“Simply having a small group program in a church is no guarantee of success,” according to Kevin Dougherty, an assistant professor in Baylor’s department of sociology… what matters is that the groups meet regularly; that members trust one another enough to divulge matters they would not to a stranger; and that they tackle tough issues in one another’s lives.  That’s according to a new small group study out from Baylor. Here are some other findings: Members of small groups are more likely to attend worship, tithe and volunteer. Any type of small group will...

Have you heard of Servolution?  If not… check this out from my friend Dino Rizzo and the folks at Healing Place Church: Servolution.org: Welcome from Healing Place Church on Vimeo. A Servolution is not an event; it is a culture. Infusing this culture into the DNA of your church will change the view of the world and your perspective of the needs of those around you. This movement is rumbling throughout the body of Christ – a revolutionary army of people ready to take up this mandate. We are actively pursuing the lost, the forgotten, and the poor to show them a God who is passionately in...

Gabe Lyons and Tim Keller had a very interesting webcast last week. The topic: Living in a “post-Christian” world. Here are some quotes captured by The Christian Post: Tim Keller: “My understanding of how you reach a culture is Christians have to be extremely like the people around them, and yet at the same time extremely unlike them… If Christians are not unlike they won’t challenge the culture, but if they’re not like, they won’t persuade the culture. Now, hitting that middle ground is hard.” “Before the coming of Christ believers were...

Want to get the first-hand look inside story of a church that started with just a handful of people and has surged to over 120,000 followers of Jesus gathering in 950 churches in India?  Rob and Michelle Wegner have an experience that they share in a new book called “Share the Well”. “It’s something we call Bore Well Church Planting. The concept is simple: plant a church in an otherwise unreached village and then equip and empower that church to become the hub for community development, bringing living water to every area of life. Because if the Kingdom of God comes to a...

Is your church ‘inwardly focused’?  Are you focusing on the fish already in the aquarium?  Brian Kaufman suggests that inwardly focused churches all practice at least five of these things.  See what you think: An Inwardly-Focused Church Makes Converts Not Disciples An Inwardly-Focused Church Lives and Dies by Sunday An Inwardly-Focused Church Offers Multiple Styles of Worship An Inwardly-Focused Church Hides It’s Checkbook An Inwardly-Focused Church Holds On Tight You can read Brian’s thoughts here… I know that many who are reading this right now...