membership
-
Reblog – Why it’s good for churches to have a membership course
It encourages people to actually join the fellowship in their minds and in their hearts. It avoids the old “join us for 6months before you serve”… as if going to 15+ sunday meetings is going to really help them understand… Continue reading
-
Thoughts on inter-church involvement
Inter-church involvement is great – but it doesn’t make Christians united (because Christians are, by nature of our union with Jesus, ALREADY united) – but it is one (of many good ways) we can express the unity Christians have. Let… Continue reading
-
Phone calls, SMSs, email, Social media and Pastoral Ministry
Since we pastor people, and people are not in a vacuum but are part of a culture, the cultural norms and tools affect what pastoral ministry look like from generation to generation. Our culture uses SMSs, phone-calls, emails and social… Continue reading
-
Welcome people well by telling them…
Welcome people well by telling them what their next step “in” would look like. You know your church. Your regulars know your church. But the new person doesn’t. So, you can’t just assume they’re going to find their way in… Continue reading
-
Why Oxygen2014 is valuable
This year I’ve been given the opportunity to go to Oxygen2014 – as a blogger/reporter. I reckon that’s an offer that’s pretty hard to refuse. And it comes back to what makes inter-church conferences valuable. Inter-church conferences are when people… Continue reading
-
Reblog: Whenever someone joins a church, re-appoint the ‘elders’
Paul’s instruction to Timothy; “appoint elders in every town”… do we do that any more – or was it just an early church thing? Think about those early churches; Paul went and preached in a town, the gospel spread and… Continue reading
-
Reblog: Learn to say, “Maybe we’re not for you”
When Christians visit your church, and they’re looking at becoming regular/members… you need to ask yourself whether you want them to join you because it’s good for your church, or good for them. It always feels good to have new… Continue reading
-
Meeting a newbie? Assume two opposing things
They arrive, join in, seem to settle in well. They smile when you talk to them, they nod when you say Christian stuff. They talk about their last church in favourable terms. There’s two opposing things you need to assume:… Continue reading
-
Reblog: A good welcoming team welcomes, a great welcoming team…
… assists, coaches, supports and facilitates your regulars to welcome new people. If Max brings Bob to church, you don’t just want Bob to get support as he joins. You also want to support Max and help him support Bob… Continue reading
-
If someone won’t see you as their leader, there’s not much you can do.
There’s always going to be some people in your church who will never really see you as their leader/elder/pastor. They’ll come along, they’ll attend, they’ll agree with this and disagree with that. They might find you arrogant (ironic!), they might… Continue reading
-
Don’t forget words when welcoming
I friend of mine once went to a church that did the logistics of welcoming really well! They had greeters at the car-park, paths, gates and doors. they smiled and nodded at you as you walked in. But they didn’t… Continue reading
-
Do you have staff members who are paid to go to church or church members who are paid to be on staff?
This is a really important distinction. And it’s important that you keep making it clear both to your church and your staff team. Some church staff members see themselves kind of like “consultants”. They are only at this particular church… Continue reading
-
Recognise if people have a “trust leak”
It’s worth being attune to the fact that some people have a tendency to be distrustful. The standard pattern goes something like this… they appear withdrawn you go and chat to them they say they don’t “feel” right about something… Continue reading
-
Culture eats strategy for breakfast
I heard this line recently and its so true. No matter what strategy you put in place; lets take welcoming as an example… if there’s not a culture of loving the new people, getting to know them and engage them… Continue reading
-
To make an overall improvement, start with just one thing
If you want to improve something in your ministry, say your public meetings, or the content of your bible studies, don’t think that the only way to do it is by a massive overhaul. Sometimes, quality has slipped over time.… Continue reading
-
No one brags about subverting a community they care about, because your peers will ostracize you (and why would you hurt a group that you are part of?). No, we feed the community first, then we take our share. On… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 