Articles on Operations
Your Facility and Communications Departments are important parts of the ministry of your church. Without them, you might be meeting in a tent using a megaphone! They are also ministries that take a lot of money to keep current. A long-term plan and some policies and procedures are vital for the smooth operation of your church.
Three Areas where AI will Benefit Your Church Teams
AI can feel like the Wild West, where it's constantly advancing and changing. What can you do to use it to help your teams? Where do you turn for advice? How can this benefit [...]
Transforming Your Data into Discipleship
Every data point represents a soul. Are you treating it that way? You and I got into ministry because we know people matter. We feel compelled to help people meet, follow and share Jesus. [...]
Seeing Around the Corner: 2024 Church Design Trends
Every year brings a parade of design trends that often create an avalanche of expenses. In case you missed Dave’s Breakfast season at the 2024 XPastor Seminar last month, he is going to reveal [...]
Talking to Visitors
Hey Fletch—We have a lot of people who visit our church but they don’t come back. We send out letters and emails to newcomers. Apparently these are not working. Any thoughts? Fletch—I stumbled on [...]
A Top-of-Funnel Conversation About Leveraging Google, Content, and AI
If you're a church that embraces the mission Jesus sent us on to "go and make all disciples,” then you are likely laser-focused in your approach and mindset around growth. But many churches are [...]
How to Create Engaging Spaces
People want connection and fellowship at church. Great preaching and family ministries are a must as well—of course! Pivotal, though are spaces that foster community and engagement. Tune in to this webinar to hear [...]
Ministry Should Dictate Real Estate, Part 2
This is part two of our time with Matt Messier and Carlin Beekman. We had so much great material in part one, that we needed a follow-up. See this link for part one. Churches [...]
Common OSHA Violations in Church Facilities
We all know churches are places of worship and community gathering. What is often overlooked, however, is that the church-owned property used to meet in is considered a commercial property. This means that many [...]
Multiply Hospitality with Renewed Outdoor Spaces—A Case Study
You can raise the visibility of your church with a campus improvement. Mike Gould, an XP at First Baptist Church of Frisco, did that in a series of campus changes. Those small steps of [...]
5 MultiSite Campus Design and Renovation Strategies
Multi-site church leaders nationwide are acquiring and launching campuses in record numbers. In this exclusive XPastor webinar, Dave will present five field-tested design strategies for overhauling and launching a new campus without going broke. [...]
Beyond Sunday: Engaging Your Community Monday through Saturday
Gone are the days of thinking attendance leads to engagement. In a digital-first era, churches are re-thinking how to approach community engagement and may not have the right people, technology, and processes working together [...]
5 Keys to Success with Your Church Management Software
Sometimes the relationship with your Church Management software becomes tired, brittle or even broken. No software is perfect, but is your ChMS working as well as it should? Your software does not have to [...]
The Collective Might Platform
How do you maximize the strength of your church? All of our churches have wonderful strengths, but they are not always fully utilized or appreciated. Gloo connects the faith ecosystem and enables it to [...]
Ministry Should Dictate Real Estate
Churches can feel stuck with their property. Real estate should not be the driving factor in your ministry. Ministry comes first and your property should fulfill your church vision. There are local and nationwide [...]
Password Management and LastPass
I’ve been asked a lot of questions about password managers, especially due to the LastPass hack that started in 2022 and was fully disclosed in 2023. Before getting too far into this, let me [...]
Five Budget Busting Spaces You Think You Need but Really Don’t
Wasting money on spaces that really don’t matter is one of the most dangerous pitfalls that a church can fall into. The truth is, anyone can justify why they need room for a specific [...]
Best Questions to Ask Your Architect for Your Next Building
When was the last time that you built or renovated your facility? For some it was last year, others 10 years and others … never. Let’s talk with a seasoned and award winning architect [...]
Websites that Provide Resources & Create Leads
Your church website is important to your ministry—of course, we all know that! It is one of the key ways to get information out to members and visitors. In this sense, it is vital [...]
Managing Creatives
Creative types are leaving the church. Many feel overworked, burned out or had unrealistic demands. The creative person is essential for your church and has a huge role to play in Christ’s kingdom. Some [...]
What Does ‘Data’ Mean to Your Church?
What is data anyway? You don’t have to look far to find data. Megabytes in your cell phone plan. Visits and results in your electronic health record. Expenses and deposits in your bank account. [...]
Engagement Explosion
Would you like your congregational engagement to explode during your weekend service? What if your attendees could actually engage with your sermon in real time and tell you how it is affecting their lives? It’s [...]
Budgeting Your Next Building Project
Most projects start with a vision, idea, or dream and then quickly run into reality—specifically, the reality of, How are we going to pay for all of this? Join us as we sit down with [...]
