Thom S. Rainer
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6 things to know about church summer slumps
“I hate summer attendance!” That sentence came from a pastor whose church is consistently down in attendance in the summer.
10 common responses from fired pastors
In over 30 years of vocational ministry, I have had conversations with hundreds of fired pastors. I have listened to them. I have prayed with them. On occasion, I have wept with them.
Many churches on faster rate of decline toward death
Based upon an aggregate of several research projects, I made some notes of growth and decline rates of churches and summarized my estimates into five categories by worship attendance changes over the previous five-year period.
Should a church budget show pastor and staff salaries?
Can a church member (or, in some cases, guests) look at a church budget and know exactly what everyone on church staff earns?
10 common pastoral care challenges
I recently conducted a social media survey where I asked pastors to share their most common pastoral care challenges. The volume of responses was huge, a very impressive number. But even more impressive were the stories of love and concern these pastors have for their congregations.
7 considerations for church leaders who get an anonymous letter
On occasion a church leader at Church Answers will share with the community that he or she received an anonymous letter. The leaders are inevitably hurt, and they are frustrated because they have no way to respond.
7 consequences for church staff when a pastor leaves
Many church members do not fully grasp how disruptive a pastor’s departure is to the remaining staff. Look at some of the possible consequences for church staff.
6 reasons prayer is moving hundreds of churches to revitalize
I have heard from countless numbers of leaders how specific prayer efforts have led to revitalization in hundreds of churches.
7 most common questions about church revitalization
As the awareness of our resources has become widely disseminated, we get a lot of questions about revitalization. I thought you might enjoy seeing the seven most frequently asked questions.
5 reasons it's OK to borrow another church's vision statement
Many church leaders will admit the vision statement they use was adapted from another church. They often wonder if it is lazy and unethical to do so.