When everyone has a clear understanding of their jobs and responsibilities, ministry runs smoother. Volunteer job descriptions do much more than provide an explanation of duties. Here are four reasons it’s worth the time and effort to create job descriptions for church volunteers.
We surveyed hundreds of pastors and church leaders and asked them what specific skills they wanted to develop in their teams. We talked to leadership development and church staff experts and whittled the topics down to 12 of the most important lessons.
Most churches are constantly looking for new ways to get new people through the doors. But when you think beyond the how, do you know what they’ll do once they’re in?
You’re doing important work, and we want you to stay in ministry for a long time. That means creating boundaries and working strategically.
Volunteer burnout is real, but here’s the thing: In most cases…it’s entirely preventable. There are actions you can take right now that will help you keep volunteers inspired and engaged. In this Live Class, Michael and special guest, Jason Young, give practical tips for keeping volunteers engaged.
Written by Jason Hamrock, CEO of Missional Marketing, this guide is designed to help your church understand and manage a Google My Business profile. This online profile helps people in your community find your church.
You can edit this ready to use Job Description to fit your church’s positional need. Questions? Contact your Ministry Coach for details on how to make this document work for you.
This is a resource in partnership with the Church Multiplication Network specifically designed to help church plants.
It’s crucial to carefully plan for any new role you’re considering adding to your church staff. Pastors and church leaders should consider the following areas when creating a new position.
If your church is serious about reaching new guests, particularly those who are not attending any other church, here are five things to consider.
If you’re a pastor or a church leader looking for extra income, here are some ideas.
How do you respond to the members who have just become disengaged or have drifted away? Here are four suggestions.
As you read this list, hopefully, you’re encouraged that healthy church growth is attainable in your setting. Ultimately, church growth is up to God. It’s His Church and His Kingdom. But He chooses to use us, and we have a stewardship opportunity.
Here are some practical ideas to help you engage more people in the area of generosity.
Chances are, you’ve felt slighted or dismayed when you learned that someone you thought was a lifelong supporter has stopped giving. When this happens, what do you do? What should your response be?
If nothing seems to be working, this is for you, here are four things you can do when you don’t have enough leaders.
What are the most important things your church does? Out of all the programs, ministries, and special events, which ones make the most impact?
How do we develop more leaders? It’s an important question. Because the health and growth of a church is often tied to the health and growth of leaders.
Team-building isn’t an activity you do to get it out of the way but something you do to actually develop relationships.
There are three things you should never neglect if you want your ministry to thrive and grow in the long term. And churches historically struggle with each of them.
Here are some ways you can make the new year a great year in your church.
It’s time to update your staff’s job descriptions. Outdated job descriptions can create a major gap in your ability to lead your team and your organization well.
We want to share some specific ways you can reach new givers this year.
You should be thanking first-time givers when they give for the very first time and regular givers who are supporting the ministry year-round. Here are some practical ideas on how you can thank these donors.
This sensitive information can be helpful in both discipleship and leadership if used wisely and carefully.
What does a financially healthy church look like? While all churches are different and serving in unique contexts, here are some best practices.
How can you say thanks and appreciate your church volunteers when you don’t have a large budget? Here are some ideas…
Repeating your weekend message isn’t necessarily repeating as much as it is reaching.
Whether you’re working on a sermon, trying to convince people to join a small group, or writing the church newsletter, there are some principles in this book are really going to help you.
Strategy can be a clarifying factor for your church. It’s the bridge between vision and execution, and it’s where you answer the important “how” questions of church leadership.
When you’re working with your team to create or update your purpose statement, it helps to have examples on hand to inspire you. Here are twenty-two great purpose statements from churches around the world.
There are practical ways you can use your purpose statement that will remind your congregation, community, and internal team why you exist.
We have a few best practices and suggestions for how to lead a congregation in a time of grief.
How do you know a person is flourishing? What factors play into it?
The most effective staff evaluations go below the surface. They include discussions about alignment and uncover deeper insights that help your church’s leadership understand who your team members are and where they fit in. They help you pastor your team and monitor their progress in a customized way that makes the most sense for their role.
As a pastor or church leader, this should resonate with you and challenge you. Instead of coming down from the mountain like Moses and attempting to vision-cast your way toward momentum, focus on building a team of leaders who are committed to figuring out the answers to important questions.
If you’re planning to acknowledge Mother’s Day and Father’s Day at your church, here are a few ideas to consider.
Feelings of exhaustion can lead to burnout which can have rippling detrimental effects personally and organizationally. Here are some things pastors can do right now to breathe fresh life into your team.
Barna recently hosted a “State of the Church” event aimed at helping church leaders in specific cities understand what people think of the church in general. The stats are informative, and they should give you insights into your local ministry context. But more than that, they should inspire action.
Even though it’s fairly normal for a church to accept digital donations and there are dozens of church-giving software solutions to enable these transactions, there’s still so much opportunity ahead of us.
It’s been said that a pastor’s spiritual life is directly related to church growth, that as the pastor’s spiritual health goes, so goes their church. We couldn’t agree more. A pastor’s own spiritual health is crucial to effectively leading others in their faith journey – we can’t lead others spiritually higher than where we ourselves stand.