Defending Your Church from Cybersecurity Threats
Data security breaches are constantly in the news, but the threat of phishing scams and ransomware attacks aren’t limited to large companies. In fact, ministries are increasingly under attack by savvy cyber criminals. That’s [...]
Church Website Assessment with Practical Website Advice
Join us live! We may choose your church website—if you dare submit it. Mark MacDonald, church branding strategist with BeKnownForSomething.com and church communication sage with 35 yrs experience, and Fletch, will select church websites [...]
How Marketing Strategies Play a Role in Creating Disciples: Using the Member Lifecycle
Articulating your Church’s Member Lifecycle or member engagement strategy will help you know your people, define the next steps for growing their faith and result in growing your church. Let technology help you take [...]
How to Reach More People Than You Ever Imagined
Social Media isn’t evil. It can be very powerful when you start to think about ways to keep your church community engaged when they aren’t in the four walls of your church. In this [...]
Church Spaces for Introverts, Extroverts, and Nickelback Fans
From Introverts who actively dodge your overzealous door greeters to extroverts who are the overzealous door greeters, the needs of our communities are as diverse as the people who attend. Add to the mix [...]
Portable Church Strategies: A Post Pandemic Accelerator
Hindsight View of the Re-Expansion of the Church In March of 2020, the church was just humming along! Or so we thought. Without warning, covid became a part of our vocabulary, and life in [...]
Compensation in 2022: Raises, Bonuses, Perks and Inflation
This year is a crazy year for compensation. Inflation is high and house prices are even higher! How can you give adequate raises to your staff? What bonuses and perks should you offer? Fletch [...]
State of Church Technology
As the Church continues to evolve in a digital era, learn about the latest technology trends, concerns, and what’s important for churches as they develop strategies for the future of ministry. Join Pushpay's CEO [...]
A Sound System for the Next Decade
Our church was in the middle of planning for a sound system renovation for our worship center. Then came the live XPastor broadcast on Auditoriums Post-Covid: Big Ideas to Think Through When Designing Your [...]
Free E-book on Church Facility Budgeting
Our friends at Church Smart Solutions have released a new E-book on Church Facility Budgeting. It covers where to begin your church facility budgeting journey; overspending and underspending; practical steps so that you can [...]
10 Questions Before You Buy Facility Management Software
In today’s world of advanced web applications, cloud computing, and web-based solutions, it can be confusing what facility management software is right for your organization. Identifying your organization's needs is the first step to [...]
Freedom in Hiring vs. Software Platform Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court gave churches and ministries the legal right to only hire those who agree with their religious and doctrinal views, but many IT solution providers require churches and ministries to certify [...]
How to Budget For Your Next Project
Most projects start with a vision, idea, or dream and then quickly run into reality—specifically, the reality of, "How are we going to pay for all of this?" Join us as we sit down with [...]
Three Strategies that Protect from Ransomware
Ransomware is a serious threat that costs a lot of unbudgeted dollars to fix. Effective protection is available! Here’s what I recommend. Ransomware is not like most malware threats that slip into systems under the [...]
Auditoriums Post-Covid
Live and streaming worship continues to morph and change. Join us for a discussion of big ideas to consider in audio-visual design. The past year has taught us that we need flexibility, but what [...]
The Nuts and Bolts of Commercial Development on Your Site
For years you’ve imagined that irresistible coffee hot-spot on the corner of your property that lures the community to your campus and increases the bottom line. But, you’re not sure how to pull that [...]
What Are Capital Reserves and Why They Matter
Less than 40% of churches Smart Church Solutions have surveyed in our national benchmarking have a defensible plan for capital reserve planning. Capital renewals are inevitable expenses. Every component of your building has a [...]
The 4 Buckets of Church Facility Budgeting
If your church has a facility, then you have been entrusted with the care and stewarding of your ministry tool. That means that you will have to set budgets, hire personnel, plan for capital [...]
The Seven Deadly Sins of Church Building Design—and how to Fix Them
What are the seven most common church designs mistakes? You know, the ones that create the biggest headache for church leaders. Dave Milam will explain a mistake, then watch Bob Bergmann fix it in [...]
Hit the Pause Button on Campus Renovations?
Dave Milam always has ideas, and they are good ones about strategic design for churches. Dave and Fletch will talk about moving out of the COVID-19 season. How will you keep you vision moving [...]
How to Never Say, “Our Policy Won’t Allow It”
There is a bane in having a good church policy for your facilities. Here is what happens. A church leader plans an event on your church campus and turns in a facility request. The [...]
4 Types of Church Facility Maintenance
Maintenance can be defined, as it relates to property, facilities and equipment: The upkeep of property or equipment—Merriam-Webster Maintenance is what we do to keep our facilities and equipment functioning as intended use. It [...]
