Strategic Planning | Coaching Churches

Category Archive: Strategic Planning

5 Essentials For Today’s Church To Thrive

Posted by on July 19, 2023

With world class worship services available online, there must be another reason for people to come to your church on Sunday than great preaching and worship. There can be no real personal community online that offers the deep relationships that the church should be known for in your city. Your church must be committed to having a personal conversation with everyone who walks in the door.

This post by Dan Reiland is well worth the read: “If you quietly believe your church isn’t that different today than two years ago, consider that because the culture has dramatically changed, people see, perceive, and experience your church differently.

That reality is unavoidable.

The essential question is — Are people experiencing the difference in your church that you want them to experience?

In most cases, the difference is shaped by nuance, how you say what you say, how you treat people, and the values and convictions you stand for – not your programs.”

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5 Critical Mistakes Church Leaders Should Avoid In The Post-Covid World

Posted by on March 31, 2023

I wrote the book Church Scattered just prior to the pandemic. It clearly addresses all the issues that the pandemic forced on the church. In talking with church leaders, there is this powerful desire to just go back to the way things were before. Im sorry, that is no longer possible.

The good news is that you can create a new normal that will keep the sacred truths of the past and leverage what we have learned the last year about reaching more people for Christ. Carey Nieuwhof has been writing on this issue for months and this is his latest thinking:

“Finally, it seems like the post-COVID world is finally coming into view.

While different countries, regions, provinces and states will emerge out of COVID at different times, 2021 appears to be the year we will be able to move into a post-pandemic world.

So, as you get ready to embrace the new reality, what should you be focused on?

It’s obviously a tough question to answer because neither in-person church or online church is a panacea. Each has its unique challenges, promises and limits. In-person church attendance has been declining for decades before the pandemic, and online church hasn’t solved all the issues the church is facing either.

That said, here are some guidelines that can help moving forward.

Here are 5 critical mistakes it would be so easy to make right now as a church leader.”

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7 Disruptive Trends That Will Rule 2021

Posted by on January 19, 2021

I have talked a lot about disruption in my book Church Scattered and with a lot of clients. The major truth that must be understood is that there is no going back to the way things used to be.

We can continue to live in denial and long for the good old days but that will not help to lead our people through this critical and stressful period of change. Leadership through disruption means maintaining what is essential from the past and integrating that with what is critical for now.

This post by Carey Nieuwhof is a must read for church leaders: “Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any more turbulent or surprising, the opening moments of 2021 still have everyone trying to catch their breath.

So what are the leadership trends you should be tracking in 2021?

For years I’ve done a series of church trends posts. You can read the 2021 Disruptive Church Trends post here (along with backlinks to the Trends Series over the last five years). While those trends are aimed at church leaders, the implications are broader than that.

Last year, I added a more general Leadership Trends post, focusing on a broader swath of issues facing all leaders, businesses, entrepreneurs, non-profits, professionals—essentially all of us who lead.”

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7 Things That Changed in 2020 That Make Leadership Harder

Posted by on December 7, 2020

Just when you think all this chaos is about to stop, something else happens and it even gets worse. It is extremely difficult to develop a leadership plan when the crisis continues to change. However, there are some trends that are beginning to develop that are probably not going away and we must deal with that reality. Carey Nieuwhof has some great insights:

Your head likely hasn’t stopped spinning in 2020. Same.

Maybe on one or more occasions you’ve done what I’ve been tempted to do as well: bury your head in the sand because it’s just so discouraging to see what’s actually happening.

As much as it’s healthy to unplug for a day (or a week) to catch your breath, refresh your soul and tap into hope, ignoring reality isn’t a great long term strategy.

Leaders who ignore the culture have a hard time influencing it because they no longer understand it.

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5 Traits Of Churches That Will Build Again

Posted by on November 16, 2020

Every pastor in American is praying about what decisions they need to make moving forward into the new year. This disruption has forced more than a temporary set back with attendance. It is challenging us to rethink everything and that is a very good thing.

I have read a lot of opinions on this subject but believe that Dan Reiland as usual is right on with his advice:

“For more than eight months now, most churches have been doing everything possible to navigate what may be remembered as the most difficult season in ministry.

If not the most difficult, likely the most complicated. We often talk of the new normal, and that’s a great conversation; we need it, but we can’t wait for it to arrive. We need to lead forward now.

We need to build again.

