As we prep for a new year of ministry, here are the conversations that resonated with you most last year.
2018 was a big year. I love to reflect on the progress we’ve made as a team as fuel for how we can develop in 2019.
At a glance—
- We launched our first online course. (a little hint—there’s more of where that came from.)
- We completely updated our consulting process to better help you get unstuck.
- We revamped and updated our resource store. And made it much more user-friendly 🙂
We took some leaps, but I’m excited about what we’re seeing.
I also enjoy reflecting on the conversations that connected with you. Here are the top 10 articles by me and my team that engaged readers in 2018.
1. 20 NEW Politically Incorrect Thoughts in America
I might be a little snarky, but I’m okay with that. I wrote an article like this about 4 years ago, but enough time had passed that it seemed appropriate to offer some new politically incorrect thoughts.
2. The Money Series: How Much Should Churches Spend on Staff
It should be no surprise that the largest financial investment most churches make is on people, specifically the church staff budget. I wrote this article in 2017, but it was still near the top in terms of traffic in 2018.
3. The 5 Most Common Core Issues Churches Face Today
I originally wrote this in 2015, updated it in 2017, and the 5 core issues remain the same. It also continues to be a top post.
4. 18 Churchy Things the Class of 2018 Won’t Get
In church leadership, we have a looooong memory. Last spring’s high school graduates were born in the year 2000. Here are some churchy things for which they have little to no context for…
5. 10 Weekend “Misses” for Churches That Want to Reach New People
We’re on the ground in more than 100 churches each year, so we start to see the same things again and again. Here is the Top 10 List—the biggest issues with the weekend that we see the most often. Keep in mind, though, these are only issues for churches that actually want to reach new people!
6. What a Millennial Parent Wants in a Church
Our Marketing Director, Tiffany, wrote this post at my request. If your church wants to reach young families, and you haven’t read this yet, take a minute to do that.
7. An Open Apology to Churches Everywhere: I Was Wrong
If you have a bad experience at a business, you likely don’t want to return. If you have a bad experience as a first-time guest at a church, why would it be different?
8. Why a Jam-Packed Fall Ministry Calendar Might be a Warning Sign
I believe church events can serve an important role, but if they start driving your church instead of a simple strategy, you will likely start experiencing the pain of complexity creep.
9. 4 Effective Ways to Connect with New Guests
Many churches want to connect with their first-time visitors, but aren’t sure how. Here are four simple ways to engage with your church’s visitors.
10. People Are Leaving Because Churches Aren’t Compelling
It only took 3 generations for weekly church attendance to slide from 50% of Americans to 25%. From half to a quarter. There are lots of reasons for this and many things we could point to the explain why people just are not coming like they used to.
Truthfully, I loved 2018. But I am looking forward to 2019 even more. My team and I have been working hard to bring practical tools to you, and I’m really looking forward to how they can impact your leadership, and ultimately the Church. Stay tuned for some exciting things coming your way.
Happy New Year!