Entrusted: Intentional Church Facility Stewardship
Fletch talks with Tim Cool about his latest book “Entrusted: A Guide to Intentional Church Facility Stewardship.” Tim has extensive experience in all aspects of church buildings. Get in on a great discussion about [...]
Returning to Church, What Does Your Congregation Think?
Fletch and Mike Gould talk with veteran XP, Keith Duff of Village Bible Church and Christopher Nelson, Director of Business Development at Gloo. Keith used a free congregational survey from Gloo to discern what [...]
How to Measure Online Attendance?
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in churches at arguably the fastest rate in history! Back in 2015, megachurches led the church world in offering online church: 30% of megachurches offered an online campus [...]
Protocols for Reopening the Church
There are a maze of documents and websites covering when and how to reopen a church for live worship services and events. Tom Krawczyk is a Campus Pastor at Thornapple Valley Church in Michigan. [...]
Leadership Live: Connecting to the Congregation
Leadership Live is a concept that Village Bible Church developed to connect with its congregation. Village Bible is a church of 1,500 people, spread across 5 campuses. They were looking for ways to connect with [...]
Great Pastoral Communication by Video
Churches should always over-communicate with the congregation. This is especially so during a crisis, such as the pandemic. Here is a superb video from Lighthouse Community Church. It is a message from their elders to [...]
Free Qnnection App: A Conversation Starter
Each question in the free Qnnection app leads to a meaningful conversation. The app is designed to empower and enable the individual to improve conversation, small talk and daily interactions rooted in the rhythm [...]
Video Calls – They’re Pandemic!
The coronavirus (Covid-19) has many staff working from home, and there are a number of things worth considering as you manage the ‘brand’ of your church in a distributed work environment. Video Call Solution [...]
Brotherhood Mutual Coronavirus Update
It is always a good idea to stay in touch with your insurance carrier in a time of crisis. Brotherhood Mutual is a sponsor of XPastor and has provided a free resource guide for [...]
Keeping Data Secure for Remote Workers
Where are you working right now? If you are working remotely, it’s likely your employees and coworkers are, too. So how do you secure remote workers and the devices they use to access your [...]
Connecting with the Congregation During the Corona Virus Pandemic
XPastor uses Hub365 for secure and private communications in its classes. The President of the firm, Philip Paul, has created a PDF that discusses many ways for "Connecting with the congregation during the Corona [...]
How to Live Stream and Start Church Online
In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, XPastor is sharing an article that highlights one vendor of online streaming. There are many vendors and ways to accomplish a video worship service. Enjoy this as a [...]
It’s Time to Test Remote Operations–Conduct a Drill
Michael E. Batts, CPA, is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee, P.A., Certified Public Accountants. He gives great insight on what churches should be doing now regarding their financial operations using the [...]
Next: A US Quarantine?
Coronavirus data is readily available in the news. For example, Italy has more than 5,800 cases and 233 were fatal. That’s an increase of 800 cases and 49 deaths over the day before. In [...]
WheatFields’ Report Card on Church Safety
In Fletch’s book, Predators—The Case of the Church Embezzler, uses a fictional case study of WheatFields Good News Church. Executive Pastor Dan Black created a report card to evaluate how the church is doing [...]
From Pastors in Sutherland Springs, Texas
On May 19, 2019, David and Tami Fletcher met for over three hours with Frank Pomeroy, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Paul Buford, Senior Pastor of River Oaks Church of [...]
Developing a Church Safety Team
Insurance agents and companies often have a trove of helpful information for churches. The insurance company desires to avert tragedy from your people, prevent incidents at your church and keep all parties out of [...]
Communicating a Crisis
Depending on the nature of the crisis, there are various levels of communication necessary. Determine the facts of the precipitating event. Be accurate and report just the facts. Note if someone has been arrested [...]
A Federal Agent on Safety & Concealed Weapons
Often a Risk Management Team will begin as WheatFields’ did—see The Case of the Church Embezzler.” The church knows something must be done, but does not know the needed scope. Experts help teams learn [...]
Strategic Designs for Active Shooter Readiness
Use this Report Card to help you evaluate your readiness for an event at your church. Score 0 for not prepared to a 10 for fully prepared. 1. Is there a standardized campus-wide warning [...]
Email Scams Targeting Churches
There are two email scams occurring with increasing frequency. These scams hurt churches in two ways, by stealing finances and by breaking congregational trust. What are these scams? What can or should you do [...]
Reflections From a Chief of Police
1. Make It Easy for the Cops Today’s public safety personnel are busy. Given the workload placed on public safety, anything you can do to make their job easier is greatly appreciated. Collect the [...]
