Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 28

Making the Decision to Go to Seminary: Six Considerations Before Going

They inevitably find their way into my office, excited about God’s calling on their lives. I’ve had several conversations with people wanting advice about attending a seminary (or a similar institution). God has called them to ministry. They feel seminary will add clarity to this calling. 

Perhaps. But before a seminary education can help with a calling, one must have a clear plan for seminary. After working through the spiritual aspect of someone’s calling, I typically offer practical advice. Though each person is different, I’ve summarized the highlights of what to do before deciding to enroll in seminary.

First, a seminary education is helpful but not necessary. You do not need a degree on the wall to minister to others. In fact, a healthy church trains good ministers from within, providing practical ministry experience with a solid theological foundation. Seminary can add to this training, but a formal education need not replace it. There are also other options like Church Answers University, which is a faster, more attainable, and less expensive way to receive theological education and practical ministry training (and your books are included in the price!).

If you still feel led to attend seminary, get a secular degree and a job first. I typically give this advice to young men and women in high school or college. Does God call some straight from high school to a Bible college and then to a church? Sure. Is it better to obtain a secular degree and begin honing relational skills in the workforce? I believe so for most people. Of course, many students balance this approach by getting a secular degree (such as finance) at a Christian university, which is a good option. The hard reality for many without experience in the secular workforce is difficulty connecting with people in the 9 to 5 grind (or is it 5 to 9?). A secular job not only allows someone to work through seminary, but it also forces future church leaders to interact with lost people in a workplace setting. Additionally, secular job experience gives you credibility within your congregation when you counsel them about busy schedules, bad bosses, getting fired, etc.

Regardless of when you attend seminary, start serving a local church immediately. The seminary is not a theological cocoon, slowly developing future leaders into beautiful, delicate pastoral butterflies. Ministering in a local church is messy, complicated, and relational—it involves a lot more time with people than books. You’ll never read your way to becoming a good pastor or church leader. If you’re called, then start serving now. And if you’re not willing to serve now, you’re not called.

Before you sign up for the first semester, understand your financial limitations. Ministry is more rewarding than I ever imagined—just not financially. Do not carry a load of crushing debt into your first (or second, or third) place of service. You will never freely minister while chained to massive student loans. Work days and attend night classes. Swallow your pride and be willing to receive help. It simply does not make sense to commandeer your actual ministry with a debt load that came from your ministry training.

Additionally, weigh your seminary options. With numerous programs, locations, and degrees, most likely, a seminary education exists to benefit your particular calling. Understanding what God has called you to do will help you be efficient in the classes you take. For instance, if you know God is not calling you to teach full-time, then the classes you take will be different from those whom God is leading to be Hebrew scholars.

Lastly, take the path of least resistance with the most challenging professors. Get done quickly. Pick an educational track that best matches your area of calling and can be completed in the shortest time possible. In other words, take as few classes as necessary. But in these classes, select the most challenging professors. It is better to take fewer, more intense classes than it is to fill a bunch of degree hours with easier classes. Your GPA may be lower, but your mind will be sharper.

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10 Things that Surprise Rookie Pastors

I’ve worked with students and graduates in their first pastorates for almost three decades. Over the years, I’ve often asked them, “What’s most surprised you about the work of pastoring?” In no order of priority, here are some of their responses: 

