What must happen for my church to grow? Many pastors and church leaders ask this question. Whether a church grows its attendance or not is top of mind for any casual observer of American religion. Obviously, some of what drives these dynamics are unmeasurable—good preaching, strong discipleship programs, and a compelling worship experience are not easily reduced to numbers in a spreadsheet.  However, that doesn’t mean that social science tools cannot be used to understand some of the macro-level factors that impact the trajectory of local churches. To see what data can tell us about this ..read more

“Most of the report came back as expected,” the pastor told us after he received his copy of the Know Your Beliefs report. “But four points on the report shook me to the core. I had no idea that is what our members believe. It has caused me to rethink what I preach and what our community groups teach.” The pastor’s church was one of our beta churches, congregations that tested the report before we released it to all churches. We’ve heard similar reports from other church leaders. Some pastors asked the entire adult congregation to take the report. Some plan to ask their elders. Others said the ..read more

On the one hand, I am hesitant to share this information. Our team works with several denominational leaders to implement The Hope Initiative. We get reports of God’s work every week. My concern is that I might imply that The Hope Initiative is a silver bullet. It is not. But God is using it.  I also want to be careful to suggest that a 30-day turnaround means that the church is okay with a quick fix, and they are done. They are not. Such is the reason we often refer to The Hope Initiative as a “jump start.” On the other hand, we are currently seeing so much fruit from this initiative tha ..read more

This month, I celebrated 43 years in full-time ministry. It’s hard to believe I’ve been at this work that long—maybe because most of the years have been great joys. Here are some things I would do differently, though, if I were starting again: I would pray more. Frankly, my current interest in prayer really grew after I had been a pastor for several years. My pastoring years would have been different had I spent more time on my knees.  I would counsel less. I thought I had to have the answers for my church members, regardless of what their issues were. Now, I would much more quickly refe ..read more

Pastors manage churches as much, if not more, than leading them. Making disciples requires pastors to be involved in the day-to-day operations of a church. If you’re not willing to manage a church, you’re not qualified to lead a church. Should pastors be involved in every task? No. However, every pastor should have some involvement in the daily operations of church life. Shepherds—by God’s design—are among the sheep. Why is it tempting, and dangerous, to neglect the task of management? It’s tempting to neglect operations. Operations take time. Few people see operations in the church. Anyone wh ..read more

You can do your job well without loving it. However, for pastors, the calling often goes beyond mere duty. It encompasses a passion for serving and guiding their flocks. What distinguishes pastors who love their jobs from those who do their jobs? It boils down to several essential qualities. They embrace awkward moments. At my first church, the lone deacon would take a smoke break in the middle of my sermon. (Yes, I preached too long.) Then, there was the time someone brought a pet parrot to church. (No, I didn’t get any amens from the bird.) And I’ll never forget the several demonstrators who ..read more

I love our large community of pastors, church staff, denominational leaders, and lay leaders at Church Answers Central. The promise we make them is they can ask any question or make any comment, and we will respond within a few hours. We usually respond within an hour. That’s the promise. They can learn from us.  But, frankly, I feel like I am learning more from the Church Answers Central community than they are learning from me. For example, one of the pastors in our community posted this insightful comment this week: “My church has been experiencing growth due to the decline of sister c ..read more

In recent years, churches and organizations have undergone significant shifts across various facets, spanning from attendance trends to resource allocation and volunteer recruitment. However, one prominent change stands out amidst this evolution: a transition towards collaborative leadership. Gone are the days when leadership simply meant dictating a vision for others to follow. With younger generations joining our teams and a heightened awareness of ethical and moral failures in senior leadership positions, there’s a growing acknowledgment of the value and need for multiple voices and ownersh ..read more

If you’ve read much of what I write, you’ve heard me say at some point, “I’ve never seen a strongly evangelistic church without a strongly evangelistic pastor leading them.” I stand by that statement after more than 25 years of evaluating churches. Here’s why I think pastoral leadership is so critical in this task: A pastor’s shadow falls long on a congregation. That’s especially the case if the pastor has been in that role for some time. What the pastor emphasizes, the church at least hears; what the pastor is silent on, the church gives little attention. A strongly evangelistic pastor will ..read more

I know. I wrote a provocative title for this article. I changed it several times, but I eventually came back to it. The obvious question is: are the members too old for what? My response is another question, but it could still lack clarity. Are they too old for the church to continue on a path of health? If you are a senior adult and find yourself disturbed by this conversation, please know that I am one of you. I have been a senior adult for a few years now. I estimate the median age of the attendees of my church is 28. I am 40 years older than the median age! I am not just old; I am ancient ..read more