Renting Your Church: Policy and Sample Forms
Most churches rent some or all of their facilities in the course of a year. This could be to a member or an attendee. The renter could also be a person or organization in [...]
What Story Is Your Building Telling?
Recently a church leader noticed an old sign in the parking lot which said "towing enforced." That was the first sign that a visitor saw upon entering the property! This webinar will explore similar [...]
10 Questions to Ask Before You Build
There is the familiar story of the church that built a new building, only to discover on opening day that needed aspects were missing. Does a church ever have enough closets? Is the lobby [...]
Strategic Designs for Active Shooter Readiness
Dave Milam has helped hundreds of churches around the country with their facilities. One of his most frequent questions is, "How can we make our campus safer?” This webinar provides a lively discussion from [...]
How to Keep IT Staff in the Local Church
Personnel salaries and benefits are usually the largest expense category for churches and ministries. Sometimes facilities is higher, but there’s no getting around the fact that salaries and benefits consumes a large portion of [...]
Retaining Video from Church Cameras
Monday, April 1, 2019 Hey Fletch … How long do you suggest keeping video footage from church cameras? DRF—As you are in the process of getting bids on surveillance cameras (CCTV), you are asking a [...]
7 Essentials for Your Church Website
At Vanderbloemen, we spend a lot of time on church websites. Probably more time than anyone you know. In our time, we’ve seen a lot of good websites...and some that, well, leave a lot [...]
Boosting Easter Attendance—A Guide on Facebook Ad Campaigns
The folks at Gloo have released an excellent free resource entitled, Boosting Easter Attendance—A Guide on Facebook Ad Campaigns. They say, "With Easter only a few months away, we wanted to get this free gift into [...]
Security Cameras in Children’s Classrooms
Friday, March 1, 2019 Hey Fletch … Do you have any thoughts on putting security cameras in children’s ministry classrooms? If this is something you recommend, do you have any recommendations as to companies [...]
Church Wants Privacy Apps on Personal Devices
Thursday, February 28, 2019 Hey Fletch … I am trying to find information about the legalities of requiring our church staff to install software on cell phones and laptops such as Covenant Eyes. We reimburse [...]
New Web Name for Our Church
Monday, February 4, 2019 Hey Fletch … We are wanting to come up with a new url for our church. What are your thoughts on what would be effective? DRF—Many churches go with the name [...]
Van Drivers
Friday, February 1, 2019 Hey Fletch … What kind of policy do we need for people that drive our church vans? DRF—It’s a good idea to have a transportation policy that covers expectations when it [...]
FaceBook Blocking My Posts
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 Hey Fletch … I’ve been posting some of my articles on social media. Out of the blue, Facebook blocked my account. They said that the content was inappropriate by their standards. [...]
Oops, Needed a Bonfire Permit
Friday, January 18, 2019 Hey Fletch … One of our youth pastors asked his campus pastor if he could have a bonfire at an event on their campus. The campus pastor granted permission. Neither [...]
DOT Number for a Church Bus?
Wednesday, January 9, 2019 Hey Fletch … We have been getting a lot of conflicting opinions about whether churches need to apply for a DOT number for the operation of church buses that require CDL [...]
The Inherent Risk of Guest WiFi Access at Your Church
With the myriad of wireless devices in constant use, many churches provide Wi-Fi for the convenience of employees and guests. However, this complimentary benefit can come with a heavy price if security is taken [...]
When Do We Need Commercial Licenses for Vehicles?
Saturday, December 22, 2018 Hey Fletch … We use vans in our church. Do we need a commercial license for the drivers? DRF—Lots of churches use vans. It used to be that the 15 passenger [...]
Emergency Preparedness Plan
Monday, December 17, 2018 Hey Fletch … Do you provide on XPastor any emergency preparedness plan templates for churches? DRF—We have some information on emergency response plans. Here is a link to various posts on [...]
Churches and Coworking Spaces … Think Twice
Maybe you have read business articles about the exploding billion dollar shared workspace industry, often called Coworking or Collaborative Space. Perhaps you have seen local articles or YouTube videos featuring churches innovative attempts to [...]
Is It Hard to Launch a Ministry Website?
Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Hey Fletch … Who set up the XPastor.org website? I’ve explored the XPastor site and like how it is set-up. I’m currently serving on the board of a ministry. They tasked [...]
Facility Use Policies
Thursday, November 29, 2018 Hey Fletch … I could not find anything on Facility Use policies on XPastor. Can you direct me to some templates? DRF—We have some facility policies on XPastor. Check out this [...]
More on Churches Renting Office Space to Counselors
Thursday, November 8, 2018 Hey Fletch … Let me get back to you on my question and your answer. I was asking about our church renting space to a counselor at below-market rates. I thought [...]
