Church Planting

10 Practical Ways to Increase Giving In Your Church - Proven stewardship practices used by other churches to encourage people in joyful and generous giving. It has helped increase giving 10-25% and in some cases even more.

11 Characteristics of a PD Church - Leading your church into a purpose driven model is easier when you know what characteristics you are trying to develop in the congregation as you introduce PDC concepts. Here are 11 traits you can expect to see emerging as purpose driven principles take hold in a church.

A Dream is Not Enough - Reality check for leaders who believe they have a God given dream.

A Philosophy of Leadership - A article by Rick Warren explaining some basic concepts about leadership.

Abandon Committees! - Does it seem to you that congregations are late adapters to some trends? It does to me. It appears at times that congregations are just getting around to adapting to certain trends as the next trend is emerging. For example, organizing congregations according to teams rather than committees is now in its ascendancy, just as in the world at-large, teams are fading in favor of communities.

Anger Inventory - Many people assume that anger is always displayed in shouting, slamming doors, speaking harshly, etc. While those behaviors certainly indicate anger, this emotion is displayed in many forms. Take a look at the following list of statements that would indicate a form of anger. How many can you relate to?

A Senior Pastor's Priorities, Part 1 By Dan Reiland - My desire in this article is to keep you out of the funny farm. To do that, I will outline the top five priorities of a Senior Pastor. This set of priorities comes from years of experience and observation of Senior Pastors who lead well, and those who don't. If you invest your time wisely in these areas your ministry will be more productive and hopefully you will increase the margin in your life that increases the quality of your life.  

A Senior Pastor's Priorities, Part 2 By Dan Reiland  - This article is dedicated to helping you make it through the transition from doing nineteen different things to focusing on the top five priorities. The following is a long-term strategy that will shorten your list of responsibilities and increase your effectiveness if you stick with it.

Can Conflict Be a Good Thing? - Our attitude toward conflict shapes how we as leaders handle conflict. What is your initial attitude toward conflict? Is it dread? Denial? Maybe fear? Perhaps, "What a hassle!" How about procrastination or deflection? ("Let someone else handle it.") Or do you accept conflict as a natural part of life, not preferred, but part of the reality of leadership and choose to use it as a tool for growth and progress? The last response is the wise and healthy response, but also the most difficult.

Celebrate the Equipping Church - The process of equipping others to serve and lead in the local church is challenging, but it should also be rewarding for everyone involved.

Changing Congregational Culture - Charlie Halley discusses the process of changing a church culture.

Church Planting: Call or Competency - Self assess your calling to planting or help a potential planter on your staff gain insights into his or her call.

Church Planting Insights - Pastor Rick Ferguson shares insights gleaned from a life of multiplication.

Conflict Happens by Dan Reiland - Tip toeing around conflict never makes it go away. Rather than avoid it, we must deal with it in a straightforward manner. Dan Reiland offers some suggestions how to turn conflicts into opportunities.

Dispel the myth of the super pastor - Tring to kill the myth.

Dysfunctional Architecture 
An article from Leadership Network about a strategy for planning a new building to match your ministry philosophy.

Emotions of a Leader-  A veteran pastor discusses the emotional aspects of church leadership.

The Futurity of Present Events - Scan the horizon of large trends that will impact your church

Good to Great - Five years of rigorous research helped management expert Jim Collins and his team find answers to a compelling question: "Can a good company become great and, if so, how?" The data led to Collins' latest book, Good to Great, and gave him insights into the type of leadership required for sustained excellence in business.

God and Business
Bringing spirituality into the workplace violates the old idea that faith and fortune don't mix. But a groundswell of believers is breaching the last taboo in corporate America. A great article from Fortune Magazine.

Growing a Church from Good to Great - Article by Steve Pike written for Acts II, January/February 2002.

Growing Strong   John C. Maxwell's leadership "growth statements" on  developing everyday to reach your potential.

Handling Chronic Conflict - by Dan Reiland  Conflict is a fact of life. Being intimidated by it, pretending it isn't there, and tiptoeing around it will get you nowhere. In fact, it will only make matters worse. Your ability to deal with conflict directly and effectively affects your ability to lead.

Hanging out and Hovering around John 3:16 - A provocative look at incarnational ministry.

Guidelines for Interviews- How to ask legal, effective questions when interviewing prospective staff members.

How Long Should a Pastor Stay at a Church to be Effective? - Bill Easum gives a concise answer that should be considered by every pastor everywhere!

Inviting and Welcoming New People - Great ideas for making your church a more "guest" friendly place!

Is it Time to Leave?  
Good advice for knowing when it's time to move on.

Look and Listen - A article about observing and listening aggressively.

Meetings and Ministry  
6 steps to running an effective meeting.

Modern Team Ministry
Could Paul and his ministry team be a model for modern team ministry?

Paul's Missionary Band - Paul's missionary team provides a great metaphor for 21st century ministry.

Preaching Points
Learn about how your church can expand it's ministry through "Preaching Points."

Recruiting Worship Band Musicians  Great ideas for finding the musicians who will help take your worship experience to the next level.

Small Group Shift? Pay Attention to What Really Matters. - Discovering what works best for your church is the smart thing to do, more so than studying what the mega-churches are doing and then copying them. Study them, and adapt what you learn to fit your culture and community.

Starting Early - John Maxwell outlines key issues that must be settled early in a leaders life.

Spiritual Growth and Ministry to Others- What is the connection between being healthy spiritually and serving others lovingly?

Ten BIG Mistakes in Church Staffing - How are you doing with your church staff? Are you learning, growing, and therefore making fresh "new territory" mistakes? Or do you continue to repeat mistakes from lessons you could have benefited from by now?

The Heart and Art of a 21st Century Servant - a message by Wayne Cordero, Pastor of New Hope Church in Hawaii on the most essential ingredient to leading people through a change process.

The Value of Values, Part I - Core Values By Dan Reiland - "I'm a believer in identifying your church's core values and intentionally pursuing their positive impact. . ."

The Value of Shared Thinking - by John Maxwell  We always do things better when we do them together.

The Tipping Point - Interesting ideas on the social dynamics of vision and momentum.

Vision Impairment Questions by Stan Toler - Check your church's "vision" (eye sight)

Walking People Through the Door - by James Moss, Sr. Little is understood about the hard work necessary to walk people through the door of a church for the first time.

What Does A Healthy Church Look Like? - Compiled from various sources including Willow Creek, Natural Church Development, etc. by Rowland Croucher

What Does An "Excellent Protestant Church" Look Like?
Trying to gage the health of your church? This article provides some excellent standards to consider.

What Game are We Playing? -- An helpful article describing the organizational changes that numerical growth brings.