Tag : church

What I’ve Learned About Church Growth

Posted by admin at 10:37 pm

First, I would like to express that I do not consider myself to be a church growth expert, although I would like to become one!! I wanted to share some insights that I have discovered from some of the churches that I follow. I love to follow churches that are experiencing growth that can only be explained as a work of God. Most of these church plants have been in existence for less that five years with the exception of a few churches by they are still thinking like a church plant and not a church (there is a big difference). I started seeing some trends between these churches and here is what I learned.

1. Document Everything - Nothing is worse that to have a great outreach event or baptism and not have the media to document the event.  If you need a great video camera and your on a tight budget I recommend The Flip
2. Celebrate the Wins - This creates great moments for casting vision and reinforcing what your church is all about.  You should celebrate big wins and the small wins even if they seem too small to celebrate.
3. Never Compromise the Truth - There is a generation out there that want authenticity and they appreciate truth event if it is not PC.  God will bless your ministry if you stick to this step.  The truth can hurt but you will reap a harvest that will be worth documenting and celebrating.

So that is what I have learned about church growth.  Here is a short list of some of the churches that I follow.  If you are thinking about planting a church here is some questions you might want to ask CLICK HERE.   If are interested in planting a church in Indiana hit me up HERE.

New Spring Church
Elevation Church
Aviator Church
Coming Soon Covenant Church

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God, Religion and Porn!

Posted by admin at 10:27 am

There has been this ongoing debate about the XXX Church who is now based in Las Vegas. This Church founded by Craig Gross, ministers to the women who have been forced into the porn world so they could provide a means of income. It is not unusual to find XXX Church at the major porn conventions passing out Bibles and shirts that say, “Jesus Loves Porn Stars.” The “Church” has many stories of lives that have been changed because of their ministry. I mentioned before that XXX Church made a recent move to Las Vegas and have started another church called Strip Church (before for you get your panties in a bunch, the church is located on the Vegas strip).

There are definitely opposing Christians to this movement. The organization has posted, in the past, hate mail from conservatives and liberals a like. So, you be the judge and tell me what you think. Is this real ministry or is it just a publicity stunt?

If you are stuggling with porn you can see a post I wrote with some resources click here.

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Wordpress on my blackberry

Posted by admin at 7:31 pm

Here is one of the reasons I like Wordpress. I just downloaded the latest versin of WP for the blackeberry. This make blogging very quick and easy. I am now able to share my thoughts as they come. This is also great news for Church Planters and Pastors. Now next time you have a great idea don’t loose the napkin, blog about it.

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Don’t go to church!

Posted by Jeff Jackson at 10:00 pm

That is right, I am asking everyone not to go to church but instead to be the church.  How about we raise up a generation that is passion about Kingdom work and not afraid to stand up for Jesus.  It is not enough to just stand on the side lines it is time to get in the game.  So how can we be the church?

1.  Make church and your relationship with God a priority.

2.  Don’t sit back and let the hired guns (your pastors) do all the ministry.  Ministry is meant for the people!

3.  Go for broke! (this is my current life saying…take no prisoners…charge hell with a water pistol…you get it!)

4.  Live your life through the eyes of Jesus.

5.  As Perry Noble says, “Kick Satan in the cookies.”

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25 Random Things About Me

Posted by admin at 11:18 am

1. I dream of being Bear Grylls.
2. I always think about winning the lottery but never play.
3. I’m addicted to the internet, not any one site, just the internet in general.
4. I’m secretly a computer geek.
5. I have the best wife and daughter in the world.
6. I love playing sports.
7. I hate cabbage.
8. I love everything to be in order but hate organization.
9. I tend to over commit myself.
10. I want to write a book.
11. I am going to run for local government.
12. I always act like I don’t like chick flicks, but I love to watch them with my wife.
13. I want a tattoo but will probably never get one.
14. I played basketball in Puerto Rico on and All Star team.
15. I was in a chess club in the 8th grade.
16. I love helping people, but hate social gatherings.
17. Mountain biking is my new sport.
18. For the firsts time in my life I don’t drive a truck. I drive a Honda Civic.
19. Most of the time people think I know what I’m talking about but I’m usually making it up.
20. Someone once told me I walk a thin line between cockiness and confidence. (You be the judge)
21. I want to live in Mexico one day.
22. I would have no problem living in the days of cowboys and Indians.
23. I have a Kentucky drivers license but have lived in Indiana over 2 years…Oops!
24. I’m always thinking about new business ideas.
25. I’ve had many jobs in my life.. I’ve bagged groceries, worked on a farm, worked at Brady Nursery, been a referee, counselor at kid’s day camp, telemarketer, server, host, trash man, framer, handyman, youth pastor, coached high school football, security guard, helped start a non profit, flooring specialist, residential youth worker, foster care supervisor, free lance graphic designer, general manager of apparel and promotional company and i still want to be a…police officer, bounty hunter, chef, city council man, mayor and a church planter.

26. I love Judge Judy

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2000 Churches by 2020

Posted by admin at 10:06 pm

I love God sized goals!  There is no way the the ARC (Assocation of Related Churches) will complete their hefty goal unless God is the central focus of what they are doing.  I believe that God is very much a huge part of what they are doing to plant 2000 churches by 2020.  Do you have God sized goals?  If you don’t you really should.  Lets take this example of ARC and apply it to our lives.  To read more about ARC you can visit their site here.

