Notable Voices and the Week in Review: July 8, 2017
Is There a Church Death Spiral?
Why Church Members Attend Less Frequently — Rainer on Leadership #342
Five Surprising Discoveries about Growing Churches
10 Content Suggestions for Your Church Newsletter
How Stability Can Hurt a Church – Rainer on Leadership #343
The Number One Reason Missionaries Go Home — Paul Akin
The most common reason missionaries go home isn’t due to lack of money, illness, terrorism, homesickness, or even a lack of fruit or response to the gospel. Regretfully, the number one reason is conflict with other missionaries.
2 Signs You’re an Insecure Leader — Chad Williams
At its core, insecurity is a sinful response to the reality that the only leader who actually has it all together is Jesus. So, what does insecurity look like in the life of a leader? There are many possible manifestations, but for the sake of brevity, I will share a couple of tell-tale signs. Insecure leaders are typically:
3 Reasons Kids Ministry Is Important — Eric Geiger
The last two weeks have provided great reminders to me about why kids ministry is so important. I served as camp pastor at CentriKid camps for a week. The whole family came and we had a great time. The kids participated in Bible studies, recreation, track times based on their interests, and morning and evening worship gatherings. Then the next week, Kaye hosted a backyard kids club in our neighborhood for neighbors and friends from school. Friends and some incredible teenagers helped provide games, recreation, singing, crafts, and a Bible story each morning. About 50 kids came. The experiences reminded us why kids ministry is so vital:
4 Reasons Why More Money Won’t Solve Your Financial Problems — Art Rainer
Certainly, there is a time when an increased checking account balance helps. But for many financial struggles, money is not the answer. More money will only exaggerate the existing problem. We sometimes see this with those who win the lottery. The winnings end up exaggerating existing issues and crushing the winner. When won’t money solve your financial problems? Here are a few circumstances when more money is not what you really need.
5 Honest Struggles Most Church Leaders Don’t Want To Admit — Carey Nieuwhof
Sometimes all you need to know is you’re not alone. And you’re not, even if you feel that way. Here are 5 ways ministry leaders struggle in their relationship with God:
6 Ways to Make Your Guests Feel Welcome at Church — Chris Weatherly
We all love our churches but rarely do we think about how they operate from a church guest perspective. Then someone brings a first time visitor. As soon as we bring a church guest or someone tells us they brought a guest our brain goes into hyper drive. What will they think about us? Do they think we are weird? Is the music too loud? Did somebody greet them when they came in? Will the sermon minister to them? All of these are normal questions to ask, but what if instead of waiting until the guest showed up to think about these questions, we think about them ahead of time. Here are 6 suggestions to help you get the process of thinking through the first impression of your church.