Announcements for Benevolence Offerings
Wednesday, October 24, 2018 Announcements for Benevolence Offerings Hey Fletch … I read the recent “Hey Fletch” column about the benevolence offering for the woman with cancer. I get that donations cannot be earmarked [...]
Would We Save Money by Outsourcing Cleaning?
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 Hey Fletch … We are pondering outsourcing the cleaning of our church facility. Do you have any data on the pros and cons, and the cost savings metrics? I found an [...]
Spouse of Staff Member Wants an Office
Friday, August 24, 2018 Hey Fletch … I am the XP at a restart church. We have made staff and organizational changes in order to reach our community for Jesus Christ. We just hired a [...]
Recordings of the XP-Seminar?
Saturday, August 18, 2018 Hey Fletch … I’m a new XP and would love to listen to past sessions of the XP-Seminar. Do you record them? DRF—One year we purchased some thumb drives that had [...]
Cultural Factors that Affect Building Design
When we design a church building, cultural factors heavily influence us. We add certain elements, such as a steeple, for cultural reasons. The size of the building is culturally-driven. The decision to install air [...]
A Church Security Team
Monday, July 16, 2018 Hey Fletch … I have a question concerning our security team. There are as many opinions about a security team as there are people, so I wanted to check and see [...]
Emergency Response Plan
Saturday, June 23, 2018 Hey Fletch … Can you review our Emergency Response Plan? We are struggling with how to address three main issues: suicide prevention, an active shooter and fire. DRF— In that question, [...]
Do I Need to Register for XPastor Articles?
Saturday, June 9, 2018 Hey Fletch …Good day! There seems to be a technical glitch in signing up to your awesome website. When wanting to register, it keeps bringing up an error, as if [...]
Legal Issues with Songs on a Church Website
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Hey Fletch … We live-stream our worship service and also have some recorded worship songs on our website. Someone asked me if that is legal. Thoughts? DRF—That is a huge [...]
Urgency Mode in Email
Thursday, May 31, 2018 Hey Fletch … I have a grid of how staff can send me emails to get my attention. I created a four-part numbering system. This lets me immediately know how [...]
Picture Scaling on Social Media
Monday, May 28, 2018 Hey Fletch … At the risk of coming across as a jerk, although I hope not, I did want to throw a suggestion your way. I’ve noticed your “Hey Fletch” [...]
Raised $10 Million for a Building and Now What?
Monday, May 21, 2018 Hey Fletch … I’m an XP and we just raised $10 million for a new building. Now what? DRF—The simplicity of the question has profound implications. It reminds me of [...]
Emergency Preparedness For Churches
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Hey Fletch … I used this XPastor.org article for doing research on a plan for our church: ‘Emergency Preparedness For Churches.’ Can you expand on the ideas? DRF—This is a [...]
Best Practices for Church Apps
Friday, April 13, 2018 Hey Fletch … There are several good articles on XPastor.org related to website best practices. I am looking for one related to Apps for churches. Apple has changed the rules [...]
Building Emergency Response Team Policy
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church—items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and Policies. Below is the Building Emergency Response Team Policy from Westwood [...]
Concealed Guns in California Churches
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 Hey Fletch … Is it legal in California to have a concealed gun in a church with permission from the church leaders? Is it different with or without a CCW? [...]
Who Should Communication’s Leader Report To?
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 Hey Fletch … We are a church of 1,400. We do not currently have a dedicated communications person. If we explore going to a new hire, who do they typically [...]
Asset Replacement for Major Repairs
Saturday, March 24, 2018 Hey Fletch … Do you know of or have an Asset Replacement Policy that sets aside money for major repairs/replacement of systems like HVAC? I have not been an XP [...]
Who Can Use Our Buildings?
Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Hey Fletch … We're re-working our policies that deal with who can use our facility, how often, what to charge, if anything. It's partially a stewardship issue, but also the [...]
Live Translation, Part 2
Friday, March 9, 2018 Hey Fletch … In a February 6, 2018 “Hey Fletch” column I saw the question: Is anyone out there using a system that allows a church to broadcast a Spanish [...]
Passwords, Computers and Security
Thursday, March 1, 2018 Hey Fletch … I can’t log into XPastor to get the stuff that I purchased. Can you help? DRF—Many of us have several email addresses, such as church, personal and [...]
No Response to Emails
February 9, 2018 Hey Fletch … Some of our junior staff are terrible at responding to emails. They say, “our generation likes texts.” One staff member took a month to get me his annual [...]
Finding Über-Techs
February 2, 2018 Hey Fletch … We need some über-techs for a short project. Are there super-users or trainers on the following platforms that we could pay to write a key stroke script? The [...]
Criteria for a Usable Website
January 30, 2018 Hey Prof … I’m in XPastor’s class on Church Communication—Ops 102 and doing the assignment on church websites. Here are the criteria that I’m using to evaluate a usable website: Staff, [...]
