One of the hardest things to do when beginning a parish rebuilding process is to imagine the vision clearly and concretely. There are so many things that just can’t be grasped through the written word or digital channels. The feel of a place when you walk in. The warmth that comes from a gracious welcome. […]
Category: Making Church Matter
We are using this space these days to reflect on the values that we rely on in serving our mission as a parish. This week: “growth oriented.” Check out previous posts in this series: simple and adaptable. Automatic Growth vs Intentional Growth Growing churches come in basically two types. There are churches that are well […]
One of the key pillars of our mission at Nativity is to reach the unchurched and influence other churches to do the same. That means we need space to welcome the unchurched as well as visitors from across the country and around the world that come to us each week. Less than two years ago […]
Every year, my friend Pastor Rick Warren leads a fantastic conference at Saddleback Church on building healthy, purpose-driven churches. I had the privilege of being a part of this year’s conference when Rick asked me to speak at the final session on “Leading Your Church Through Change.” Tom, my associate, and I first came to […]
Rebuilt is all about awakening the faithful, reaching the lost, and making church matter. The books led us to develop and host the Rebuilt Conference, a two day event of amazing music and messages inspiring and equipping a 1,000 church leaders from hundreds of different parishes. Last April we hosted our second Rebuilt Conference, the […]
Probably most churches experience a high tide of church attendance this time of year, with Lent and Easter. We definitely do. But this year we have taken advantage of this special season to really challenge parishioners to invest and invite their unchurched friends to join us. And it seems to be working, currently our weekend […]
Recently we had a very extended and animated discussion in our Strategic Leadership Team. And what sparked the debate? Our online campus, specifically: live streaming Sunday Masses “on demand” services and programming during the week Basically the debate came down to one that, I suspect, is happening in many settings these days. Is the online […]
In just a few days, your church will be experiencing your greatest opportunity of the whole year. Are you just getting it over and done with or capitalizing on it for your long-term strategic advantage? Is Christmas only to be managed or can you make it all about your mission? Here are 5 things to […]
Once a year, and only once a year, we take a weekend to reflect on our financial commitment to our local parish church. The following are 5 practices we’ve found helpful in hosting a successful stewardship program, i.e., one that receives a positive response and solid commitments for giving. ONE: Our Stewardship Sunday is a […]
This week I had the opportunity to meet with our Greeter Ministry. Below are my remarks: We serve at a very critical time in the life of the Church. A time in which it’s easy to be disheartened and disillusioned, and, as a consequence, disengaged. It is rather like a systems wide implosion going on […]
