Congratulations on another year of faithful ministry! I hope that as you look back at the past 12 months, you see a few victories to celebrate and a few areas to target for growth as you head into 2014.
As you begin to strategize your leader training for the next year, take a look at the top 10 downloads of 2013. For the month of January, we’re offering them at discounted prices so you can jumpstart your year with practical training to prepare better equipped, energized, and effective leaders to lead your church in the months ahead.
10. Injecting New Life Into Your Congregation Are you discouraged and frustrated because your church is stagnant, or even shrinking? Do your church’s challenges seem greater than the opportunities? If you’re in a small church or a small community, this download will give you new confidence. You’ll learn how to motivate your congregation, recognize and respond to problems that may be holding your church back, and you’ll receive other tips for moving your vision forward.
9. Welcoming Visitors You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Nowhere is this phrase more accurate than in the church. These brief and practical handouts equip your congregation to welcome visitors and make them feel at home. You’ll explore what works and what does not work when welcoming visitors, and there are specific handouts for greeters and ushers, two important visitor ministries. Each handout can be used at a meeting with your team or to pass out individually to those looking for guidance. This resource offers biblical reflection, wisdom from experienced pastors, and practical tips on how to ensure visitors feel welcome when they visit your church.
8. Usher/Greeter Develop a better understanding of the duties and roles of a church usher/greeter with this training tool. Consider the biblical background of the role, what is at work when the offering occurs, the importance of welcoming guests, and strategies for keeping your church safe.
7. Homosexuality Ask people on the street what they think Christianity stands for, and many of them will list “”anti-gay”” near the top of the list. As cultural conversation on sexuality continues to get louder, it is absolutely essential that your church know how to talk about homosexuality well and how to better love and minister to LGBT people. This resource offers biblical reflection, wisdom from experienced pastors, and practical tips on how to balance conviction and love as you minister to LGBT people.
6. Discipleship Pack This pack includes five downloads for the church that is ready to take members to the next stage of their spiritual life.
5. Setting Goals and Measuring Results Setting goals and measuring results leads to a healthier church and allows your leaders to be more focused. These handouts guide your team through making new goals or reviewing established ones. Larry Osborne shares how to know if a goal is worth the risk. And Donald Seibert tells us how to effectively administer your church’s goals, moving them from theory to action. Also included are pointers for evaluating your church’s success.
4. Knowing God This theme focuses on developing intimacy with God. J.I. Packer, author of Knowing God, says that seeking God’s truth ‘”enlarges the soul because it tunes into the greatness of God.” He tells how to lead people to shrink the self and exalt God, and how to teach the unpopular theme of repentance. Other articles discuss finding time for intimacy with God and involving both the heart and mind in the search for God.
3. Making Members Stick It’s one thing to bring new people into your church. But what does it matter if they slip right out the back door? This resource explains why many church attenders never commit or drop out over time. The solution isn’t to compromise and drop to the lowest common denominator. Rather, you must make your church a healthy place where believers thrive. Use these articles to help you.
2. Visitors Pack This pack includes five resources for the church that is ready to plug newcomers into the life of the church.
1. Church Staff Evaluations Every church should perform annual evaluations to help guide and motivate staff. Here you’ll find a compilation of forms that range from helping a staff member establish and review goals and objectives to reviewing specific roles, such as musicians and administrative staff. You can alter, customize, and print out each form to make your evaluations a smooth and helpful process.