Technical Director and Tech Engineer
January 28, 2018 Hey Dr. Fletcher … I’m a pastor in charge of media ministry in our church in Africa. Please, is there a job description for a technical team, video team and multimedia [...]
Website Not Scaling Graphics
January 21, 2018 Hey Fletch … We are having some website trouble. It looks great on a desktop monitor but some of our pages are awful on a tablet or cell. Can you take [...]
Cell Phone Policy
January 19, 2018 Hey David … I'm working on our church’s cell phone policy and wondering if you have any resources that address that? DRF—Here is some policy thoughts on that: “Cell phones are [...]
Simple Steps to Online Safety
Malware. Ransomware. Identity and data theft. Phishing. Corporate account takeovers. Denial of service attacks. As recent headlines illustrate, cyber attacks are a real and growing risk for all organizations. It’s no longer a question of [...]
Free E-Book on Church Automation
Neil Miller and KiSSFLOW have just released an e-book, The Beginner’s Guide to Church Automation.” He says that "Automation can be a big step for some churches, but these questions shouldn’t stop you from experimenting with [...]
Concealed Weapons in Church
As the need for a more formalized approach to security becomes the norm for many churches, some congregations are developing plans and policies to better protect their congregants and staff from active shooters. A [...]
Talking to Your Architect
One of the challenges that churches continually face is that we build sporadically. Dealing with architects, designers and builders happens from time-to-time. This means that XPs and church leaders must relearn the language of architecture [...]
Three Steps to Visualizing Your Dream for Your New (or Renovated) Facility
Most pastors have facility needs. Perhaps you’re bursting at the seams in your current building and need to get into a new building, or maybe you just need to revamp your office. The children’s ministry [...]
The Design-Build Process—Free Resource
Our colleagues at Visioneering Studios have created a free resource to help you learn what you don't know about the design-build process. The fast-paced nature of ministry can leave little room for researching all [...]
Church Event Planning Toolkit
Deborah Ike is a regular author on XPastor.org, contributing some fantastic articles over the last few years. Based on her experience in helping churches and as a professional project manager, Deborah shares her approach to [...]
Copier Leasing and Negotiation Tips
As an attorney, the vast majority of business and church executives I talk to dread their copier lease expiring as they must deal with leasing new ones. Recently, we helped a church with a multiple [...]
Should Your Church Consider a Cell Tower Lease?
A sales rep stops by your church office with a simple offer. Your building is ideally suited to be a cell phone tower. The equipment will be practically invisible. If you lease the space to [...]
Partnering With Your Community for Sustainable Impact
John Cissel of Visioneering Studios talks about new uses of church property. This involves churches doing joint ventures with developers for impacting a church’s local community. The issue is how to build church facilities in expensive [...]
What Do Your Facilities Say About Your Church?
Building healthy churches is certainly not the same thing as constructing buildings. Yet we all intuitively know that buildings and their interiors can and do contribute to the growth of many healthy churches if used wisely. [...]
The Three Big Mistakes Most Churches Make on Their Websites
In my day job, I have the opportunity to look at a lot of church websites. The thing is, I keep seeing the same three mistakes made on the majority of the sites I visit. [...]
Evaluating Kids’ Ministry Space
Facilities are an enormous blessing and a simultaneous curse. Having an efficient facility takes careful thinking about traffic flow, space utilization and knowledge of what is cost effective. Brad Simmons has done some great thinking in [...]
Book Review: Less Clutter. Less Noise
I came across Kem Meyer a few years ago when I spent the day in my office listening to The Nines Webinar Conference. I was so intrigued and delighted by her approach and expertise that [...]
Communications Strategy
The XPastor Online Course on Operations 102--Communications encourages students to develop a communications strategy for their church. Below is the Communications Strategy of one of our students, the Executive Pastor for Seven Mile Road Church [...]
How to Pick a Facility for a Church Plant
No two church plants are exactly the same. People, communities, economics and ministry purpose are only a few of the many variables church planters must work within. While God’s purpose should be the centerpiece of [...]
The Cost of First Impressions
Here’s my challenge to all pastors: Go outside your church, stand at the curb and look at your facilities through the eyes of a person making a decision to come in and “check it out.” [...]
Playground Safety
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission publishes a document called CPSC Public Playground Guidelines. This 57-page tome has tons of practical information. While not all of the information will pertain to your church, there is a wealth [...]
Saving and Splurging When Furnishing Your Place of Worship
Today “Church” comes in many different forms, sizes and ministry focuses. While everyone can agree that stewardship should be a guiding principle for committees making financial decisions, what does that mean practically? What should the [...]
