Articles on Strategy
Every church needs to have a strategy of how they want to do ministry. Foundational in deriving your strategy is your church’s culture and your place in the church universal in delivering the gospel to the lost. What is your ministry strategy?
Is Your Church Eligible for a Security Enhancement Grant from FEMA?
Eligible churches and other nonprofits can apply for the annual FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). If awarded, the church can receive up to $150,000 per site for target hardening against potential terrorist or [...]
Keys to a Healthy, Successful and Flourishing Church Merger
Several years ago, I stood in the back of our newest campus during the campus’s first baptism service. This campus was a merger with a 15-year-old church that had lost its evangelistic effectiveness. An [...]
Clear Priorities Drive Good Decisions
Your decisions create the story of your life. And while nobody plans to complicate their life with bad decisions, far too many people have no plan to make good decisions. Andy Stanley in Better [...]
Despondent over Lack of Fruit in Ministry
I’m no stranger to disillusionment in ministry. For 47 years I’ve served the Lord in a variety of roles: church staff member, seminar leader, Christian university professor, and writer. Not every position has panned [...]
Be the Unicorn
William will unpack his latest book, Be the Unicorn. The book addresses the questions of, How do I stand out? and How do I become irreplaceable? William bases the answers on his firms in-person [...]
How to Build Strong Teams
Leading a team made up of diverse individuals is always a challenge. Balancing different work styles and approaches requires ongoing communication, empathy and flexibility. Successful leadership involves fostering an environment where team members are [...]
Be the Unicorn
William Vanderbloemen William Vanderbloemen’s latest book, Be the Unicorn: Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest, is a goldmine of information. He gets right at what the best leaders [...]
The Necessity of a Child Safety Team
One of my favorite pastimes after a long day of work is to sit and watch sports. During each sports season, you’ll find me enjoying my favorite Atlanta-based teams as they work together to [...]
Multisite Management 2.0
Which Mom or Dad among us does not want to have a steady understanding of how their kids are doing? Likewise, what if you could constantly have a pulse on all your multisite church [...]
Busy Isn’t (≄) Productive: 5 Productivity Hacks to Accomplish More & Juggle Less
God may grant us each the same hours every day, but no two people’s days look the same. Unlike a business, your day-to-day operations go far beyond the brick-and-mortar of your church. You’re a [...]
Building a Splinter-Free Team Culture
Addressing Small Irritations Before They Derail Momentum Recently I was helping my husband and my dad on a renovation project. We’re restoring a home built in 1900, complete with all the character and quirks [...]
3 Tips for Leading Better Meetings
Do you feel like your time is wasted in meetings? If so, you’re not alone. “A shocking 71% of professionals report having their time wasted, due to unnecessary or canceled meetings.” In this webinar [...]
Change in Texas Abuse Reporting Laws—Anonymous Reporting No Longer Permitted
Effective September 1, 2023 Texas child abuse and neglect reporting authorities will no longer accept an anonymous report. Existing Texas Law Every state in the United States has mandatory reporting requirements related to child [...]
What the Latest Gallup Trends Mean for Your Church & Leadership
Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace is out, and we're here to break down everything you need to know as a leader. The main summary statement Gallup wants leaders to take away from [...]
Ways to Build Trust by Drops and Avoid Losing It in Buckets
What are specific actions you can take to live and lead at a higher level of integrity? David and Warren recently convened 20 experts in various fields and asked for their tips on how [...]
Data Erasure vs. Risk Management
The Clash of Privacy and Protection of Vulnerable Populations Protecting Personal Information Everyone has a story about personal information fraudulently obtained by a security breach, Phishing email scam, or sold by a vendor gathering [...]
4 Prevailing Models for Multi-siting Churches and How Portability Makes Them Flourish
Is the size of a church a leading indicator of health? The idea that a big church is healthy, or a small church is not healthy, may lead to false conclusions. A healthy church [...]
2 Trends Impacting Your Leadership This Year
Over the past 3 years the expectations for leaders has only grown more acute. Staff transitions, waning morale, and rising mental health challenges are resulting in new research that suggests that 43% of managers [...]
