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NEW this month!
New - You can get one Free Coaching Session with Dr. Bill Miller
- Sermons: “How to Be the Spiritual Leader” -- Eph 6:4 addressed to Fathers
CHURCH GROWTH FACTOIDS:
Take a look at these two Factoids
Factoid #1: New Churches
“Worldwide, three thousand new churches are opening every week.”
(Towns, Elmer & Warren Bird. Into the Future. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 2000, p. 222.)
Factoid #2: No Growth Counties
“No county in America has a greater percentage of churched persons today than a decade ago.”
(Arn, Charles. Journal of The American Society for Church Growth. Vol. 6, 1995, p.74.)
These two factoids illustrate a couple of things: first, sometimes stats are contradictory. (That’s one possible explanation.) But second, and more importantly, these two factoids compare something happening in America on the one hand (“No county in America…”) vs. what’s happening in the world at large (“Worldwide, three thousand new churches…”).
It’s been generally acknowledged that the church in much of the less developed countries is growing at a dramatic rate. South America, Africa, and Asia all seem to be doing well. At the same time Europe is obviously stagnant, and America..., well that’s the question isn’t it?
The second factoid concerning counties in America raises a disturbing possibility. If it is true, then that means we have a lot of “church shuffling” going on. While one church is reporting growth, others are reporting loss, but all along, the total population of Christians in any one county never really increases.
The key question here is what is happening in terms of conversion growth? If churches are reaching people for Jesus Christ, then the total population of Christians has to be increasing. But how many churches are experiencing conversion growth?
We here an oft-cited stat that 85% of churches are plateaued or shrinking. Of the remaining 15% which are experiencing growth, how many are experiencing conversion growth, and how many are simply enjoying transfer growth?
How about your church? Are you experiencing growth? If so, what percentage is transfer, and what percentage is conversion growth? We have an interesting blog entry entitled “Church Growth Math” that explores some of these issues.
These and other Factoids can be found at ChurchGrowth Factoids
HighPower Thoughts Blog
(What I'm learning right now in the areas of Ministry Coaching, Simple Church, Church Growth & Church Health.)
Recent Posts:
COACHING BASICS: How to Start a Coaching Ministry in Your Church
Hi All, Coaching is a powerful tool to assist in the task of making disciples in your congregation. The final installment in the "Coaching Basics" series relates to HOW? We've already covered the WHY you need a coaching ministry and the WHAT coaching is. Plus, last week I gave you that inside look at one recent coaching session which I completed. So, now...HOW do you get a robust coaching ...READ MORE
COACHING BASICS: An Inside Look at a Coaching Session
HI ALL, We are continuing our third installment in the series on "Coaching Basics". I'm just sharing with you some of the things which God has taught me related to coaching. I've learned a lot, and found coaching to be tremendously useful in helping people to take control of their lives and experience success. Two weeks ago we looked at the WHY: "How to know if your church needs a ...READ MORE
COACHING BASICS: What Coaching Is & Is Not
Hi All,Continuing from last week, where we talked about WHY you might need a coaching ministry in your church, we'll talk about WHAT exactly coaching is and isn't. Let's start with defining what Coaching is NOT.--Coaching is NOT Counseling. Coaching is not about focusing on the emotional trauma or difficulties of life. It is not about a focus on the problems of the past, but the ...READ MORE
Book Review: "How the Mighty Fall"
Hi All, I really like Jim Collin's books; they are very readable with a lot of great business anecdotes and real-world applications - for those in business. But, the question I always ask, as I'm sure you do too, when reading a great business book like this, is how does it relate to the local church?The full name of Jim Collin's book is "How the Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In"… READ MORE.
COACHING BASICS: How to decide if your church needs a coaching ministry
Hi All,How would you know if your church needs a coaching ministry?Just try this test; has this ever happened to you?Someone approaches you about a new ministry idea, and you think it sounds great. So you encourage them to get started. They find a couple of other team members, start making their plans with great excitement and zeal. They meet for a few weeks and then with great fanfare ...READ MORE
Coaching
NEW Resources:
FREE COACHING SESSION
A lot of pastors have not experienced the power of coaching yet. I’ve been a believer and a practitioner of coaching for many years now. it is a powerful tool to help individuals, and pastors, to reach their goals. I’m happy to share this powerful tool for effective ministry with other pastors. If you would be interested in receiving a free coaching session, please feel free to contact me. We can set up a time to do a one-hour no-obligation coaching session. Give it a try; I think you will enjoy the clarity of thought and planning which it provides. Contact me at “DrBill@HighPowerResources.com” for more info.
NEW FREE Resources for leading or coaching your staff:
Annual Goals -
A great little guide for determining priorities & for writing out SMART Goals for the new year. This is a free resource for you as a HighPower Resources reader.
Staff Coaching Questions -
If you are responsible for supervising staff and meet with them on a regular basis, sometimes as often as weekly or twice a month, it is sometimes a little tricky to keep the coaching themed conversation going, without degrading into just ‘what are you doing this week?’ So, I’ve put together a set of questions that you can use on a regular basis. They get to a little deeper issues for your weekly staff coaching session. This is a free resource for you as a HighPower Resources reader.
Conflict Resolution Questions -
Coaching people through difficult emotional issues like interpersonal conflict can be difficult. These set of questions will help you coach your coachee through such a trial, and keep it focused on resolution, focusing on the positive action steps they can take to resolve the situation. This is a free resource for you as a HighPower Resources reader.
Other HighPower Coaching Resources can be found here.
Software News
SermonBase Message Planning Software
We have been working on an upgrade to SermonBase for some time now. As soon as Shepherd Care Discipleship Software (see below) is released, we will finalize SermonBase for its next release. The current version is 1.1.14, and it is available for purchase and use for $59. Last month was our best month ever in selling this useful software. All updates are free, so buy now, and start using it. We will get you updated for free when the next version comes out.
Shepherd Care Group Software
We are still in beta-mode, but nearly ready to release. We are up to version 1.1.2. We have been testing the capacity to update records and move from one version to the next. All the bugs have been worked out, and we will soon be releasing Shepherd Care Discipleship Software for use in your church.
Family Faces Church Directory Software
This photo directory software is currently at version 1.4 and works great. We are using this in our church of 700 people. It prints out four different reports to suite your needs.
HighPower Library -- Free software for Pastors
Just updated to version 1.2 this month. We improved the printing ability of this nifty little free program to track your library books. This is a free resource for you as a HighPower Resources reader.
Click on HighPower Software to download your software Demos today.
Seminars
For a list of both our on-site seminars and our “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) Seminars, click on HighPower Seminars to learn more.
Sermons - New Sermon Available
“How to be the Spiritual Leader” - Ephesians 6:4
The Big Idea --> Being spiritual leader is not something you can demand because you are the father. It is something you earn because you are a Follower. Fathers must be Followers.
This message is directed toward father’s, but can be adapted to apply to both parents as well as grand-parents.
HighPower Sermons
Drama
A short play (in five parts) based on C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. This has been adapted for use in church. The evil White Witch has put the land of Narnia into a permanent state of winter…but never Christmas! Four children from England stumble into this magical land and find themselves in a head to head battle between the White Witch and the powerful lion Aslan.
40 minute drama
$20
Drama Details
Dramas
BOOK REVIEW:
How the Mighty Fall
by Jim Collins
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