urban.
We are seeing an intentional push toward diversity in leadership reflected in the megachurches of the SBC.
Of the top 20 largest SBC churches, 20% are predominantly non-anglo churches.
The number of non-anglo churches in the SBC has increased by 66% over the past 15 years.
The average tenure for senior pastors in the top 20 largest churches in the SBC is just under 22 years.
Big churches are dependent on big population areas. You can be an effective church without being a big church.

The four main takeaways we found when analyzing the SBC 500 were:

The South—and particularly Texas—is the epicenter of SBC megachurches.
Non-Anglo churches and megachurches are on the rise in the SBC.
Revitalization works have led to great growth among some traditional churches in the SBC.
Pastoral tenure is vital for long-term significant church growth.

Episode Sponsors

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is a dynamic community of learners who are serious about ministry preparation biblical studies theological reflection and cultural engagement. Their faculty are gifted men and women who minister as much through research and writing as through local church involvement but their primary ministry is teaching and caring for students. Find out more about TEDS at Divinity.TIU.edu.

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 I Will.

Resources

SBC 500
@SBC500
Breakout Churches
Effective Evangelistic Churches

The post The Largest 500 Churches in the SBC – Rainer on Leadership #173 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Five Problems with Church Programs

Writing this post may be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.

I am the president of the world’s largest Christian resource company, and I’m talking about the problems with church programs.

I must be out of my mind.

To be fair, this article does not blame church programs per se. But it does speak about the problems or dangers with programs if we lose our focus on their purpose. Unfortunately, such a loss of focus has taken place in tens of thousands of churches.

A church program is a resource that has content already created, ready for use by churches. Sometimes the program can be short-term like vacation Bible school. At other times, it can be ongoing, such as Sunday school or small group curriculum.

But, without good oversight and wise application, these and other programs can be problematic. Here are five of those problems:

They can allow members to escape responsibility for ministry. For example, during the 80s and 90s, many evangelism programs were popular in churches. But what we discovered later was disheartening. A significant number of church members viewed the program as the church’s singular way to share the gospel. A common comment was, “I don’t do evangelism myself; that’s what those people do in our evangelism program.”
They can’t always be contextualized. Some programs have clear cultural bents that can’t always be translated in different cultures. One size (culture) does not fit all.
They can imply that ministry is limited. As noted in the first point, many church members may think they shouldn’t be involved in a certain ministry if they are not participating in the program. Thus, a person not in the evangelism program may think that sharing the gospel is only for people in the program.
They can outlive their usefulness. Many programs were designed for a season or era. Many churches don’t want to kill programs that are no longer useful.
They can become an end instead of a means. A few months ago I was in a church where the pastor proudly proclaimed, “We are a Sunday school church.” I asked him what he meant by that. His response: “We believe in Sunday school.” I was hoping he would say that the church believes in the life changing power of groups for community, ministry, teaching, and evangelism. Instead the means (Sunday school) had become an end.

Again, the problem with programs is not the programs. Rather, the problem is when churches become program driven. We should always be grateful for good resources. But we should never think that any one program is panacea for all of the church’s needs.

I would love to get your perspective on church programs. Let me hear from you.

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Pray for Colonial Heights Baptist Church

Location: Ridgeland, Mississippi

Pastor: Dr. Stephen Anthony

Weekly Worship: 9:30 AM & 11:00 AM, Central

Fast Facts: Today is Dr. Stephen Anthony’s first Sunday as the new senior pastor at Colonial Heights after being unanimously voted in as pastor last month. Colonial Heights has been without a pastor for more than a year and has been under the leadership of an interim pastor. Please pray for this time of transition for the church. Also pray for their follow-up from contacts made at the local trunk-or-treat event held last month.

Website: ColonialHeights.org

“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..

The post Pray for Colonial Heights Baptist Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Notable Voices: November 7, 2015

The Secrets to Church Revitalization Webinar Replay — Revitalized Churches

This week, I’ve hosted more than a dozen webinars on church revitalization for church leaders from all around the world. The feedback has been tremendous. If you didn’t have a chance to catch the webinar or want to review some of the points, we’ve put a taped version online, and you can watch at your convenience.

 

Leadership—An Indispensable Necessity for the Pastor — Chris Hefner

Chris, who just started his first pastorate, shares some leadership wisdom you would expect from a pastor of many decades.