Learning from Leadership Failures
One of my recent ECFA research projects involves leadership integrity. For David Fletcher’s in-person XP-Seminar in February, I surveyed the attendees, the majority of whom are the equivalent of Executive Pastor, with 1 in [...]
Leading the Flock: 5 Tips for Executive Pastors to Become Effective Leaders
Effective leadership boils down to the healthy habits you implement on a consistent basis. But what are those habits? And how do you practically implement them when your calendar is already packed? Holly Tate, [...]
Report Abuse: A Biblical Counseling Perspective
O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of [...]
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 [...]
Why Implement a Written Integrity Plan?
Public confidence in nonprofits is declining to dangerous lows. Consider, for example, Gallup’s 2022 study on Confidence in Institutions, which reports that trust in the church has declined to an all-time low. Just 31% [...]
9 Resources on Financial Integrity
A nationwide survey of more than 700 church leaders conducted by Church Law & Tax showed that nearly one-third have served in congregations that suffered from some form of financial misconduct. Half occurred within [...]
Guardrails to Strengthen Pastoral Integrity
My title may seem a little off-putting, perhaps even negative. Why do I need a guardrail? Or better, what is a guardrail for a pastor? This brings another question, If our church incorporated guardrails, [...]
How to Increase Engagement with a Hybrid Church Model
Digital solutions undoubtedly play a significant role in Church today, but the technology churches leverage (and how) continues to evolve. Pushpay recently released its 2023 State of Church Technology report, and findings show that [...]
Know When and How to Delegate
Church leaders have extraordinary demands on their time. So when it comes to experiencing growth in your church, you have to think differently about how you run it—and it starts with effective delegation. First, [...]
Cultivating Hospitality in a Divided Church
Politics. Masks. Vaccines. The reasons churches are dividing are legion. How should we as church leaders cultivate spaces where people who have nothing else in common gather and are willing to put those differences [...]
Keeping Your Marriage Healthy in Ministry
Recent research indicates that high level marital satisfaction is insufficient to keep a marriage healthy by itself. Generations of broken families make it extremely difficult to practice what one has never seen up close [...]
A 5-Year Ministry Plan at Age 90
Gene Getz is 90 years old … going on 91 in March. He miraculously survived Covid even though he spent eight months in the hospital. Gene's doctors suggested that his family meet to say [...]
The Art of Leading Change
Leading change is difficult. The hardest part is not deciding which path to follow. The bigger challenge is found in the messy human dynamics throughout the journey of change. Many resources for leading change [...]
Elder Boards That Work, Pastors Who Thrive: A New Vision for Church Governance
At some point, every lead pastor asks this question: How do we govern this church? Often with little background on the subject, pastors and boards cobble together a system that either works for the pastor [...]
4 Reasons You Don’t Delegate
I don’t have time to teach someone else how to do it. It will be quicker if I just do it myself. Chances are you’ve used one of those excuses when you’ve taken on a task [...]
Prepping New Leaders
Hey Fletch … A woman wanted to start an outreach ministry activity. She has good character and a right heart for the target audience. Now she’s drowning under the weight of being at the [...]
Leading Creatives
There is a tension between leaders and creatives within any organization. Leaders cast clear vision. Creatives craft subjective art. Leaders push for advancement. Creatives push the envelope. There isn't a complete binary difference between [...]
California Law on Sexual Abuse May Impact Other States
Your state could be impacted by the new California sexual abuse prevention legislation. Assembly Bill Number 2669 modifies the requirements of AB506. What did AB506 require? Which AB506 requirements are modified by AB2669, and how? What potential error [...]
Multisite New Normal
The multisite model changed the trajectory of the church in America at the beginning of the 21st century. But what about today? What is the new normal for multisite in the post-pandemic era? Is [...]
Four Ways You Can Be a Godly Leader in a Sports-Crazed World
I love sports. I am an over-the-top Chicago Cubs fan. My license plate says Cubzwin. My three children all played collegiate sports. My wife and I played collegiate sports. I’m in four fantasy football leagues---that’s [...]
Healthy Venting as a Staff
We’ve all inappropriately handled our emotions at work. We’ve either stuffed our emotions when we should have shared them or we’ve spewed emotions when we should have stayed silent. Venting in the workplace is [...]
