Thom S. Rainer
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1 of the stupidest things I did in 44 years of marriage
What is that stupid thing I did in marriage? To be clear, I have not done this act of stupidity one time, but many times. Too many times.
5 reasons why the post-quarantine drop in worship attendance is good
Not all losses in attendance are bad. We have heard from church leaders several ways the decline can be healthy for the church. Here are the five most common reasons.
Should your church be revitalized or replanted? A post-COVID reality
In the post-COVID world we are entering, I see the need for many churches to replant instead of revitalizing. Let’s look at the difference between the two.
5 Ways designated giving can get your church in trouble
Designated giving can be an incredible blessing for your church. It allows, for example, church members to give to such areas of passion as missions or facilities. But far too many churches are handling designated giving in ways that can get them in trouble.
The once-a-month church goers are becoming more common
Our information at this point is both early and anecdotal, but we are hearing from numerous pastors that many church members who were frequent in their church attendance are now once-a-monthers. This observation lends itself to many questions. Is this trend temporary, one that will improve as COVID concerns wane?
What does the rapidly declining birthrate mean for churches?
New provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the U.S. birthrate dropping for a sixth consecutive year. But look at these additional eye-opening facts:
5 common themes in churches with high pastor turnover
More churches are losing pastors after only a brief tenure. Even more troubling, many of these same churches are seeing these patterns repeat themselves with each consecutive pastor.
Why consumer church members leave your church
“I’m not getting fed.” It’s one of the most common complaints of church members looking for excuses to leave a church.
What megachurches, neighborhood churches and the multi-site mov't are telling us
We often think of the three groups of churches as distinct categories. Megachurches are those congregations with an average worship attendance of 2,000 or more. Neighborhood churches are located in and serving a specific and, often, smaller demographic area. Multi-site churches have more than one location or venue.
5 ways to make an aging congregation younger
It is one of the top three requests for help we get at Church Answers: “Our church membership continues to get older. What do we do?”