“How hard it is to prepare a sermon week after week.” What was so exciting the first time young preachers prepared a sermon can quickly become a grind when Sundays just keep coming. Pastors seldom get a preaching break unless they intentionally take it.“How hard it is to maintain a consistent quiet time amid the work of pastoring.” The work is never-ending. There’s always someone else to visit, some other meeting to hold, some other counseling session to lead. Finding alone time with God is not always easy.“How much seemingly little things bother some people.” Sometimes church members have “pet issues” they fight for, argue against, or bring up with every successive pastor. Frankly, they’re often insignificant issues—but they’re important to those members.“How often pastoring requires doing things I had not expected.” Some days, pastoring might mean moving tables in preparation for a meal, helping a church member who’s moving to a new home, or running the vacuum when no one else is available. Those things aren’t usually on the job description.“How many long-term believers have not really been discipled.” The more pastors dig into the lives of church members, the more they realize that many churches have done a poor job of making disciples. Even some leaders in the church are still babes in Christ—though they probably don’t recognize that fact.“How much people really appreciate the clear preaching of God’s Word.” There are always exceptions, but people really do want to hear a word from the Lord during the preaching event. Some, in fact, are hungry for it because they haven’t received it in the past.“How powerful it is when I know some members are really praying for me.” Something just happens in your heart when you know faithful, godly church members are interceding for you. Pastors can face hard times and lead through difficult situations when they know others have covered them in prayer.“How little I know about the regular assignments of ministry.” Young pastors know these assignments are part of the role, but they’re still learning how to do things like counseling hurting people, officiating weddings, overseeing funerals, leading meetings, and guiding staff. Most of the time, rookie pastors learn on the job.“How easy it is to get so busy I give too little time to my spouse and family.” Even those young pastors who set out to avoid this problem still find themselves wrestling with it. Nobody sets out to prioritize ministry over family—but still it happens.“How much joy there is in pastoring.” Despite other issues on this list, most rookie pastors I’ve worked with are surprised by the fun, excitement, and fulfillment pastoring brings them. My prayer is they never lose that joy.

Pastors, what most surprised you in your early years of ministry?

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The Great Leadership Shortage in Churches: Five Ways to Address It

One of the most common challenges we hear from church leaders, particularly pastors, is the need for more leaders in the church. The vacuum seems the greatest among elders, deacons, and teachers.

Many churches lost not only members in this post-pandemic world, but they also lost leaders as well. Of course, it is likely that these departures were not really leaders if their commitment to the church was so tenuous. 

The caveat for any solutions to fill leadership voids is that it does not happen overnight. But we are working with a number of church leaders who are beginning to see success in finding the right kinds of leaders. Here are five of the most common approaches: 

1. Every pastor should be mentoring two or three people at all times. Look at the pattern of Jesus. He called twelve men to follow him. Among the twelve, Peter, James, and John seemed to hold a closer relationship with Jesus. Though he preached to the masses, he prepared the New Testament church yet to come by mentoring a few. He taught them. He showed them. He had dialogue with them. He spent time with them. 

2. Pray for God to provide leaders. Perhaps you expect prayer to be a routine solution. There is a reason for that. God commands us to pray, and he shows us the effectiveness of prayer. Answer this question honestly: Are you praying on a regular basis for God to provide leaders for your church? God does indeed answer prayers. He can show you prospective leaders to mentor in your church. And he can send mature Christians to your church. 

3. Ask all of your leaders and mentees to mentor others. If you have two leaders you are mentoring, ask them to find two people to mentor when your time with them comes to an end. At that point, you will have two mentees, and the two leaders will have two mentees each. You have thus moved from one leader (you) to three leaders who are each mentoring two others. If you lost count there, that means you have nine persons who are either leaders or who are being mentored to be leaders. 

4. Evangelism should be closely tied to mentoring. If our churches are evangelistically lethargic, you should not expect new leaders. Many of your future leaders will be among the new Christians who will need discipling and mentoring. They can eventually become some of your most devoted leaders.

5. Don’t fill a leadership void with unqualified leaders. It is better to have a vacancy than to fill a leadership position with an unqualified person. You can get new leaders in your church, but you must be both intentional and strategic. Be patient. Wait on God. But patience and waiting are not synonymous with doing nothing. Keep mentoring, Keep praying. And expect God to take care of all of your church’s needs. 

I know many of you are doing a great job of raising up leaders. For the good of the Kingdom, share with our readers what is taking place in your church. What are you doing to get leaders in your church? 

Let me hear from you.

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How to Discern If a Church Member Is Guilty of Gossip

Gossip is a destructive force in the church. Once the rumors of gossip spread, it’s hard to correct if they are false. Even if partially true, gossip is always wrong because what is shared is inappropriate and hurtful.

Gossip fosters an environment of distrust and suspicion.Instead of focusing on productive work or conversations, individuals involved in gossip discuss improper matters about others.Gossip is often based on hearsay or speculation, which can lead to a distorted understanding of events or individuals.When someone becomes the target of gossip, it can severely impact health, leading to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.Gossip can create unnecessary conflict and tension between people. Misunderstandings and false rumors can cause rifts in relationships and can escalate to create a hostile environment.

