Enduring Churches Podcast with Alan and Trent

Episode 27: The Money Trap

Types of receipts

1. general or undesignated
2. Designated - discourage designated
3. Special offerings

 

Best way to measure is per person per week.

 

Budget

1. Do you have one?
2. do you control it or does it control you.
3. How do you put it together?
4. Is it complete
5. Deferred maintenance 

 

 

Important thoughts:

1. make a “tithe” a priority in your church does your church tithe? from your general receipts 10% to missions
2. Give back to your church
3. Share stories and reasons to give
4. Keep  it visible
5. Celebrate faithfulness 

Episode 26: Trends We See in Smaller Churches

 

 

Your role as pastor or as a church member has an effect on your perspective on the things that are going on.

 

Pretty obvious things…but some of our thoughts on these trends.

 

1. Diminishing ability to hire additional staff.
2. Struggles with music.
3. Disappearing traditional Sunday schedules.
4. Changing dynamic of midweek activities.
5. Changing worship times.
6. Changing nature of children/youth.
7. Technology aware but not having the expertise to run it.

Episode 25: Ministering in a Declining Area

Episode 25: Ministering in a Declining Area

All over the country, smaller communities are dying as more and more people move to cities, and in some cities, even some communities are changing to business centers so that the number of people is diminishing.

1. Is it a factual decline or apparent decline…demographics?
2. Your people might not recognize the reality.
3. Most declining communities are aging communities.
4. Accept that there is a life cycle for churches.
5. Love the people; reach all you can.
6. Consider partnerships.
7. Allow a church to die gracefully.

Episode 24: Meet the Wives, Pt 2

The Big Thing - It’s not okay to be on different pages

 

A or T: You both mentioned this as your biggest issues? Why is that so important?

Are both of you called and committed to the ministry?

 

Unique that both need a sense of calling, but only one is on staff

 

Time Matters

Rachelle: The importance of engaged time at home.

• We know wives need to realize they will share their husbands with the church family.

Dana: Protect couple time and family time. Go on dates and family vacations.

•     Mission trips are not vacations.

•     Walmart and hospital visits....lol

 

Serve the church

Church member expectations?

 

Encourage your spouse to focus on their strengths and spiritual giftedness.

    Do not feel pressured to take on ministry projects just because someone in your church thinks you should. Delegate.

 

Survival Tips:

 

• Protect your children from expectations and from hearing conversations.

 

• Pray for one another and pray together.

 

• Have a teachable spirit.

 

• Be willing to ask for help when you need it. Find mentors and/or counselors who can bring an objective viewpoint.

 

• It's ok to make friends and enjoy them.

Episode 23: Meet the Wives, pt 1

Episode 22: Being A Pastor's Kid

Episode 22: The Pastor’s Kid

Special Guest Jacque Young

 

Your Kids are Not on Staff/I “Voluntold” You 

• It's good for them to be involved 

• You can teach them 

• You can't force them 

• You should ask their permission 

 

God, Family, then Church/Prioritizing 

• Church is not God 

• God made you head of this family, so you have a responsibility to it 

• Don't leave your kids without a father by being absent all the time 

• Don't breed resentment in your own family by over scheduling them or you 

• Teach them to love and serve God, but try not to take them on a mission trip for every birthday 

 

Things Your Kids Want You to Know 

• They're human 

• They need you 

• You can't protect them from everything 

• They don't want to be a sermon prop 

• They want to make you proud 

• They're proud of you 

Episode 21: Does Our Church Need a Consultation?

Episode 20: Calling a Pastor, Pt 2

Episodes 19 & 20: Calling a pastor

 

How does your church define the process?

 

Have a meeting to decide some important issues

pastors in the past 

1. good pastors - what did they do
2. not good pastors - what did they do

 

The tendency is to swing from one extreme to another

 

Characteristics that you feel are important

• Defined by church bylaws
• Defined by the search team

 

Character qualities you want to see in the pastor

How does family affirm and support ministry? (Character qualities of wife)

 

Set clear expectations

• Are your expectations for a pastor realistic?
  • There are no 30 year old pastors with 40 years of experience in churches larger than yours
• Look the person before you listen to the preacher

Set a clear process you can communicate with all candidates clearly.

• Everyone who submits a resume deserves a response
• Be clear and gracious to those interested
• Eliminate most without asking for additional information
• Be careful interupting another church with your search team.

 

Be completely transparent about your church

• What are the issues in your church
• don't hide things that are going on now or have happened in the past

 

Keep your search committee together for a year to serve as the mediator with your new pastor

1. meet once a month and talk about how things are going
2. be the first line of defense for your pastor family

 

Remember you are inviting a leader to fulfill the church’s vision, not your own.

Episode 19: Calling a Pastor, pt 1

Episode 18: How to Deal with Cliques

Episode 18: How to Deal with Cliques

What is a clique?

• It's a closed group that has the intent of being an open group.
  • Is it just an affinity group?
  • ask yourself "is it really a clique or am I just feeling left out?
  • If it truly is a clique - are they helping the ministry of the church or hurting it?
• Most cliques start with a group of people with good intentions.
  • by common interests and a desire for fellowship
  • Small groups being the easiest culptrit
  • Committees, women’s/men’s ministry teams...
  • Student groups
  • Worship teams 
• Cliques are huge deterrent to ministry and church growth

 

• How can we help remove them?
  • Build groups with plans to grow
  • Have honest conversations with ministry leaders?
  • Create opportunities that cause groups to become flexible naturally…
    • get groups interacting with other groups
    • Do planned outreach events
  • Make continual pathways for new groups to form
    • Look for new leaders from existing groups
  • Make sure you are not part of one