I’m confessing this to you in hopes that you will avoid making a similar mistake and take action today in evaluating your own Assimilation system. One Sunday not too long ago, at one of our Journey early services, we had zero first-time guests. It is very rare for us to have zero anything! We always have first-time guests, new believers … Read More
7 Statistics that Predict Church Growth
Today’s guest post comes to us from Aaron Earls for FactsandTrends.com. Most American churches have 80 or fewer worshippers each week and fewer than 45 percent of churches have grown more than 2 percent in the last five years, according to a study from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Ultimately, it is God who brings growth to churches, but … Read More
Sunday Scripture: Wise Living for Church Leaders
“An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, … Read More
Wiersbe’s Four Lessons on Life
“Four Lessons on Life: 1. Never take down a fence until you know why it was put up. 2. If you get too far ahead of the army, your soldiers may mistake you for the enemy. 3. Don’t complain about the bottom rungs of the ladder; they helped to get you higher. 4. If you want to enjoy the rainbow, … Read More
The Importance of Connecting with First-Time Guests
“You and I have been called to plant and water so that God can grow the harvest – and not to plant and water haphazardly, but to the best of our abilities, as we are laboring for his kingdom. We must do the work to ensure a connection with our guests. God promises that if we step toward him, he … Read More
Avoid Putting Your First-Time Guests in the Hot Seat Copy
“Most unchurched individuals stay that way because they don’t think they can visit a service anonymously. They are afraid they’ll have attention drawn to them by having to stand and say their name or participate in some other welcoming ritual. Knowing that fear of public speaking ranks higher in psychological studies than the fear of death, why do so many … Read More
The Healthy Pastor – You Will Succeed!
“Be careful not to let Satan discourage you with your past. If you have tried to get healthy before and haven’t succeeded, then you just need to figure out what went wrong and set out again. Develop a more solid plan and start making small, consistent changes. Jesus promises you can do all things – including this – because he … Read More
8 Ways to Avoid the Summer Slump and Increase Your Stewardship – Part 3 of 3
With summer just around the corner, I want to challenge you NOT to buy into the average way of thinking that you can’t avoid the summer slump. You CAN flatten the summer dip and increase your stewardship using 8 practices we’ve developed at The Journey. In this current blog series we’ve covered the first six ways to avoid the slump. Here … Read More
Five Decisions that Helped Turn Around My Small Town Church
Today’s guest post comes to us from Travis Stephens for ChristianityToday.com. The small town church where I serve as Executive Pastor will turn 12 years old this year. In those 12 years we’ve experienced incredible growth in many different areas. We’ve seen hundreds of people experience salvation and take their next step through baptism. We’ve seen our giving increase tenfold. … Read More
Sunday Scripture: In Celebration of Mother’s Day
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: ‘There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, … Read More