People talk. They talk behind your back. They talk about you. They talk about your leadership decisions. It’s normative. Expect it. Are these conversations gossiping? Most of the time, they are not. Dialogue is not gossip. In fact, discussions are usually good signs. It means you’re doing something that causes people to talk.

How can you discern between gossip (clearly a sin) and conversation (not sinful)?

First, realize people need to talk to process. The church is a living organism. It’s more than an organization. Though leaders should have a communication strategy, not every conversation in the church is strategic. For people to process your vision and decisions, they need to talk about it. Some could even say negative things. Just because some might disagree with you and vocalize their concerns does not make them gossips. Let people process by talking for a season before you start making accusations.

Second, gossip is defined more by intent than content. Gossip requires a selfish motive. Most everyone needs information to think through an event. So, people ask questions. They call their friends. They talk to other leaders. If they want to gain this information for malicious motives, then it’s gossip. If they’re chatting to know how to help, then it’s not gossip. Before you leap to a conclusion about gossip, consider someone’s motives.

Third, it’s the leader’s responsibility to provide clarity. Something happens. Perhaps it hit the fan. A dust cloud forms. Think of this dust cloud as everyone’s dialogue. Confusion brings more confusion. People talk about their confusion. The cloud grows. It’s dark. No one can see what’s ahead. At this stage, most people are not gossiping. They are simply trying to find their way by talking to others. It’s your responsibility as a leader to provide clarity so the dust cloud settles. Grousing about chatter makes you the problem. Leaders who complain about conversations as if they are gossip create a clouded environment in which gossip forms. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Gossip is always destructive, but conversations are not gossip. Let people process by talking, even if it’s not with you. Before accusing the talkers of gossip, understand their intent. And it’s on you as a leader to provide clarity when the chatter stirs up dust.

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Five Hero Pastors

One of the greatest joys of my life is working with pastors. At Church Answers, we hear from tens of thousands of pastors every year. Most of these church leaders are unknown to the world except for their immediate church and, perhaps, their community. 

The pastors I know serve selflessly. Most of them are grossly underpaid, but they do not complain. They are on call around the clock. Sadly, some of them have not taken a vacation in several years. They try to smile when they hear it for the umpteenth time: “I wish I only worked on Sunday.” 

Because of my incredible blessing of working with and hearing from pastors, I have the joyous opportunity to hear directly about the lives of these church leaders. I want you to get a taste of what they do. And these stories are by no means uncommon. They are often repeated in churches every week. 

Here, then, are my five hero pastors from real life scenarios:

1. The pastor on a deathwatch. When the hospital called, the nurse informed the pastor that Jim would likely die within a few hours. Jim was a widower. He had no family. The pastor could not stand for Jim to die alone. He sat on vigil by his bedside for seven hours until this person he barely knew breathed his last breath. The pastor prayed for him in his last hours. He softly sang hymns for Jim. On occasion, the pastor would touch Jim’s hand just to let him know he was not alone.

2. The pastor who ministered to his fiercest critic in the church. When the pastor got the call that Byron had been in a terrible accident, he hurried to the hospital and waited with the family. He prayed with them. He comforted them. He encouraged them. He did not leave until the family received word that Byron would survive. Byron’s son asked the pastor as he left why he stayed with the family. “My dad has said terrible things to you” the son said. “He attempted to have you fired. He has made life miserable for you. Why are you here?” The pastor smiled and responded, “It is my honor to serve Christ by serving your dad. He too is a child of God.” 

3. The pastor who loved him unconditionally. At first it looked like an anonymous letter, at least by the appearance of the envelope. But when the pastor opened the letter, it was signed and full of venom. The writer of the letter was an atheist who heard the pastor preach on live streaming. The writer dared the pastor to meet with him. The pastor took the dare and had coffee with a young man full of hurt and anger. The pastor continued to meet with the man, even when he was attacking him verbally. After a few months, the relationship improved. Soon thereafter the young man became a follower of Christ. 

