In yesterday’s article 2 Attitudes for Small Church Transformation, Ron Crandall’s study pointed out how evangelistic growth in the small church is rooted in relationships and need strategies to increase the number of first time church visitors. Larger churches may have lots of programs to help attract them and integrate people quickly. Smaller churches may not …
As I continued to read through Ron Crandall’s book, he gives a list of principles for church renewal and revitalization from the ages of church history. It may seem like a no-brainer, but at least observations through church history back it up. 1. Personal renewal. Renewal of a church begins with renewal of the individual. …
This week and next, you’ll be reading about small church transformation, particularly the role of evangelism, based on a study of small churches first done in 1995 and then updated in December of 2008. These first few posts setup some of the background and are meant to be in small blog-size portions for easy consumption. …
Recently I visited a very elaborate website for a church and wanted to find out some information before potentially visiting. As part of a church’s marketing strategy, a website is a useful tool to help attract people to your congregation. While not directly evangelism, it is a tool that can help create evangelism moments by …
Many churches have special events that they would like to inform the public about. One technique is to issue a press release, often published in the local section in Religious notes. Here is press release that I found in May 2008. I’ll simply reproduce the text from the Religion notes section (because the original link …
What is the key, the Holy Grail, in transforming a church? Is there one? In the work of evangelism training, I’ve been asked on many occasions about the role of evangelism in helping a church get out of the rut, get unstuck, or get excited about inviting others to follow Jesus.
Win Arn did a study sometime ago (the actual reference is in my notes somewhere) Approx 90% of pastors thought the main purpose of the church was evangelism. Approx 10% of lay people thought the main purpose of the church was evangelism. Is it any wonder why there is a conflict of desire in a …
Many churches still use a bulletin or program to share the news of community life. Do you proofread your announcements? Is the font easy to read? Does the bulletin appear professional (not a 7th generation photocopy)? Are contact names and phone numbers included? If not, what central point can a person go to to get …
Do you use press releases to market your church? Churches and other Christian groups often fail to obtain a profile in the local community because they do not know how to create effective press releases. I found this interesting church press release the other day. (Source: Presbyterians focus on ascension and evangelism – link broken). Here is …
You’ve got to see this collection. Fellow Blogger Tony Sisk seems to find some good ones. I thought the ones I found were just about as awful as can be, but this one takes the cake (the one in the image about 1/2 down): The Rambling Prophet: Lousy Church Signs!!!. Don’t let it mess up …
Last month, I posted an entry on Surveying 1st Time Church Visitors to help improve your church’s welcoming. I contacted each church mentioned and discovered the effect of such an online first time visitor survey was a zero. One church visitor survey was a broken link. The second church visitor survey for first time visitors …
Uhh… Should we be doing that in church? Originally uploaded by Diamondduste One should always proof read their church signs. This bad church sign was an awful choice of words.
Check out this article about the impact a Maryland church is having in its community. Church prays for passion for the lost. McCready and 14 others began praying in January 2002 that God would give them a passion for the non-Christians in their community. In the ensuing six years, nearly 260 people have made professions …
Some churches play hard to get! Websites don’t list any contact information Worship Service times are not on the telephone responder, Service hours are not on on a sign near the front door or on the road. One Low Cost Church Marketing Idea Here is one low-cost idea that you can use to help advertise …
Today’s article comes from my friend, Professor Ron Crandall, of Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. I met Ron many years ago at an evangelism conference, and I’m thrilled that he’s submitted a guest article here about a congregational renewal program for smaller churches. Enjoy!
I visited a church website this morning (the day after Thanksgiving, 2007). The church was announcing the start up of an evangelism group. I like the idea — a group of people gathering regularly to encourage each other to do evangelism. This is an idea that I suggest to help develop evangelism training lab-time in …
I have visited many church websites myself and here is what I find: Cheesy organ music playing automatically. No staff information. No service times on the front page. No pictures of people. A church logo, with flashy stuff that says click here to skip intro. No directions No website at all I’m part of a …
I just read a timely article about this in Net Results Magazine’s September/October 2007 Issue. Bill Easum writes “Back to Basics,” calling on church leaders to get back to the great commission and the great commandment. In returning to the Great Commandment, he exhorts congregations about the need to return to the basic ministry of …
A church that took over an abandoned post-office turned the exterior into a nice presentable building. It looked sharp, clean, and with fresh paint and landscaping. Since the church was in my normal commuting patterns, I would drive by at least 3-4 times a day. The facilities renovation attracted my attention. What time are your …
This morning, I was talking to a fellow about where he lived. He had moved to the area from out of state, and had been living in his home for under 1 year. “I live down the street from the church.” I asked, “What church is that?” His reply: “For the life of me, I’ve …
Bill Easum writes a great article entitled How to Grow a Small Church. It’s geared towards pastors looking for the formula. It’s no formula, but their research shows “It’s a pastor who has one-on-one conversations withnon-Christians that leads to their conversion to Christ.” List for the small church pastor He also gives a good list …
Outreach’s website reports in “Coming Home – Outreach & Evangelism (link broken)” some statistics about why people leave churches and what churches can do to reach back out. Why people drop out of church The Number One reason people drop out of church is a change in life situation (almost 60%). I think of the …
This is a real church sign. If you are thinking about adding church signage as part of your church outreach, be a little bit more careful with how your church sign reads.
