8 Steps to Grow Your Church

Here is a short but sweet article by Rick Warren. I have listed the bullet points. If you would like to read the entire article, please visit ARTICLE by Rick Warren

1) Decide you really, really want to grow – Believe it or not, the primary barrier to church growth is desire. Do you really want to grow? If the answer is yes, then you must commit to this goal and be willing to accept changes.

2) Your role as pastor must change – Once you decide you want to grow, you’ll need to analyze your role as pastor. You must be willing to change from minister to leader.

3) Mobilize members for ministry – Be willing to give up some leadership and entrust ministry to the people in the pews.

4) Begin having multiple services – If you’re not already doing so, I encourage you to seriously start planning for it. By offering people a choice of services, you’re effectively putting another hook in the water.

5) Multiply your staff – In order to grow past that 200 barrier, you must begin moving to multiple staff. You must begin to specialize the staff under your leadership.

6) Plan big days – The best way I know to break through barriers is to break a few all at one time. Plan a big day — an event — and your numbers go up. Yes, they go back down afterwards, but not as far as they were before the event. Keep doing this and you grow. Big holidays are an obvious time to concentrate on events — Easter, Christmas. Plan outreaches to the community.

7) Have multiple cells – Groups of 8-12 people. Cells become tools for caring for the body.

8) Expand your facility – Many churches build too small, too fast. What I’m saying is you need to plan for growth and project out what your needs will be.

May God bless you and anoint you as you begin to implement these changes

2 Enemies Every Leader Must Confront

Here is a short but great article from churchplants.com  By Michael Robison

Here is the link to the entire article: http://www.churchplants.com/articles/3474-2-enemies-every-leader-must-confront.html

Encouraging Sciptures for Leaders

Here are 7 scriptures for you to read... remember... and even hang on your fridge :)


But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. Matthew 20:26


Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4


Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37


Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7


He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:30


So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9


For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

20 Questions to Assess Leadership Potential

1. Have you ever broken a bad habit? To lead others, you must master your appetites. 
2. Do you keep self-control when things to wrong? The leader who loses control under adversity forfeits respect and influence. A leader must be calm in crisis and resilient in disappointment. 
3. Do you think independently? A leader must use the best ideas of others to make decisions,. A leader cannot wait for others to make up his or her mind.
4. Can you handle criticism? Can you profit from it? The humble person can learn from petty criticism, even malicious criticism.
5. Can you turn disappointment into creative new opportunity?
6. Do you readily gain the cooperation of others and win their respect and confidence?
7. Can you exert discipline without making a power play? True leadership is an internal quality of the spirit and needs no show of external force. 
8. Are you a peacemaker? A leader must be able to reconcile with opponents and make peace where arguments have created hostility.
9. Do people trust you with difficult and delicate situations?
10. Can you induce people to do happily some legitimate thin that they would not normally wish to do?
11. Can you accept opposition to your viewpoint or decision without taking offense? Leaders always face opposition.
12. Can you make and keep friends? Your circle of loyal friends is an index of your leadership potential.
13. Do you depend on the praise of others to keep you going? Can you hold steady in the face of disapproval and even temporary loss of confidence?
14. Are you at ease in the presence of strangers? Do you get nervous in the presence of your superior?
15. Are the people who report to you generally at ease? A leader should be sympathetic and friendly.
16. Are you interested in people? All types? All races? No prejudice?
17. Are you tactful? Can you anticipate how your words will affect a person?
18. Is your will strong and steady? Leaders cannot vacillate or cannot drift with the wind.
19. Can you forgive? Or do you nurse resentments and harbor ill-feelings toward those who have injured you? 
20. Are you reasonably optimistic? Pessimism and leadership do not mix.

This list was derived from the website - Missional Challenge. To read the full article by Dave DeVries click HERE.

Quotes on Communication by John Maxwell

Communication

1. Great communication depends on two simple skills—context, which attunes a leader to the same frequency as his or her audience, and delivery, which allows a leader to phrase messages in a language the audience can understand.

2. Earn the right to be heard by listening to others. Seek to understand a situation before making judgments about it.

3. Take the emotional temperature of those listening to you. Facial expressions, voice inflection and posture give clues to a person’s mood and attitude.

4. Persuasive communication involves enthusiasm, animation, audience participation, authenticity and spontaneity.