4. The pastor and his wife who gave away their last dollars. The church did not pay the pastor well. He and his wife could not even make it paycheck to paycheck. They had to depend on a local food bank to have food on the table. At the food bank, the pastor and his wife met a single mom who was in desperate financial straits. The couple looked at each other, thinking the same thing. They went to the nearby ATM and withdrew their last $30 and gave it to the single mom. By the way, it was this single mom who told this story after she became a follower of Christ. 

5. The pastor who stayed up all night and preached the next morning. I’ve heard stories similar to this one many times. The pastor was called on a Saturday evening to a home where a young man had locked himself in a room threatening suicide. Working with the police, the pastor spoke and prayed with the young man who finally relented and walked out of the room unharmed. The entire ordeal lasted almost eight hours. The pastor got to the church at 7:00 AM where he would look over his sermon for that morning and then preach with no sleep.

Your pastor is called by God to serve others. It is often a difficult life for the pastor and the pastor’s family. Criticisms are common. Finances are often challenging. Discouragement is pervasive. And words of encouragement can be rare.

Encourage your pastor.

Pray for your pastor. 

Love your pastor.

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Are You Asking the Character Question about Your Staff?

If you examine the job descriptions in searches for pastors, associate pastors, and church staff (as we have), you will find (as we did) an absence of expressed interest in character and a profusion of terms connected to skills. Job descriptions, even for senior pastors, have devolved into a can-do list. That is because we unconsciously value those who get stuff done, rather than those who exhibit godly character. Especially in the past fifty years, so many churches have hired on the basis of talents and skills and the capacity to “bring it” for weekend services. Somehow, we have equated ability with character. But when ability replaces character, we get toxicity in the boardroom and in the pulpit, and those toxicities corrupt the entire church.

In The Ascent of a Leader, which explores the topic of character in leadership, Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and Ken McElrath compare a “capacity ladder” with a “character ladder.” The former is a “task-driven organization, at the expense of people” and creates “people-users,” while a character ladder focuses on people and their success. On the capacity ladder, accountability means getting things done. Character, by contrast, focuses on depth of influence, living the truth, and protecting relationships. It sees failures in terms of development, not immediate results.¹

What does the Bible say about character? Jesus taught that a good tree [good character] produces good fruit. Bad character eventually reveals itself as rotten fruit, while good character over time will manifest itself as a sweet, juicy peach. Hear the words of Jesus:

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 7:16-20).

Though this isn’t hard to understand, some go too far with it. No human always produces juicy peaches, any more than someone always produces rotten fruit. Even as Christians, we never always behave in good ways. Therefore, Jesus exhorts his followers to examine themselves and others. That is, he wants us to become “fruit inspectors.”

Jesus also talked about character formation using the term heart. Again, consider his words:

The words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander (Matthew 15:18-19, NLT).

Though Jesus didn’t use the word ethos (character), so central to the philosophy of virtue taught by the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle, what he teaches is similar: our behavior expresses our character. That is, within reasonable limits, what we do tells others who we are.

In the writings of the apostle Paul, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit becomes the central reality of transformation. For instance, consider Romans 5:5: “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Further, in Romans 8:9, Paul says, “You . . . are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” And in 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul indicates that this Spirit-in-us is not simply individually or personally, but in the church corporately: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

Jesus and the apostles all believed in the inner work of transformation, or character formation, which produces good fruit, or what we often today call virtue. Paul captures the essence of this virtue in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

The ultimate virtue is Christlikeness. The Spirit in us transforms us into the image of Christ.

In a church, character matters more than culture. Character matters more than strategy. It is character that determines the very substance of where we’re headed. As one pastor friend said to us recently, “The question is, ‘Who are we becoming?’”

When you invite another person on to your staff, are you asking the character question?

¹Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and Ken McElrath, The Ascent of a Leader: How Ordinary Relationships Develop Extraordinary Character and Influence (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994). The book has no page numbers. We are referring to chapter 4.

Adapted from Pivot: The Priorities, Practices, and Powers That Can Transform Your Church into a Tov Culture by Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer. Copyright © 2023. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.  All rights reserved.

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Reflections on My First Sermon after Twenty Years of Ministry

I preached Philippians 1.

After standing in the pulpit for a few awkward moments, I said, “Hi.”

“Hi.” The congregation responded.