 

Pray For Your Church: A 31-Day Challenge — Mike Leake

Intentional prayer is one area lacking in many churches—especially those looking to revitalize or those mired in conflict. Mike will be leading a 31-day prayer effort through his blog over the next month. It starts Monday, but even if you don’t follow along with Mike and his group, I would encourage you to have a daily time of intentional prayer focusing on what God is doing in your church.

 

Ten Differences Between a Boss and a Leader — Eric Geiger

Pastors and church staff—be leaders, not bosses.

 

New Data Says Millennials Are Less Religious Than Anyone Else — Chris Martin

Pew Research released some updated stats on religion in America with a breakdown of older and younger Millennials. As you might expect the trends are continuing—the nones continue to rise.

 

5 Things Every Small To Mid-Sized Church Struggles With — Carey Nieuwhof

This list could be 500 items long. So to narrow it to five is quite a feat, and I’ve seen every one of these issues play out multiple times during my three decades as a church pastor and consultant. Be sure to catch Carey’s last point. It is an issue at many churches regardless of size.

 

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Why Pastors Leave a Church – Rainer on Leadership #172

Podcast Episode #172

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio

On today’s episode, we discuss a recent post on the non-negative reasons pastors give for leaving a church.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Not everyone can lead a church of a certain size well.
The enemy likes nothing more than to get us involved in the Great Distraction.
Pastors, do you give so much attention to the negatives that you’re neglecting the positives of pastoring?
There are two things churches don’t do enough intentionally: corporate prayer and evangelism.
Sometimes a church needs certain leadership based on size and sometimes based on personality.

The five main reasons pastors give for leaving a church are:

“The church has grown as much it will under my leadership.”
“I am just not a good fit for this church.”
“I’m spending most of my time putting out fires.”
“The church has grown too large for my leadership skills.”
“The church needs to relocate, and I’m not the person to lead them.”

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.

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is a dynamic community of learners who are serious about ministry preparation biblical studies theological reflection and cultural engagement. Their faculty are gifted men and women who minister as much through research and writing as through local church involvement but their primary ministry is teaching and caring for students. Find out more about TEDS at Divinity.TIU.edu.

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 I Will.

Resources

Church Answers Live
RonEdmondson.com
Cosco & Associates

The post Why Pastors Leave a Church – Rainer on Leadership #172 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

11 Ways to Strengthen Your Church’s Children’s Ministry

By Chuck Lawless

More than one person has said, “Our students and children are the future of the church.” That statement is true, but it’s also insufficient. Children and students are part of the church now, and we’ll lose them if we don’t minister well to them today. Here are eleven ways to strengthen your children’s ministry:

Enlist your best workers for this ministry. Don’t allow just anyone to work with children; find your absolute best, even if it means pulling them out of adult classes.
Train the workers well. Willingness to serve does not automatically equal ability to serve. Enlist your best, and then continually train them. Help them know how to lead children in 2015. The strategies aren’t the same as in the 1980s….
Establish clear security protocols. The bottom line: nobody who hasn’t passed a background check should be working with minors, and wandering through your church’s children’s ministry area without clearance should be almost impossible. Take all steps necessary to protect your children.
Upgrade your facilities for children. Provide sufficient space for them. Make sure every door has a window for security purposes. Purchase furniture that’s appropriate for children. Paint the walls bright colors. Get rid of the clutter. Make your children’s areas a place to which children want to come.
Don’t lower the bar when teaching children. Find the best material, and teach it well. Assume your children want to learn about God. They’re probably more open to it than many of your adults are.
Capitalize on media resources. Our children have grown up with video, computers, and the Internet. To not use strong Christian media-based resources is to miss an opportunity to teach our children well.
Develop a church membership and beginning discipleship class for children. When children choose to follow Christ, the biblical demands on their lives aren’t different than adults. Help them get started well as new believers.
Hang out with the children. If you’re a church staff member, your church’s children need to see you and know you apart from “big church” and the pulpit. Walk through their areas every Sunday. Talk to them. Get to know their names. Listen to their stories. Love them.
Kneel when talking to children. Respect and love them enough to lower yourself to their eye level when speaking to them. Something’s just different when they see us face-to-face.
If you’re a preacher, remember the children in the audience. Use illustrations that appeal to children. Call them to attention occasionally by saying something like, “Boys and girls, let me tell you a story” or “Kids, let me explain this word to you.” If your children are listening, it’s more likely your adults will be, too.
Establish prayer partners with children. Imagine what might happen if assigned people in your church prayed weekly for every child in your ministry. Connect the generations by establishing an intentional plan to do so.