In this post, I’m going to share with you three overlooked ways you can lead parents to disciple their children.
In this post, I’m going to share with you 6 steps you can take to launch a college ministry, build relationships with students, and make new disciples.
In this post, I’m going to lay out tactics you can use to inspire more volunteers to join your children’s ministry today, as well as different ways you can prepare volunteers to serve tomorrow.
Should your church start livestreaming your services, Bible studies, or events? Well, it depends…
Services will continue to look different, even as we start re-opening. So how are other churches engaging their members around generosity? Let’s take a look at the three great examples we found.
There are two more holidays that present unique opportunities for churches: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Many pastors want to reach more people in the community and see their church’s weekly attendance numbers grow, but are unknowingly standing in their own way. Here are 6 ways pastors can be the ones hurting their church’s growth.
As we work with hundreds of churches across every state and multiple countries, here are some of the bigger internal obstacles we are seeing churches face. Focus on removing these four growth barriers.
Here are some best practices on how you can actually use Church Fuel.
Here are three ways you can use Church Fuel as a staff member.
Here are three ways you can use Church Fuel as a volunteer at your church.
Church growth is up to God because the church belongs to Him. But he chooses to use us in the process, giving us the opportunity to be great stewards.
Every church needs a digital strategy for reaching more people online.
Close the gap between first-time attendance and long-term engagement by revisiting that neglected (or nonexistent) follow-up process in your church. Here’s how.
We have two suggestions that we believe will help you communicate even when you don’t know what to say. When the answer is, “I don’t know,” here’s what you can do.
While no one can guarantee the future, these two documents are COVID-proof, meaning they will flex toward whatever comes your way.
As you continue to formulate the next steps for this next phase, make sure that you avoid these 8 reopening mistakes.
Each book will provoke you toward new actions, fresh strategy, and create a solid ground to stand upon as you lead your church in the new year.
Now is a great time to plan your next church staff retreat, so as you put together the agenda, here are five things to include.
Your church’s ability to use online small groups to reach new people will be crucial to your church’s ability to grow.
With some frontend preparation, there are ways to keep online Christmas guests from falling through the cracks.
As you look to make a new financial plan or church budget for next year, here are thirteen practical tips.
Jason guides the vision for how Missional Marketing can best serve our clients and church partners. He leads our sales team and is our lead church growth strategist. He was a Communications Director for 11 years at a megachurch named Central Christian Church of Arizona.
There are many meaningful things that should be represented on the church calendar that matter in every season and should happen no matter what. They can be done whether services and events are in-person or virtual.
Former youth pastor, church planter, senior pastor, and church consultant, you could say Michael’s lived nine lives—and he’s still going. Today, he writes books and articles and helps create courses for church leaders. Michael’s a graduate of Florida State University and did post-graduate work at Liberty University. Husband to Jennie and father to three kids, you can find him smoking ribs or grilling steaks on the Big Green Egg on the weekends.
Every ministry doesn’t have to come back post-COVID lockdowns. Most likely, there are some in your church that definitely shouldn’t come back. Here’s why.
Stephen is a creative leader. He worked in the music business for years, finding artists, developing albums, and leading marketing teams. He then moved into church leadership, serving not just as a lead over creative but also on the executive level of multiple mega-churches across the country.
Brian Beauford, executive pastor at Grace Church south of Boston, joins Meagan for a conversation that can help churches of any size reach new people in the post COVID world.
As churches seek to move forward and bounce back from the lockdowns, the stakes feel higher. Making a few small-scale but impactful changes in the year-end efforts can make a huge impact for church leaders who are hoping to revitalize both finances and spirits.
Bobby Williams, Lead Pastor at Ridge Church and Church Fuel Ministry Coach, joins Michael & Meagan to discuss what it looks like to move their Membership Class to an online platform.
To bring everything into perspective and help you plan the right things at the right time, we wanted to give you four plans to have for Christmas.
Here’s a look at the first week in the sermon series for when you reopen the doors.
Many churches we work with have paid staff members, and all of them have volunteers who function like full-time staff. Your volunteers are often the most needed yet most neglected group in your church. Follow these three tips.
Church staff share many frustrations that are either unique to this season or made worse by this season. And they’re sharing very little of it with their leaders. So, we looked into what they’re saying. We talked to them and noted the changes they say would help them perform their roles more effectively.
The people in your care need you to pastor them, not just lead them.
To respond to this very important question from the people in your community, you need to reach into the business world for a tool that’s proving effective in helping businesses engage customers. You need a one-liner.
We need to make sure that our messages, ministries, and programs truly connect with the needs of our community. We don’t just need to know our mission—we need to know our mission field. We don’t just need to run our programs—we need to understand the people who need them.
Church volunteers probably won’t say this stuff out loud because they don’t want to complain about their church or cause any problems. But you, as a pastor, should know what they are thinking.
There are steps you can take to rebuild live stream engagement for your church. These small changes can make a big difference.
