Mike woke up on Monday morning, the first quiet day after a chaotic Christmas season, with one question hanging over him like a weight: “How much longer can I…

Last week a friend sent me the website of a church he had visited. He asked what I thought of it and what I believed a first time visitor…

This might sound like a funny thing to say, but sometimes the biggest competition a ministry has is within itself. When Herb walked into the room, I knew we…

Every pastor knows that feeling: you finish preaching on Sunday, someone says, “Great message, Pastor!” and before you even get to your car you’re already thinking, ‘Okay… now what…

One of my favorite Christmas movies is Elf. It has everything that a person could want in a Christmas-themed movie: humor, Christmas spirit, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas…

I want to take a detour from strategy and communication today and talk about a concerning observation. It’s something I’ve been noticing for a while in churches and ministries.…

Is it just me, or does everybody seem mad about something lately? Politically, people are mad. Socially, people are mad. Drivers on the road are mad. Geopolitically, people are…

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from growing up around ministry work and those occasional high school English classes, it’s this… a story usually does one of three things:…

I don’t usually lead with stories like this, but every now and then, a little vulnerability is worth the awkwardness. So here goes. A few years back, I lost…

So many times when we get into conversations with ministries about communication, we end up talking about something else entirely: conflict. Sometimes it’s rooted in misunderstandings. Other times it’s…

Imagine This With Me… It’s early Sunday morning, and your alarm is going off.
 Beep. Beep. BEEEEEEP. 
You forgot to turn the ringer down last night, and now you’ve…

Have you ever walked into a new place and felt two things at the same time; hopeful and uncomfortable? It happened to me not long ago when I visited…

“I wish you still did creative work…” Someone said this to me recently, and I was honestly caught off guard. Because…we never stopped. That comment revealed something important: we hadn’t…

We’ve been told this before: “It’s not about you.”And to be honest, there’s some truth in that. Ministry is, at its core, about the transformative work of Jesus, the…

The other day, I was in a store and saw a T-shirt that said, “I speak fluent sarcasm.” For a second, I thought about buying it. Then I realized…

Wow, that’s a strong question. But sometimes, strong questions are exactly what we need to ask. As ministry leaders, we are surrounded by messages. Faith-based initiatives tell us things,…

Most churches talk about getting new people to come to church. In fact, many churches set goals for visitor attendance, promote invitation Sundays, and encourage their congregation to invite…

When I was young in ministry, I had never really gone through any leadership training. We didn’t have any structured development embedded into our church because we were such…

You know that feeling when you’ve been walking around all day with something everyone else can see about you, but you have no idea about it yourself? Like a…

I like change. I like trying new things. I like going places. I like reimagining and reinventing things. I’m a curious person by nature, and I’m always wondering “How…

Success—whether in life, ministry, or business—is often measured by things that, in the end, don’t really matter. We chase accomplishments, build systems, and push toward progress, believing that these…

Clear communication is the cornerstone of effective leadership in ministry. It aligns leadership, vision, and strategy, ensuring everyone is on the same page and moving toward shared goals. But…

Face it—we all get a ton of emails, texts, and marketing messages… ALL THE TIME. The last thing anyone wants is more of that. The same is true for…

Back in the days when we were producing more creative collateral items for clients, we had an involved marketing piece we had put together for a ministry. The piece…

The idea of tracking communication activity can feel intimidating. For some ministries, it even seems intrusive or inappropriate. Tracking web activity, email interactions, or engagement metrics sounds like something…

There are many ministries and nonprofit organizations that lack a dedicated staff member responsible for coordinating and managing communication and marketing efforts. In fact, a majority of ministries do…

One of the most pressing concerns for pastors, church leaders, and board members is how to measure the spiritual health of their congregation. We know it’s important. We know…