The African American Family and Developing a Diverse Family Ministry
Whatever the ethic background of your church attenders and staff, you want to understand and develop diversity—especially in your family ministry. James Logan has a rich background in business, as a pastor, and as [...]
Resisters Are Not the Enemy
This article is adapted from Mike Bonem’s forthcoming book, The Art of Leading Change: Ten Perspectives on the Messiness of Ministry. In many arenas of life, we neatly divide people into two groups: friends [...]
Preventing and Resolving Conflict in the Church
Let's talk about how Christian leaders can model, practice and teach the principles of relational wisdom. This is a gospel-based form of emotional intelligence, biblical peacemaking and Christian conciliation. You can do this within [...]
Roles, Responsibilities and Decision Making in 2022
for a Staff Led and Elder Oversight Church Polity This article is from 2022 and expands on Bob's article from 2007 which can be read here. At some point in the life of many churches the [...]
SBC Churches and Child Sexual Abuse: Reasons for Encouragement and Optimism
Many Baptist leaders and congregation members were discouraged after the release of the Guidepost Solutions Report on May 25th, investigating actions of the SBC Executive Committee related to sexual abuse. The Report focused on [...]
New Insights on Church Planting and Multisites
From Actual Costs to Best Models What practical insights and trends could research on 3,000 church planters and campus pastors offer? Learn as findings from ECFA’s historic and groundbreaking research are unveiled along five [...]
Benevolence Support for a Woman with 4 Children
Hey Fletch ... I am an elder in a church plant. Sadly, a couple who joined our church at the beginning is now in divorce proceedings. The wife and four children attend church faithfully. [...]
How Marketing Strategies Play a Role in Creating Disciples: Using the Member Lifecycle
Making disciples is at the heart of every church. However, gone are the days when it was possible or practical for pastors to greet all members at the church door and know what’s going [...]
Culture is Currency
Your culture drives everything—how you attract great leaders, retain them and how you develop them. It even drives succession. Let’s talk about how the most important investment you can make is in your culture. This [...]
Forgetting the Sermon by Wednesday
The main segment in most worship services is the sermon. It receives the most time and is pivotal for teaching biblical truth. Yet, almost everyone listening to the sermon forgets it by Wednesday. Church [...]
He Gets Us
He Gets Us is a campaign designed to create cultural change in the way people think about Jesus and his relevance in our lives. What is “He Gets Us” all about? Our mission is [...]
Reaching Your Community
Bridging the Gap Between Online Explorers and Your Church Today more than ever, the church has the opportunity to use technology to connect with people. National advertising campaigns are spending millions of dollars to [...]
Free Easter App for Your Church
Updated April 4, 2022 with a QR code. Gregory Love and Kimberlee Norris have produced a free resource for Easter. Greg says, the app goes viral every year around this time as churches use [...]
Life in the Trenches
Current Issues that XPs Face Fletch and Keith Duff will talk on current issues that XPs face. These range from dealing with resignations in the last year, to hiring new staff, to building staff [...]
Facilities Use Fire Drill: Sexual Abuse Risk and Third-Party Use of Facilities
Boy Scouts Settlement Fund Exceeds $2.6 Billion Not every organization has chartered or hosted a Boy Scout Troop, but every organization with physical facilities must learn the lessons stemming from this massive child sexual [...]
Church Membership and Discipline
A church leader read XPastor’s article, Why Church Membership, and submitted the following thoughts on the topic. The individual suggests expanding the topic to include church discipline and gives examples from their church. This [...]
Nine Years of Surveys in a Megachurch
What I’ve Learned about Listening to Our People Watermark Community Church of Dallas uses periodic surveys to better understand congregants’ experiences, hearts, and opinions regarding COVID. Watermark is an enormous church with diverse members. [...]
Tips for Coaching Your Staff
Let's talk about tips for coaching your staff for their personal and professional development. This discussion will be with members of the Lead Self Lead Others Team. The ability of your staff to perform will [...]
New California Sexual Abuse Prevention Legislation—Requirements for ‘Youth Service Organizations’
Attorneys Greg Love and Kimberlee Norris, of MinistrySafe, address issues in a new California law. Elements of this law may be soon in your state. To whom does the new law apply? What action [...]