You can serve your people well by communicating with clarity—in this season and always. Here are our six tips for communicating about reopening.
Here are 12 key trends that have emerged so far this year. I believe every leader needs to critically evaluate whether these are true in each local context, and if so… how to respond.
To give your church the tips and tools to invite someone to an online service, try these practical ideas.
Ignore the signs, and your team will go from tired to burned out to gone. But jump in with practical solutions and you can build team morale, team momentum, and lead your church into the next season of ministry with a new sense of purpose.
Pastors should use data, information, and numbers in their decision-making process. The goal is not to be driven by those numbers, but simply to let facts inform our decisions.
Maybe this time of waiting is an opportunity. Here are three reasons not to rush back to meeting.
Consider taking your content and spreading it throughout the week. You don’t have to eliminate your family experience on the weekends but give families the ideas and resources to integrate their faith throughout the week too.
Even though most communications professionals talk about social media, email is still the best way to communicate with your congregation, particularly during times of crisis.
We can help by being present. We can help by sharing information that isn’t based in fear, but based in hope.
You don’t have to cancel your groups, you can simply move them online.
Check out the insanely practical ways that churches are using technology for student ministry.
Pastor Devin Gough from Revival Tab shares how their church helps equip their congregation by creating an online invitation hub on their church’s website! See example page below!
You want to launch a second worship service, and you know that is easier said than done. In this post, I’m going to share some helpful guidelines and tips, including: 2 reasons to add a new worship service; 5 common mistakes to avoid when launching a new worship service; and How to launch a new worship service
In this post, we’re sharing 9 social media post ideas for churches to engage the culture around you. Safe for Instagram and Twitter feeds alike, these crafty ideas make engaging your church community on social media fun and effective.
Many churches are encouraging staff members to work from home. While there are some challenges, it’s a good thing. Let’s talk about some ways to make it work for you.
Here are some trends I see continuing, and questions you need to be asking, well after the immediate effects of COVID-19 are over.
Here are seven problems with the digital strategy of most churches.
Nona Jones is recognized as one of the world’s foremost expert on building The Kingdom through social technology and motivating thousands of church leaders each year to reimagine social media as a strategic tool for ministry.
Nona Jones is recognized as one of the world’s foremost expert on building The Kingdom through social technology and motivating thousands of church leaders each year to reimagine social media as a strategic tool for ministry.
Nona Jones is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on building The Kingdom through social technology and motivating thousands of church leaders each year to reimagine social media as a strategic tool for ministry.
Here are some of my thoughts about what has changed and what will keep changing in the post-COVID church.
In this post, I’m going to share six ways you can equip millennials to have more faith conversations. Use these tips to create a custom evangelism training plan for your church.
Just as a sports team trains, practices skills, and receives instruction and encouragement from a coach to improve, a church’s leadership team must do the same. But what does that really look like? Where do you even begin, and what skills are important?
Before getting into the nitty-gritty, let me save you some heartache and lay out the four common mistakes to avoid when searching for a new pastor.
God is faithful, and we’ve had the opportunity to help many churches break the 200 attendance barrier. In our work, we like to keep an eye on what churches are doing to attract people to their church with the goal of making disciples.
In this post, we’re going to cover working with difficult people in three different groups: Church staff, Church leaders, and Church members
As a pastor, you’ll always be in a position to provide care. But as you aim to tend to the needs of your church, you’ll need to focus on building a congregational care ministry.
We want to push you a little bit to lean into the numbers a little more than what may feel natural.
Here you are, with a carefully constructed reopening plan in place, about to embark on one of your biggest challenges: asking people to come back to church.
We share five practical things you can do today to begin to engage and ultimately reach new people online.
It’s time for every church to learn from and act as a small church. No matter your church size, here are a few ways for pastors and church leaders to stay connected with their congregations.
To “reunite” your church in 2020, you need to unify everyone around a common purpose.
We interviewed Kyle, the Director of the Experience Team at Crossroads, the group that creates everything from videos to music to articles to apps to weekend services.
The growth mindset is how you navigate a way forward, no matter what is going on in the world, in your community, or in your church.
Here are a few defining characteristics of a great follow-up process that are important for every follow up process you have.
As a church leader, if you hire someone to do a job, then you need to not only hold that person accountable, but you should aim to serve that person to become the best he or she can be.
I know summer can be a challenging time. But I’m here to tell you it can also be a fantastic opportunity to reach your community for Christ!
To help you assess whether your church website is serving a purpose and not collecting dust, here are five things your site should accomplish—today.
In this post, we’re going to share with you three ways you can leverage what you already have to create multiple streams of income.
While technology is a necessary bridge between a church and its members, most churches struggle to make smart tech-buying decisions that don’t just help connect members in the short term, but help the church fulfill its long-term mission.
I’m going to share with you four alternatives to a printed church bulletin. But first, there are three things you should consider before trashing your bulletin.
When you feel stuck or run into a problem, you don’t have anyone outside of your church to turn to for advice.
To help you serve your church, love your family, and not lose your mind or soul in the process, here are 10 tips to help you find a good rhythm in your life and ministry.