Balcony time is an intentional, weekly practice of spending time working on your ministry rather than just in your ministry. Often, doing church ministry and other non-profit work can feel like putting out one fire after another and prioritizing what feels urgent over what feels important. Balcony time helps alleviate those issues by increasing the…
Fall is always an exciting time in church world. People are coming off summer vacations, rest, and a different pace of life. They are typically ready to re-engage with church on some level. Kids move up into their new Sunday school class or small group. Then, youth group cranks back up with some kind of…
You’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity. You’re antsy and even a bit sweaty. You’ve replayed this moment countless times in your mind. The minutes crawl, your heart races and your mind wanders. What will it be like? How fast will I actually go? What if I throw up? Suddenly, you realize ……
More than ever, pressure is being put on ministry leaders to “bring people back” to church. As I’ve spent time with youth ministry leaders over the past year, I’ve noticed that the idea of large-scale youth ministry events being the fix-all solution has seen a resurgence amongst churches of various denominational backgrounds and sizes. The…
It was Lent and there was me, talking to our new worship leader, asking him about what we’re going to do to “step it up a notch” this year for Easter. And, as soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Why?Because a belief in Jesus’ resurrection impacts every single moment of every…
How will God use YOUR church in the coming year? Every church has the ability to build a thriving, sustainable stewardship ministry by attending first to two key foundational areas: 1. Architecture: the structures of sustainability and 2. Atmosphere: the culture, climate, and ethos that sustains the health of the congregation. So why do countless…
Introduction Have you ever felt like your church was moving in a thousand different directions and often spinning its wheels to little or no effect? Have you ever felt like the various ministries of your church are each out there on their own doing their own good work but with little regard for how they…
Introduction Have you ever been part of a BIG building project – one that required real blueprints? Or have you ever been involved in site development for a multi-building plan for a park or camp? I’ve always loved building things, and along the way I’ve learned that every really good result starts with a really…