What would you add to this list?

Be sure to check out Dr. Lawless’ daily blog posts at www.chucklawless.com. Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary. You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.

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Why Some Churches Choose to Die

The conversation surprised me.

I was recently meeting with about a dozen members of a church that was on the precipice of closing. During their perceived “good old days,” the average worship attendance was in the 40s and 50s. Now the church attendance was in the teens. The church was on metaphorical life support.

I shared with them some items of urgency that might give them some glimmer of hope. So I was surprised when one of the members asked me a question that seemed to come from nowhere: “Will we have to sing from screens instead of hymnals?” she asked with a tinge of anger.

I never responded directly to the question. It was too late. The few members were of one mind about an issue so peripheral I had never anticipated it. I left saddened.

The church had chosen to die.

The Need and the Passion

It is my life and ministry passion to help churches, particularly struggling churches, to revitalize. One of the greatest needs of churches today is to choose to live and to thrive.

Unfortunately, many congregations are choosing to die. For certain, they are not calling a business meeting and making a motion to die. Their choices are more subtle and, often, more incremental. But the end result is the same.

Churches are choosing to die.

Five Deadly Choices

So what are churches doing specifically that leads to their demise? Here are five of the more common choices.

They refuse to face reality. I was in a dying church recently. The congregational average attendance was 425 seven years ago. Today it is 185. I could find no one in the church who thought the trends were bad. They were in a state of delusion and denial.
They are more concerned about greater comfort than the Great Commission. Church membership has become self-serving. The church is more like a country club than the body of Christ. People are “paying dues” to get what they want in the church. It’s all about their preferences and desires.
They are unwilling to accept responsibility. It’s the fault of culture. All the new churches in town are to blame. If someone wants to come to our church, they know where we are. People just don’t want to come to church anymore. Excuses and more excuses. I have never been in a community that is nearly fully churched. There are many people to reach. Excuses preclude obedience.
They are too busy fighting and criticizing. If we could take the energy of church critics and antagonists into reaching people with the gospel, our churches would become evangelistic forces. Unfortunately in many churches, members expend most of their energies criticizing leadership and others, and fighting over trivial issues.
They are confusing non-negotiables with negotiables. Almost ten years ago, a couple of men who live near me asked to visit with me in my home. They wanted me to consider visiting their church. One of the men told me their church was one of the few in the area defending the faith. I asked him what he meant by that. He explained that the faith was one particular Bible translation and traditional hymns. I wasn’t sure what happened to the bodily resurrection and substitutionary atonement. The church died within seven years.

Choosing to Live Rather Than Die

Most churches have choices to live or die. We use the word “revitalize” because it means to live again. I hope you will join me in this passion to see unhealthy churches become healthy, to see churches choose to live.

As one way of being a part of this movement of revitalization, I have teamed up with Revitalized Churches in Florida to offer the best resources we can to help in this cause. They are once again offering the resource that has helped hundreds of churches move toward revitalization.

Those churches have chosen to live.

Such is my prayer for your church.

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Why Pastors Are Afraid of Revitalization – Rainer on Leadership #171

Podcast Episode #171

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio

While church planting is garnering much attention (deservedly so), church revitalization is becoming more and more important throughout North America. In today’s episode, we discuss this topic and why pastors sometimes feel unqualified or even fearful to lead a revitalization effort. We also talk about barbecue…because…well…Jonathan likes food.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Substantive changes in a church typically don’t take hold until a pastor has been at a church for 4-5 years.
The most common way to face reality in a church is to look at a 10-year attendance pattern.
Revitalization is not something that happens with a snap of a finger.
You don’t revitalize a church in your power. You do it through God’s power.
There are a lot of pastors and church leaders who just don’t want to ask for help.
If there were no risk in church revitalization, every church would be revitalized.
Don’t get into revitalization if you’re afraid to lead by faith.

The eight reasons pastors are afraid of revitalization are:

Revitalization requires a long-term vision for a church
It requires facing reality
It demands patience
It requires prayer
It might require asking for help
It requires “stick-to-it-ness”
It might mean hurting people you love
It requires taking a risk.

Episode Sponsors

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is a dynamic community of learners who are serious about ministry preparation biblical studies theological reflection and cultural engagement. Their faculty are gifted men and women who minister as much through research and writing as through local church involvement but their primary ministry is teaching and caring for students. Find out more about TEDS at Divinity.TIU.edu.