Why Podcasts are Critical to Your Church
There’s been a shift in the world. Is your church adapting? The shift is in how people use media and their expectation of what our churches offer. It all started when people could easily record [...]
How Do You Communicate with Your Church?
Good communication is key to any relationship. As church leaders, you understand this better than most. It’s no easy task making sure your congregation is getting the information they need to be prepared for upcoming [...]
Going Paperless
Consider if your church or business had 29,151,900 pages of documents. For ease of discussion, let’s round that down to a 29 million. According to some folks in New Zealand who had plenty of time [...]
Facebook and Blogging Policy
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and policies. Below is the Facebook and Blogging Policy of Northshore Christian [...]
Aligning Church Facilities with Leadership Vision
Do your church facilities seamlessly serve or are they simply frustrating? A well-run campus is a blessing to every church ministry. But building troubles strain our operations and our people. So how do we run [...]
Negotiation and Shalom with Our Sites
Is it possible to seek the Shalom—peace and prosperity—in the people with whom you are negotiating a lease and still achieve the results you need for your church or organization? That is the big question. [...]
Five Lease Negotiating Tips for Churches
As the multisite and church planting movements continue to become the fastest form of multiplication and community impact, an increasing number of churches are looking to facilities they would lease rather than own. Given this [...]
Honest Virtual Communication
As I was looking closely at the websites of six local churches, one question I considered was this: “What does this website convey about the culture of the church?” That's a great question. Websites are [...]
Seven Reasons Why You’re Not Getting a Stage Announcement
One of the most challenging things in service planning for pastors and communication leaders can be managing stage announcements. Without a system and strategy in place, you can quickly find yourself stuck in a rhythm [...]
Reflections on Communications
Throughout the XPastor Online Course, I’ve learned one thing about communication in organizations—it takes a lot of work! Whether it’s a small team of staff members or a large group of assembled leaders, communication is [...]
How to Communicate Effectively on Any Budget
Do you want to be more effective as a church? Few things will give you a better return on your investment than improving communications. Communications isn’t about spending a lot of money. Rather it’s about [...]
Multisite vs. Multi-venue
The excitement of seeing God bring more people to the doors of the church—as He works in the hearts and lives of our neighbors and friends—can also bring challenges. The reality of physical space—worship center [...]
Disposing Hell, An Essay
Many images come to mind when the word “hell” is mentioned. In the wider culture, common pictures include flames, pitchforks, and never-ending black holes. These images likely arise from how people thought of hell during [...]
Tutorial: The Inside Scoop on Live Event Planning
At 11 years of age, in the seat of a local performing arts center, I intently watched Peter Furler of the Newsboys belt out “Shine” from just a few feet in front of me. I [...]
Three Reasons to do Parking Right
As a church, we have just a short time to make a first impression on a guest; seven seconds. Not much time to impact the thought and emotional reaction of these guests. Every “touch” point [...]
Newly in Charge of Unresolved Issues
When I accepted the role of Executive Pastor at EvFree Fullerton two months ago, everybody forgot to tell me that I would be the staff contact on the Worship Center remodeling project. I started getting [...]
Mobile Phones and Online Giving
With 87% of the U.S. adult population now carrying mobile phones, (52% of them internet-enabled smartphones), people are changing the way they buy things. According to a survey recently released by the Federal Reserve Bank, 15% [...]
Learning About Guest Experiences from the Airlines
I fly a lot. Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, I used to predominately fly USAir, as Charlotte is their primary hub. Most anywhere I want to go is a direct flight. They have a significant number of [...]
Discovering New Urbanism
How does the church fit into the restoration of compact, walkable, mixed-use communities? While large tract homes (sometimes unkindly called McMansions), big box stores, and seas of parking lots have defined the suburban ideal for [...]
Cardiac Emergency Response Plan
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and Policies. Below is the Cardiac Emergency Response Plan of Old North [...]
Church Van Policy
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and ministry policies. Below is the 1994 Van Policy of Northwest Bible [...]
Church Publicity Campaigns
Summers are pretty busy for XPs. Beyond the normal budget preparation that keeps me busy, we also launched a major publicity venture for our 9/11 sermon series. This was a three-week series talking about the implications [...]
XPastor Re-Branded
All websites need an occasional dusting off ... or even rebranded and restyled. How is your church's website? Does it look like it did ten years ago? Perhaps it's time to improve your online [...]
Communications System
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and policies. Below is the Communications System of Hope Community Church in [...]
Moving Into Your New Facility
The following was a presentation made at a conference, explaining the process of moving into a newly-built church building. The PowerPoint is available at the bottom of this page, complete with photos and samples [...]
An Architect’s Presentation
The presentation that your architect will give you will provide you with a perspective on so many things. Is the architect understanding your spiritual DNA and how it will be represented in the building? Do [...]
