Growth is exciting. More people show up, which means more people are reached. 

Having more people involved means complexity creeps in. No one wants this to happen; it’s a byproduct of growth. Without diagnosing this problem, it festers. Ultimately, confusion and complexity reign, making it harder to grow a stronger church. 

Thankfully, after working with tens of thousands of churches, we’ve seen other paths. 

Our latest resource, Fighting for Simplicity as Your Church Grows, shows a path you and your team can follow. 

In this guide, you discover:

• The symptoms of complexity
• How most churches get this process wrong
• Practical ways to introduce simplicity

People love visiting your church.

They enjoy the music. The teaching challenges and encourages them. Their family feels welcomed. But they don’t get involved.

This is a common story for many churches. Getting people connected to your church community is hard, especially with larger congregations. Do it well and you lead a stronger, thriving church. Or struggle to assimilate and people feel disconnected.

Our latest resource, Assimilation: The Secret to a Growing, Thriving Church, provides the tactical framework for starting (or resetting) an assimilation plan in your church.

In this guide, you discover:

● The problems solved by a great assimilation plan
● Why so many churches struggle with this
● Practical steps you can implement today, especially in larger churches

Relationships are critical to a healthy church. In larger churches, though, it’s hard to stay connected. You have more people attending, making it harder to really know who attends. People want to feel a sense of belonging. This happens when people know each other.

How do you overcome this problem? Technology.

Technology can accelerate the speed of relationships. In this free guide, Managing Relationships with Technology, you learn how technology is your best team member for managing more relationships.

Many people may not put these two terms together – outreach and church growth. The reality is this; outreach should lead to church growth.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his disciples to begin spreading Christianity in Jerusalem, then go to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. The early church knew experienced rapid growth. Thousands were added to the church very quickly, and it was all through word of mouth. The early church didn’t have what we have right now from a technology perspective. They didn’t have access to demographic data or mass mailings or social
media.

The more people know you, the easier it is to lead. 

People follow who they know. As a ministry leader, they look to you for vision, spiritual direction, and biblical teaching. But a large church creates more demands on your time and more people to meet. Many leaders face this tension. There are usually a few responses: isolation or burnout. 

Thankfully, after working with tens of thousands of churches, we’ve seen other paths. 

Our latest resource, How to Connect Personally When You Can’t Know Everyone, shows a path you and your team can follow.

Let’s face it: we all want to feel known. 

Some people may say they prefer to get lost in a crowd. In reality, they want people to know how they are. They want to feel part of something. They want connection. 

Being a larger church does create more opportunities, but it also creates more ways for people to get lost. They slip through the cracks of large gatherings, an online presence, or constant activities. Their name gets replaced by a number. 

People should feel known at church. Our latest resource, Big Church Made Small: Make Everyone Feel Known shows a path you and your team can follow.

For many of your church’s most generous donors, less than 10 percent of their wealth is likely to be in cash assets. 

Discover how you can support donors who want to give of their assets through noncash gifts such as stock, property or bequests. This guide will also brief you on cryptocurrency and what churches need to know about this emerging tool.

There are some red flags that we as pastors and ministry leaders have to watch out for (and avoid
ourselves) if we’re to successfully create a church culture where giving grows. Unfortunately,
many organizations unintentionally develop toxic cultures that lead to staff turnover and
disengagement.

Discover the factors that are organizational poison in building a church culture that grows giving.
These key questions and tools provide pastors and ministry leaders with strategies for
building a church culture that is donor-centered and cultivates generosity.

You might have heard the old adage in the philanthropic world that attracting donors is difficult but keeping them is easy. There’s actually nothing further from the truth.

While it can be difficult and costly to secure new givers, it’s actually far more challenging work to retain those donors over a long period of time. Five Strategies to Engage Donors Now provides concrete and practical steps for managing your donor relationships in a way that keeps givers inspired, informed, and excited.

From navigating a crisis to how to make an appropriate ask, these tools will give you solid guidance
in advancing your church’s stewardship and long-term care of its givers.

“There are two times I hear from the church about my giving: asking for my stewardship pledge and letting me know if I got behind on it!”

We hear this from church members across the country too often. The reality is that today’s donors and tithers to our churches are most often donors to other causes and ministries. The harsh reality is that they’re often making their best and most sacrificial stretch gifts to those causes. 

While support of the church is a Biblical calling and obligation for most, many of today’s donors also have expectations shaped by their experience giving to other causes.  With the national decline in church membership and participation, churches have to re-evaluate how they’re inspiring donors and how they’re treating them year-round.