It was a Sunday night service on a holiday weekend. My pastor was on vacation. The smaller crowd was the core. They knew what they were getting. I was twenty-three years old. Only now can I admit I preached that first sermon not having read the entire Bible yet.

Rookie preachers tend to go very short or very long. I was the former. I think I finished the sermon in under twenty minutes. My worship pastor would love for me to do that now.

“That was excellent. Thank you for sharing.” A sweet, elderly woman shook my hand.

“Son, you might have a future, possibly.” One of the deacons waved as he walked by me.

“Well, at least you didn’t mess anything up.” The Sunday school director smiled.

After everyone left, I asked my girlfriend, “How did I really do?”

“Why did you wag your finger at everyone the entire time? It was weird.”

“I did?! I had no idea.”

We married three years later. I no longer awkwardly point when I preach.

I do not remember how or why Paul Chitwood asked me to preach. Perhaps he saw something in me. More likely, no one else was available to fill the pulpit. Regardless, I knew that Sunday I had to preach—every week. Something in me (the Holy Spirit) prompted me to take every opportunity. I served bi-vocationally for three years, ultimately landing at a small rural church with six people.

Twenty years have passed since that first sermon. As I look back, several reflections come to mind.

The death of the traditional Sunday evening service has killed the opportunity for young, potential preachers to practice. I get why most churches no longer have a Sunday evening service, nor am I advocating for their return. But there are unintended consequences to any significant change in a church. The reality is Sunday evening was great practice for up-and-coming young preachers. These opportunities are now largely gone.

Younger pastors should master exegetical preaching before attempting topical sermons. I enjoy preaching topical sermons. Certain topics like addiction, religious liberty, and angelology are challenging to preach with only verse-by-verse sermons. The reality is topical sermons are far more difficult to write than exegetical sermons, if done well. (Topical sermons are easy to write if done poorly). I recommend young preachers spend a few years going through books of the Bible before attempting topical sermons.

Preaching is more a craft than science. For my first couple of years preaching, I wrote sermons as if I was dissecting a bug in biology class. I was careful, precise, and thorough. These sermons communicated the intended meaning of the text with all the details of a technical commentary, but they lacked inspiration. True craftsmen create works of art that inspire, and mastering a craft—sermon writing included—requires years of practice.

Your theology will change over the years. I often tell my church that I do not expect everyone to agree with everything I say every week. That’s what a cult leader expects of followers. In fact, I disagree with my younger self in many areas of Scripture! My eschatology and soteriology have changed. I am more open to the sign gifts now than in the past. I moved away from strong views of close or closed communion. If you preach faithfully, you will likely evolve in your views of Scripture as you learn more about God’s Word.  

Preaching is better when done to edify and not to educate. The sanctuary is not a classroom, and the parishioners are not your students. Should you learn something each week in church? Of course! But delivering and receiving a sermon is a different exercise than pedagogy. Pastors should edify the saints. While education is a part of edification, sermons should aim to inspire people to action guided by the Holy Spirit.

The New Living Translation is ideal for preaching and encouraging the church to read God’s Word. I have preached from a variety of translations. The NLT is perfect for reading aloud. The translation is the best balance of formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Most importantly, the NLT is a translation everyone of all ages can read together.

You cannot grow a church with good preaching anymore. I remember a few old-timers telling me, “Get good at preaching, and your church will grow.” This advice was accurate thirty years ago but no longer works. The days of large swaths of people coming to church to hear a good preacher are long gone. Sermons are critically important, but they alone do not grow churches.

“Just preach the Word” is not valid. I’ve heard this saying countless times. Frankly, it’s some of the most harmful advice anyone can give a young pastor. Shepherding a congregation requires far more than preaching. Preaching is only a fraction of what is required of a pastor.

Almost everyone listening wants you to do well. For the most part, your congregation is cheering for you as you preach. The curmudgeons may be vocal, but they are rare. Most people who sit and listen every week enjoy hearing you preach and want you to succeed.

It’s hard to believe I started preaching twenty years ago. In those twenty years, I have preached weekly except for about thirty Sundays. Rarely does a Sunday pass when I’m not in the pulpit. 

I hope God gives me another twenty years of opportunities.