Opinionated Division, Steen Interviews Fletch
Matt Steen, co-founder of Chemistry Staffing, and David Fletcher, have a poignant talk about the unspoken stress that is causing Churches to make fast and bad, far-reaching decisions. In this Chemistry Conversation, David Fletcher [...]
Why Church Membership?
Hey Fletch … Why should people become members of a church and what are the tangible benefits of doing so? I need to give people a good reason, other than the spiritual ones, to [...]
Discipleship Process of Fellowship Bible of Topeka
Fellowship Bible Church of Topeka has developed an easy to read discipleship process. It gives the big picture of their discipleship method. It’s a very nice document, while being short and easy to read! Yet it [...]
How Outsourcing Helps You Build A Future-Proof Team
Hiring and maintaining full-time, on-site workers is expensive, but churches that can successfully migrate—in full or in part—to outsourced work will position themselves to adapt, survive, and ultimately thrive. As many churches likely realized [...]
Wolves Feasting on Lambs
Pastors and church leaders are biblically aware that predators will prey on their church. One of the biblical roles for the pastor is to be a shepherd and guard the lambs. What pastors generally [...]
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 [...]
Switching Off in an Always On World
There is much conversation these days regarding the Great Resignation. Is it coming? Yes, for some. For those of you that would actually prefer to retain your best team members, start by creating a culture of [...]
Creating a Legacy Life Plan: What most older pastors said they should have done sooner
Join Fletch and Dave Travis, Director of Strategic Counsel to Pastors & Church Boards at Generis, for this fascinating topic. Dave has a vast perspective on how to build a productive legacy season in [...]
Leading in Uncertain Times, Part 2
Welcome back to part two of a two part series where I lay out the final five (of ten) principles that form a path for leading in uncertain times, whether that be a pandemic, [...]
Leading in Uncertain Times, Part 1
The understatement of the century is that the world has changed. And we are all continuing to live right in the middle of this shift. We are being forced to create and adapt new [...]
6 Proven Tips for Keeping Remote Team Members Accountable
We would love to share a top list of proven tips for remote teams around accountability. Our team gets asked these questions very often: How do you know the job is getting done if [...]
Mergers and Acquisitions: Questions to Ask & Financial Due Diligence
Is a merger or acquisition right for your church? While there can be many benefits, a successful merger or acquisition requires more than just finding another church that feels like a natural fit. Join [...]
A Rough Road and How to Align Staff with Vision
Rough roads are tough on any vehicle. They jar, bounce and stress the machine and driver, often knocking things out of alignment. When wheels, tires, steering, shocks and struts are out of alignment it [...]
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 [...]
5 Practical Ways To Lead More Effective Meetings
Church leaders usually fall into one of two categories: you love meetings or you hate them. But meetings are a critical part to building a healthy staff culture, communicating effectively, and developing your team. [...]
What the Church May Look Like After COVID-19
During the CapinCrouse 2021 National Church Virtual Seminar held on February 24 and 25, 2021, I had the opportunity to lead a workshop in which leaders discussed what the church may look like after [...]
Leadership Principles from the Tech World
Molly Matthews is the CEO of Pushpay, a leading provider of donor management solutions that simplify and encourage engagement, payments, and administration, enabling customers to increase participation and build stronger relationships in their communities. [...]
Sexual Harassment in the Church
Hey Fletch … I would like to bring our staff through some type of sexual harassment training and share our sexual harassment policy. Are you aware of any videos, articles or resources that you [...]
Water Cooler Conversations While Working Remotely
Good team communication is a challenge anytime, but even more so when working remotely. While that topic can address many things, let’s focus on how to have those comfortable and helpful water-cooler-type conversations with [...]
Your Pastor’s Heavy Pack
Chances are, your pastor is exhausted. Here are the surprising reasons why. There’s something that church leaders need to know. If you serve on a church board or leadership council, please lean in. Pastor, [...]
Ask Better Questions
Questions are powerful—sometimes more powerful than we acknowledge. Unaware of how to use questions well, leaders unnecessarily bring uncertainty into their group discussions. Now, more than ever, stakes can be knowingly and unknowingly high [...]