Most churches are either open, trying to open, or preparing to open their physical buildings. That’s a good start. Their teams are simultaneously working hard to deliver high-quality worship services in-person and online, plus all their other ministries as well.”

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5 Simple Questions About The Future Every Leader Should Be Asking

Posted by on November 9, 2020

There has never been a more difficult time for church leaders in my lifetime than right now. There are so many things outside our control that we cannot change at all. However, that does not mean there are not things within our control that we must address.

The foundational starting point of this diving disruption is that we cannot go back to the way things were before. With that reality in mind, then read this excellent post by Carey Nieuwhof that will give you major priorities to consider:

“Knowing what you should do as a leader in normal times is hard enough. As you may have noticed, these aren’t normal times.

Trying to figure out what to do in the midst of a global crisis is so much more complicated. So how do you cut through the mess and noise to chart a course that leads you into a better future?

Here’s a simple place to begin: start by asking the right questions. After all, the quality of the answers you get as a leader are determined by the quality of the questions you ask.”

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How To Lead A Church That Can’t Agree On Anything Right Now

Posted by on August 31, 2020

In my lifetime the church has never gone through this much disruption for this long of a period of time. The church has literally been scattered and we are living through at least 5 major crisis that have created massive amounts of stress. The country is more divided than ever, which sadly means your people are probably more divided than ever as well.

This post by Carey Nieuwhof is extremely helpful in that he seeks to help us find the things we all still have in common. If we focus on our shared mission, then we will see all of this as a divine opportunity for the kingdom. Enjoy this great post:

“This is probably one of the hardest seasons you’ve ever led through.

One of the things that’s making this season particular challenging is that, regardless of ideology, theology or viewpoint, we are more divided and adamant than ever.

People don’t agree on masks, social distancing, schooling, reopening church, online church politics or whether there’s even a real threat.

As one lead pastor told me recently, “There used to be two options. Now it feels like there are four or five, and no one agrees with anyone anymore.”

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Should You Close Your Church After Reopening?

Posted by on July 6, 2020

When I started writing the book Church Scattered: Christianity for 21st Century I could have never imagined our current situation. Yes I am a strong advocate of putting more leadership into the church scattered but I never wanted the church gathered to close its doors.

Now everything has changed to the point that church leaders are having to re-think strategy not only for now but more importantly for the future. The Father is disrupting His people again and scattering them into the mission fields. This post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you walk through the challenges ahead:

“Every time you think 2020 is going to get easier, it just gets more complex. So here’s a question: “Should you close your church after reopening it?”

While that sounds like a terrible question, what if it was your best church growth strategy? I know that probably sounds like heresy and you may be too annoyed to read further, but just hang on for a second more.

As the coronavirus resurges across the US, and even areas that thought COVID wouldn’t impact them are breaking all-time infection records, clearly this is a time to ask all the questions.

But this is a deeper question. In Canada, our cases have slowed to almost a trickle, but I think it’s a live issue here too…if you really want to reach more people.”

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Pastors How To Lead 3 Different Groups Back To Church

Posted by on May 26, 2020

Just to get one thing said that is very important, the church never really closed. The buildings did but the people have been living on mission the entire time. This messaging is important in speaking to all of the people who will be coming back to live worship. Some can’t wait to come back and will deal with all the necessary changes. Others will be more cautious and it may take them several months to return. Dan Reiland as always is very helpful:

“If you are truly leading, that means you are guiding those you lead somewhere that you and they together have not been before. That “place” is a better life through Christ. The foundation of that premise never changes, but culture has changed, so we must adapt as needed.

The purpose is that people may continue to say yes to the person and message of Christ and mature in their faith.

So, why do you need to lead people back to church?”

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4 Ways To Quickly Stop Your Innovation Curve And Miss The Future

Posted by on April 29, 2020

As an executive coach I have worked with the leadership of companies who are fighting disruption every day for survival. Disruption is so dramatic it really means that you cannot go back to the way things used to be. You absolutely have to change by keeping what is valuable from the past but radically adopting what will work best for the future. This excellent post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you navigate this transition:

“Sure…the world has changed almost unbelievably since mid-March 2020, but stop for a moment and think about how much you’ve changed.

You’ve led through the biggest crisis in a generation, or perhaps a century. And as a result, you’ve innovated.

You went from

Meeting in-person to meeting online
Leading your team in-person to leading your team remotely
A stable financial plan to a completely new financial plan
A predictable org chart to redeploying staff in brand new areas they weren’t trained for
Having no idea how to do what you needed to do to making it work”

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