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 I Will.

Resources

Spurgeon Library
Edley’s Bar-B-Que
Martin’s Bar-B-Que
Breakout Churches
Revitalized Churches

The post Why Pastors Are Afraid of Revitalization – Rainer on Leadership #171 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Four Ways Church Revitalization Is Changing the World

I want to ask you a question that may seem silly and rhetorical: Do you want to be a part of something that is changing the world?

Of course, I know the answer. We all want to be a part of something that makes a difference. We all want to make a difference.

I am absolutely amazed at the transformation taking place in revitalized churches. These congregations were once declining, depressed, and devalued. Now they are thriving, exciting, and impactful. They are literally changing the world for good. Let me share four of the most obvious ways.

Revitalized churches are God’s instruments to impact the eternal destiny of people. One of the revitalized churches of which I am aware had not seen any new Christians in their congregations in years. After the revitalization took place, they began to see people become believers at a pace of about 40 a year! Think about it. Hundreds of eternal destinies shaped over the years by a church that really cares about people spiritually.
Revitalized churches are God’s instruments to restore families. Families are the fabric and foundation of our society. When healthy churches are able to give solid biblical teaching on marriage, parenting, and caring for others in our families, it changes the world. When you affect change in families positively, you affect change in the world positively.
Revitalized churches are God’s instruments to have great community impact. Government officials are taking notice. When there is presence of one or more healthy churches in a community, the community benefits greatly. I recently spoke to a real estate developer asking me to help locate churches where he is developing planned communities. I am not certain if he is a believer, but I know he sees the great value of healthy churches in communities.
Revitalized churches are God’s instruments for global impact. A pastor of a revitalized church spoke with me recently about two families that came to his church shortly after its turnaround. After being in that revitalized church for a couple of years, they both moved out of the country. One of the families became missionaries in Southeast Asia. Another family moved to France with a job relocation. They both share regularly with the pastor how they are making an impact in their new locations. The pastor said they never had such missionaries until the church revitalized and turned around.

When a church moves from poor health to good health, it changes the community. It changes lives. It changes the world.

About a year ago, we offered a detailed resource on revitalizing churches. Jonathan and I have had so many church leaders tell us that the resource was used of God to turn their churches around. That is one of the most rewarding things I hear about this ministry. We are now making the resource available again for a short while through an organization I have come to love, Revitalized Churches.

So this week, we are offering several webinars to give you a high-level view of what it takes to move your church toward revitalization. These free webinars will cover the four secrets of church revitalization and when you register for one of the webinars, you will immediately get two bonus downloadables—50 Internal Barriers to Growth in Your Church and 114 Things You Need to Know About Revitalizing Your Church. So sign up today and join us next week for a webinar as I share the secrets to revitalizing your church.

Do you want to change the world? Be a part of a revitalized church. Let me hear from you.

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Pray for Fairview Baptist Church

Location: Apex, North Carolina

Pastor: Matt Capps

Weekly Worship: 10:30 AM, Eastern

Fast Facts: In May of 1987 a group of people gathered from three area churches to pray about planting a new church together on Ten Ten Road. This core group began meeting for prayer and Bible study at the Fairview community center. And in October of 1990, what would come to be known as Fairview Baptist Church gathered for her first public worship service.

Fairview sits in one of the fastest growing areas of the United States. In fact, Money Magazine recently named Apex the number one place to live. Pray they will be faithful to God’s mission, and rely on God for the fruit. Also pray that Fairview can be a place of gospel ministry where they are seeing people saved, and Christians maturing. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would work through them to advance the kingdom of God in their community and throughout the world.

Fairview has several members on the international mission field, and several families awaiting appointment through the International Mission Board. They also have a ministry to the international graduate students who study at NC State University before leaving to head back to their home country and other various parts of the world. Week after week these students, largely unfamiliar with Christianity, attend services at Fairview and are adopted by families in the church. Several of these students have come to know Christ through this ministry. It is viewed as a missionary training ground.

Finally, Fairview also have a group of men that lead a ministry at the Raleigh Fairgrounds every Sunday with a worship service and preaching. Several people have come to faith through this effort. Continue to pray for them and this outreach effort.

Website: FairviewChurch.org/

“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..

The post Pray for Fairview Baptist Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.