Construction Manager At Risk Questions
When you are interviewing potential Construction Managers for your church's building project, what type of questions should you ask? What things should you ask them to discuss and describe? Below are some suggested questions, provided by [...]
Request For Proposal: Hiring an Architect
The Request For Proposal is a basic element of hiring an architect. But what is this document, this "RFP?" John Jackson, of Jackson Galloway Architecture, has given a 7-page sample of an RFP, to help [...]
Typical Architectural Process
What is the architectural process, from start to finish, for planning a new church building? Below is insight and wisdom from John Jackson, an architect experienced in helping churches build, on the process of designing a [...]
The Process of Hiring an Architect
What are the steps in finding the right architect for your church's building project? Below are words and suggestions from an experienced architect, sharing the steps and technical terms that you will encounter throughout the process. [...]
How To Be a Great Client When Building
You've interviewed architects and decided on the firm to design your new church building. How can you and your church leadership be a great client to the architect? The following are some words of wisdom [...]
Building Your Dream
Bob Feitl was an Architect and a Project Manager before he became an Executive Pastor. When he attended the XP-Seminar, he would often lead workshops regarding how to have a successful building project at your church. [...]
A New Building: Facing the Future
As Grace Covenant Church celebrated thirty years of ministry as a Bible church in Austin, Texas, we began to look forward to what the Lord had for us for the next thirty years. We needed to [...]
Spiritual DNA: Spiritual Leadership for a New Building
David Fletcher developed this PDF for several workshops on Building the New Building. See also his article on The Spiritual DNA of Grace Covenant Church of Austin. This PDF is an example that shows the [...]
A Church is Planted … and Grows
Port City Community Church held its first service on October 24, 1999 in a rented auditorium at a middle school in Wilmington, North Carolina. However, the first service was not the actual beginning; Mike [...]
Construction Manager at Risk—Request for Proposal—Example
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and church policies. Below is an example of a Construction Manager at Risk [...]
Seven Questions to Ask About a Content Management System
This year’s hurricanes mostly “missed” us, but our basement flooded anyway. Days later I sat absorbed in my computer monitor, buried up to my eyeballs in search results and browser tabs. Search by search, each [...]
Emergency Preparedness for Churches
Nobody likes to think a disaster or act of violence could happen to them. Maybe you’ve never even considered that it might happen to your church. Disasters or acts of violence are difficult to foresee [...]
The Role of Technology in a “Do More with Less” Environment
The dichotomy churches are experiencing during tough economic times creates an interesting set of challenges. On one hand, people are either finding their way back to church looking for help, guidance and answers or they [...]
And Now We Are In the New Building …
“Pitch 39 Boss Reverse Pass” was the play and as soon as Executive Pastor Bill Northrop saw the Pittsburgh Steelers run it in Super Bowl XL, he knew his life had just gotten much, much more complicated. [...]
The Facility Challenge in Church Planting
In May 2006, the rented building that our 2-year-old church plant was using was no longer available to us. We were given two weeks to vacate and secure a new location, suitable for 200 people [...]
Church Branding and Re-Branding—Part 2
Churches re-brand to emphasize their vibrant and living spiritual DNA. Let’s look at two churches to discover some principles that can help your church re-brand. Scofield Church in Texas and Oak Hill Church in [...]
Church Branding and Re-Branding—Part 1
Traveling down the highway at sixty miles per hour, you see a church sign and think “That looks great.” A minute later, another church sign comes into view and you confess, “What a garbled [...]
When to Build or Not: Construction Can Make or Break a Ministry
You have a good problem—your church attendance is growing and you’re busting at the seams. Having found a great location in the heart of your community, your church has purchased some nice land. Suddenly you’re [...]
Webcasting Church Services
Imagine holding Sunday services with an unlimited number of available seats. Imagine those seats being accessible to anyone, anywhere in the United States or world. Surprisingly, these days it’s easy to turn those dreams into [...]
Blogging and Facebook Policy
These days it seems everyone is pushing you towards blogging, Facebook and Twitter. Whether for professional or personal reasons, it can be wise to take advantage of these emerging social networking opportunities. However, there can [...]
Having a Great Church-School Relationship
Nothing raises controversy faster than a discussion of church-school relationships. In many organizations, passionate people from both sides empty the bench and duke it out at the slightest provocation. Why? What is it about Christian [...]
Rethinking the Church Space
I was sitting in a meeting the other day, discussing the way the church uses its space, when someone boldly said: “We’ve built spaces for us and then gone out and tried to bring the lost [...]
America’s Houses of Worship
PBS has produced a series of videos entitled, "America’s Houses of Worship." I saw it when they used it as one of those programs that they intermittently interrupt with an appeal for the viewer to [...]