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Why We Need to Ask More Numerical Questions about Our Church

I’m well aware that it’s easy to get focused on numbers when evaluating church growth. Too many church leaders report “butts in the seats” and “bucks in the plate” more than anything else—without really evaluating even those numbers. For example, we might report a significant attendance increase without pointing out that most of that growth came from transfer growth rather than conversion growth. 

On the other hand, numbers do matter. I do want to know if my church is reaching non-believers and making disciples—after all, Jesus told us to make disciples of all the world (Matt 28:18-20)—and checking numbers is one means to evaluate how we’re doing in that process. 

My concern in this post, though, is that we often ask only the attendance growth numbers without regard for other numbers that matter, too. It’s not that we give too much attention to numbers; it’s that we give too little attention to them. 

For example, here are a few other numbers I would also want to know: 

How many believers in my church daily practice the spiritual disciplines of Bible intake and prayer?How many Christian couples pray together daily?How many parents are intentionally discipling their children beyond bringing them to church?How many believers can name non-believers (or even one) with whom they are intentionally developing a relationship, loving them and working toward sharing Christ with them?How many church members have been trained to give their personal testimony?What percentage of members have shared the gospel with someone in the past year?How many members have, with the help of other believers, identified their spiritual gifts?How many attendees are actively engaged in a small group in the church?What percentage of our church members have served at least short-term on the mission field?How many members have we sent out in the last five years to do church planting/pastoring/missionary service either in North America or around the world?How many members are actively working on scripture memorization?What percentage of members are involved in a mentor/mentee relationship with another believer?How many members would say, “If I’m honest, I have never truly been discipled”?

I realize this list is not exhaustive, but I trust you get my point. What other numbers would you add to this list as you evaluate your church? What numbers in this list had you not considered?

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The Death of Evangelism: Five Issues We Must Address

The issue may be the biggest surprise of my ministry. 

On the one hand, I am surprised at the decline of evangelism in most churches. But that is not the biggest surprise. The issue that perplexes and surprises me the most is that very few church leaders and members are even acknowledging the death of evangelism in their congregations and denominations. 

As but one denominational example, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, measures evangelistic effectiveness by baptisms. Annual baptisms have declined from a peak of 445,725 in 1972 to 180,177 in 2022, a 60% decline! But when the 2022 statistical report was released, many of the comments noted that baptisms had increased 16% from the previous year. While that is true, we cannot use 2021 as a valid comparison year because churches were still regathering from the pandemic.

Likewise, it is becoming increasingly common for local churches to neglect, or even forget about, evangelism. 

For both denominations and churches, denial is not a good strategy.

What is discipleship? Recall how Jesus called his first disciples, Simon and Andrew, in Mark 1:17: “Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.’” Also, recall his last words on earth to his followers in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Jesus’ ministry on earth began with evangelism and concluded with evangelism.

Why, then, is evangelism dying or dead in most churches? Why do denominations seem to be talking about everything but evangelism? Here are five issues that we must address to answer these questions: 

1. Denial is not a good evangelistic strategy. Many church leaders and church members, as well as denominational leaders, do not talk about the anemic evangelism in their churches. Some have evangelistic amnesia. Though it’s cliché, we can’t address the problem of evangelistic lethargy until we admit we have a problem. 

2. Evangelism is spiritual warfare. Jesus was physically present with his first disciples when they traveled and shared the gospel. Jesus promised us the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit when He ascended to heaven. Simply stated, evangelism is at the forefront of spiritual warfare. We can’t go it alone. We must have the Holy Spirit leading us and empowering us. Satan will do anything in his limited power to stop the spread of the gospel. 

3. Prayer must accompany evangelism. Since evangelism is spiritual warfare, we cannot and must not attempt to share the gospel in our own power. The most effective evangelistic churches strategically wed prayer and evangelism. We have a resource at Church Answers that does just that. It provides a 30-day reset of evangelistic priorities. We call it The Hope Initiative. I plead with you to look at that resource. If you cannot afford it, let us know, and we will do everything we can to help. Email us at Hope@ChurchAnswers.com. 

