Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Oct 31, 2015

  What Does Your Church's Group Name Communicate?

  Assimilation is five times more effective if a person is involved in a group versus attending worship only.

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  Oct 29, 2015

  8 Reasons Many Churches Are Stuck in the '80s

  Nine out of ten churches in America are either declining, or they are growing so slowly they are not keeping up with the growth rate of the community in which they are located.

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  Oct 27, 2015

  The Most Common Reason Pastors Give When They Leave a Church

  Though there are many different reasons given, these pastors did share one reason much more frequently than any others.

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  Oct 25, 2015

  8 Reasons Many Pastors Lack Confidence

  I am confident because of who I am in Christ. But if someone expected me to perform open-heart surgery tomorrow, I wouldn't be confident.

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  Oct 23, 2015

  8 Traits of Outstanding Church Staff Members

  The stories are tragic but too common. Different members of a church staff unite in opposition to other staff.

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  Oct 17, 2015

  Is Your Church Mostly Old People? 5 Ways to Become Younger

  It seems to be a Catch-22. If your congregation is older, the way to reach younger families is to have younger families in your church. But the reason the congregation is older is because it has few or no younger families.

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  Oct 14, 2015

  9 Essentials for Guest-Friendly Church Bulletins

  In many circles, the church bulletin or worship folder is perceived to be old school, the tool of staid and traditional churches. Leaders with such a perspective are missing an incredible opportunity to put something in the hands of guests that, at least anecdotally, increases the chances they will return.

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  Oct 12, 2015

  10 More Ways Churches Drive Away First-Time Guests

  On November 1, 2014, I wrote a blog post about ten ways churches drive away first-time guests. Those top ten ways came from an informal Twitter poll. I was surprised by the number of responses we received for both the poll and the blog post.

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  Oct 10, 2015

  10 Signs Your Pastor Is Becoming a Chaplain

  In the broadest sense, a chaplain refers to those who are assigned to care and provide ministry for a specific group of people. Military and hospital chaplains, for example, have clearly defined groups who come under their care and ministry.

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  Oct 4, 2015

  7 Reasons We Shouldn't Abandon the Term 'Church Member'

  One of the more frequent question readers have asked me is: "Do you think the term 'church member' is still relevant?"