If you are interested in planting a church ARC would be a good organization to research to see if they would be a good fit for your ministry.  Also check out 21 questions you should ask yourself before you plant CLICK HERE.

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Can you believe this!!

Posted by admin at 8:12 pm

Can you believe this sign?  I want to hear peoples thoughts on this sign.  This reminded me of an article that I wrote on my blog previously click.  Some of me thinks that this is a joke and that a church would never post this in their parking lot.  But the other side of people and my experience with churches tells me that this is probably not a joke, its real!  What do you think people do when they see this sign?

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One Prayer

Posted by Jeff Jackson at 2:34 pm

What if the Church could be the answer to Jesus’ Prayer?

We pray to Jesus asking Him to answer our prayers - what if we became the answer to His? In John 17:20-24, He prayed that we would be one, and One Prayer is an opportunity to see what can be accomplished when the Church works together. Jesus has a vision for His church and I fear that we are not answering His prayer. Look at what happens when a few hundred churches decide to join together as one. In 2008 here is what happened:

Pastors Enrolled: 609
Evangelistic Contacts: 65,563
Bible Study Participants: 44,618
Baptisms: 7,112
Churches Planted: 667

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do this year at One Prayer 2009.  For more information go to http://www.oneprayer.com

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Spiritual Checklist

Posted by admin at 11:19 am

I just recently attended Innovate Church conference at Thomas Road Baptist Church and it was incredible.  If you are a church planter, pastor, youth pastor or leader you need to go next year.  But don’t worry you can watch all the main sessions on the Innovate website.  During one of the breakout sessions about church planting Brian Bloye, lead pastor, West Ridge Church along with Matt Fry, lead pastor, C3 spoke about their experience with church planting and multi-site churches.  Both men contribute some great advice and encouragement but one thing that stuck out to me was Brian Bloye’s spiritual checklist.  Brian used this list in the context of what church planters need to inspect everyday but this list should  be examined by anyone who follows Christ.  The following is Brian Bloye’s list with my comments on each area:

1. Desperation for God-our relationship with God is imperative.   If you want to see God move in a huge way you have to first fall in love with the Creator each and every day.
2. Holiness-“Holiness is next to Godliness” or maybe that is cleanliness?  Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 20: 7
3. Home-when we dedicate our lives to the ministry there can be a tendency to over commit ourselves to the work and neglect our family.  Our family is the most important advisory in the ministry that we have.  If our family is beat down, and they will take a beating, then we have forgot our second responsibility (God, Family, Ministry).
4. Honesty-I am amazed of the dishonesty that I have experienced in the ministry.  I am not going to say that I have never been guilty of “stretching the truth” but there has to be a point when when let our Yes be Yes and our No be No. (Mathew 5:37)
5. Happiness (personal plan for disappointment)-I have a real easy solution for this, Romans 5:3-5
6. Healthiness (emotional/physical)-this one really convicts me.  It is so easy to go go go and never rest rest rest.  This is so important because I can guarantee that if we are physical tired we will be emotional and SPIRITUALLY tires and ineffective.
7. Humility-Wow!  This is really hard especially for the church planting type.  We are so driven it is easy to take the credit for something good that happens in our ministries but we can’t forget that success does not exist apart for God.

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Signs of a Dying Church

Posted by admin at 8:44 pm

That last statistic that game from the Barna Group told us that on average 3500-4500 churches are closing their doors each year.  We are on the forefront of becoming a post Christian country and I fear that our churches are oblivious to our own death.  Although there are many signs of a dying church I have come up with three that I want to discuss.

1.  Saving the Saved (No Conversions)-this sounds very simple but it is crucial to church growth.  If your church is not adding lives to the Kingdom of God and teaching them to drill down deep in their spiritual life then we are failing God.  Sometimes we settle for complacency when we need to be striving for excellence.  For example, some churches are just fine with the people who show up on a regular basis and they do not want to reach out to new people when clearly Jesus gave us the commandment to go into all the world.

2.  Little excitement for outreach or mission to reach the unreached-it is so easy to be inwardly focused when it is clear in scripture that our focus should be on those who are need and those who need everlasting life only found on the Cross of Jesus and yet we find churches who have no zeal for the hurting, impoverished or people who just need hope in Christ.

3.  Lack of fully devoted disciples of Christ (not the denomination)-the whole point of the church is to train up disciples for Christ and yet we fail to produce thriving warrior for the cause of the Gospel.  When we fail as a church to move people through the process of growing as a disciple then we are dying or are already dead.

These are just a few signs that a church is either at a plateau or declining, like the Laodicean church in the Book of Revelation. To them, Jesus said:

“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot — far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. (Revelation 3:15-17 MSG)

The solution to such problems? Jesus replies:

“Be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.” (Revelation 3:19-20 NLT)

I did not write this post just to be negative, I did however write this to be a warning to those who are in church leadership.  Do not become comfortable in your position.  Seek to evangelize.  Create a passion for missions.  Disciple your people.

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