4. Churches must learn to celebrate evangelism. It’s another cliché, but you become what you celebrate. Celebrate conversions, baptisms, and professions of faith. Celebrate faithfulness of church members who are sharing the gospel. Celebrate the changed lives of new believers. 

5. If your church does not have enough time to prioritize evangelism, you have ceased to be obedient to the call of Christ. We work with pastors and other church leaders to learn how to prioritize their work. Evangelism, preaching, prayer, and small group leadership are critical. If you are too busy to lead in evangelism, you are too busy. 

The most common trait of churches who address these five issues is that they have a pastor who personally prioritizes evangelism. While we would never suggest that churches look at a pastor as a hired hand for evangelism and growth, we can say unequivocally that an evangelistic church must have an evangelistic pastor. 

Evangelism is dead or dying in most American churches. Perhaps God is awakening you and your church to reverse this reality in His power. 

I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on this issue. Why is evangelism dead or dying in most churches? What examples do you have of churches that are defying this terrible trend? 

Let me hear from you.

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Why Your Church Is Larger Than You Realize (And Pastors Are Busier Than Ever)

How big is your church?

It’s a common question. The top metric of success in a church is worship attendance. Maybe it shouldn’t be. But average weekly worship attendance is the most common and most touted church health metric. This figure includes children, assumes each person is counted only once, and includes all worship services during the week but excludes traditional Wednesday night and Sunday night activities.

Your church is likely much larger than your worship attendance average.

Let’s use the example of 400 people. If you average 400 in attendance, your church is larger, potentially much larger. To understand the actual size of your church, you must consider membership and attendance frequency along with the average weekly attendance.

Membership. For some churches, membership is defined as who is on the church roll. I’ve worked with churches that had 2,000 on the roll and only a couple hundred in average attendance. For other churches, membership is those who have committed to meaningful participation in the body. And some churches even push back on the term “membership,” but most keep a database of people associated with the church. Unfortunately, in many churches, membership figures are inflated, inaccurate, and less meaningful.

Attendance Frequency. This figure measures how often a person comes to church. For example, an “active” member was once considered someone who came twice, or even three times a week. Today an active member is considered someone who comes twice a month.

How big is my church? Your congregation is most likely smaller than your membership roll or database. Most church leaders cite average weekly attendance as the metric of size. And your church is likely to be larger than your average weekly attendance. When you reply to the person asking, “What ya runnin’ these days?,” your church is actually larger than your answer, unless everyone in your church is there every week.

Consider the church of 400 in average weekly attendance. Let’s assume this church is relatively healthy, and people—on average—attend three out of four weeks. This church actually has 533 active people. Below is a simple way to do the math.

(400 * 4/3) = 533

If your church is less healthy, and people—on average—attend two out of four weeks, then a church of 400 is even larger in total size:

(400 * 4/2) = 800

The point of this exercise is to understand how many people church leaders are shepherding. Church leaders are accountable to God for knowing (and guiding) those under their leadership. Additionally, church leaders should attempt to understand how frequently people are attending. In many cases, people don’t suddenly leave a church. They fade. A person who once attended four out of five weeks, but is now attending two out of five weeks, is in the process of fading from the church.

Ministry is busier than ever.

Your church’s demands are more than your weekend worship attendance reflects. Most church leaders feel this reality even as they look around on Sunday mornings and see fewer people. So what’s going on? Why is ministry busier than ever?

Attendance numbers are not a good gauge of church size like in the past. The ratio of church attendance to actual church size has changed because people are not coming as frequently to worship services. Historically, active church members attended three times a week—Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. Now, people are considered active if they attend every other week. Many others attend once a month. This change in attendance frequency means churches appear smaller today than they really are.

A church in the past: 400 people in worship meant a church size of about 500 to 600 people.A church today: 400 people in worship means a church size of about 1,000 to 1,200 people.

This trend of decreasing attendance frequency means your long-time members are asking, “Where is everyone?” While at the same time, you’re feeling swamped with ministry. Fewer people in the seats does not mean less work for pastors and church leaders.

Fewer people attend worship, but there is more ministry to do. The people who come once every four or five weeks still consider you their pastor. They ask you to do counseling sessions and will text prayer requests. They call as much as the person who attends every week. Even though they attend less frequently, many of them still require the same amount of attention.

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