I’ve been thinking lately about two imaginary restaurant owners. Not because I’m particularly interested in food, but because the contrast between them feels like a mirror for the way many churches approach ministry. The first restaurant owner had a clear and admirable goal. He wanted to make great food. Truly great food. The kind of…

When I was blessed to come to the church that I currently serve in, the demographics of the church leaned heavily into an older age range. I looked around at the churches of my friends, especially those that planted churches, and saw the young families, kids, and teenagers, and I was envious. I wanted what…

Every pastor and ministry leader eventually wrestles with the same tension. -How do we grow without losing who we are? -What makes a ministry story compelling enough to draw people in? -And how do we discern if our growth is actually healthy? These are not business questions. They are deeply spiritual questions that sit at…

Back in the day, my friend Jared was one of those dynamic, high-energy, inspirational types of leaders. He was relentlessly positive and always looked for the best in people. Jared had been in ministry for a long time. And while he would take a vacation every year, and tragedies would force short breaks, there was…

We talk a lot about growth. In articles like this, in conversations I have, and in moments when I’m speaking with leaders, the question always comes up: How do we grow? Pastors want to know how to reach more people. Leadership teams want to know how to scale what’s working. That makes sense. I’m a…

When a ministry is new, communication is usually shared, proactive, engaging, and exciting. There is often one primary voice that everyone hears from. This is one of the reasons I love working with church planters. In new ministries, everyone is excited. There has not been enough time to build layers, departments, or separation in communication.…

Sometimes churches borrow what everyone else is doing and then act like they invented it themselves. Watching it happen can be a little funny, kind of like seeing someone walk into Starbucks and order “the usual,” then claim they came up with the frappuccino. It makes sense, though. Pastors are busy, overwhelmed, pulled in fifty…

I remember the first time Frank told me about his church. He said, “We have about 60 people who show up regularly, and that’s probably a good size for us.” At the time, I thought to myself, They should be doing a lot more. They should be bigger. They should be better. But over the…

We have several coffee drinkers in our house so it is not uncommon to be at a coffee shop picking up more than one drink at a time. A while back I had one of those moments where I was grabbing several drinks, trying to load them into my car, and in the process I…

How Churches Really Grow Unless a church is unusual, it is almost always thinking about how to get more people to attend. It is part of why we put out signage, send mailers, run Facebook ads, and try to create events people will want to show up for. Churches long for greater reach, and for…