The vision of the Free Methodist Church is to see a healthy church within the reach of every Canadian and beyond. Here are some of the ways that we are currently working to make that happen.
I have a lot of conversations with churches who are planning. Some are planning specific events while others are putting together a 2-year ministry plan or a 5-year long range plan. All of that is exciting. But I find that there are some good questions that would serve all of […]
“Thankfully, God specializes in bringing dead things back to life. Over those months, God took my soul—my burned out, exhausted soul—and slowly but surely gave it rest. He breathed life back into me. I began to feel again. I began to care again. I began to live again. And it
“Almost every church I’ve ever known has wanted to Attract Young Families. The reasoning behind this includes the following: If we don’t regenerate, everyone will eventually get old and die. It’s energizing to have young people around. Younger members can do the work that older members can’t/won’t do anymore. Older members
When Churches Want a Pastor Who Can “Bring in Young Families” Read More
I was sitting in church the other day listening to a sermon. The sermon was fine. But there was something the preacher said (unrelated to the point of his sermon) that got me thinking. I forget the preacher’s exact words but he talked about getting a thumbs up from
“It broke my heart. Another church closed. This church had unbelievable potential. Indeed, it had its own “glory days,” but only for a season. But, 10 years ago, few would have predicted this church’s closure. Today, it is but another statistic in the ecclesiastical graveyard. I know. We don’t compromise
Check out Karl Vaters’ “4 Reasons Our Church Stopped Doing ‘Come and Watch’ Events (And 5 Alternatives)” with still more advice for pastors and leaders as you think about fall planning.
4 Reasons Our Church Stopped Doing ‘Come and Watch’ Events (And 5 Alternatives) Read More
When you do a good amount of Church Health or Church Revitalization reading, you will start to see some common themes emerge. I can almost guarantee you that you will read about prayer, discipleship, outward orientation, mission and vision. Those topics come up over and over again. And they need
“I always kind of thought discipleship was a little awkward. The idea that someone tells me what to do because they know more than I didn’t sound like fun. Clearly, I didn’t understand true discipleship; I didn’t know discipleship was about loving like Jesus. It wasn’t until I understood that
“It’s possible that you’re asking too much from your congregation. This often backfires and results in an even lower participation level. You may need to ask your congregation for less. If you ask for less, you are more likely to get a greater response. It is necessary to cast big
Your Congregation May Experience “Request Fatigue.” Read More
“The reality is that smaller churches can thrive, too. More than 65 percent of the churches that participated in the research survey for Comeback Churches–the book I co-wrote with Mike Dodson– had under 200 regular attendees. Smaller churches are not always unhealthy churches; it depends largely on their mindset. In