Peace with Others
When we think about leadership, we don’t always think about peace. If you’ve observed a skillful and thoughtful leader, you know that their relationships are marked by peacefulness. I’m not suggesting that these leaders [...]
Leadership and the Art of Celebration
It goes without saying that 2020 has brought an abundance of challenges for ministry leaders. We’ve had to take on challenges we never would have expected and might not have been necessarily prepared for. [...]
Hospitality: Shake Shack, Southwest Airlines, Chic-fil-A, Buckingham Palace and the Bible
Danny Meyer is known as one of the world’s top restaurateurs. He leads the Union Square Hospitality Group and is founder of Shake Shack. He was one of the keynote speakers at a Willow [...]
Noise Pollution—How to Decipher the Difference between Smart Ideas vs. COVID-19 Induced Noise
Since the start of COVID-19, we have all seen social media platforms blow up with people providing ideas, strategies, warnings, 5 or 10 ways to completely change over the next 90 days, etc. We [...]
6 Key Considerations for Budgeting in Changing Times
There is still considerable uncertainty about the global COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term effects. What will the effect be on your ministry’s future revenues, expenses, and opportunities? How can you best manage continually shifting [...]
The Changing Reality in America’s Largest Churches
What is going on in megachurches? How are they growing and what is their racial composition? Fletch talks with Warren Bird and Scott Thumma—the premier researchers on megachurches who have just completed their Megachurch [...]
5 Critically Important Things that Church Boards Don’t Like Talking About—Why It’s Not OK and How to Fix It
Fletch and Mike Batts talk through challenging subjects that are often overlooked in board meetings: senior pastor compensation and benefits; compensation of family members; related party transactions; issues that could bring liability or reputational [...]
Casting A Powerful Vision for Small Groups
Even though more than 90% of pastors say groups are the primary vehicle for discipleship in their church, anyone who’s been around church small groups know that groups can be hit or miss. Ryan [...]
Confident Leader
Fletch talks with Dan Reiland about Dan’s latest book, Confident Leader! This will be a fast paced discussion on a vital topic. Come and learn—bring your questions! Dan says about Confident Leader! … The moment [...]
The K Shape: Implications for Churches
This intriguing article, America's Two Coronavirus Realities by Dion Rabouin, perfectly describes what I am seeing in most churches and communities in the U.S. In my last ebook, Beyond: The Forward Focus Framework, I described three [...]
Want to help your team? Give them autonomy
The one thing you can stop doing that will have immediate results As soon as I sent the text message in response, I knew I had made a mistake. It was a relatively simple [...]
Breaking the 5,000 Growth Barrier and Beyond
Why do some churches go from 50 to 500 to 5,000 and beyond, while others seem to cap out at a certain point? What kind of church leader does it take to break barrier [...]
The Next Big Trend for Churches Post COVID
Fletch talks with William Vanderbloemen about the next steps for the church. We are in challenging times and COVID-19 is here for a while longer. Perhaps the end date will be the arrival of [...]
Inside a Church Merger: The Good, Bad and Ugly from Actual Examples
Let’s go inside two different mergers. One looks through the eyes of the joining church, exploring what led up to starting the merger conversation, what issues they needed to work through, what they feared [...]
Developing Female Leaders: Navigate the Minefields and Release the Potential of Women in Your Church
Kadi puts it this way: “What would your church look like if it were to maximize the dormant gifts of the women God has brought there?” That’s a questions that every male and female [...]
Cultivate an Extraordinary Team Culture
Fletch talks with Jenni about Team Culture. Crisis either unites or divides us. And my guess is that you are seeing this more than ever with your team. You want your team to be [...]
Reinvent Your Church with Mission-Based Impact
Fletch talks with Mike Batts on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that churches have to reinvent themselves. Mike is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee. He has more than 30 years of experience serving [...]
Leadership During Crisis: Guiding the Ship through the Storm
No one could have imagined as we began the new year the challenges we would be facing in our ministries, in our relationships, our finances, and our personal lives caused by the “invisible enemy”—Covid-19. [...]
Exposure: Conversation with an Executive Pastor
XP Nick Smith kicks off his church's new series "Exposure" in a discussion with Fletch about the role of the Executive Pastor, diversity in ministry and God's open doors. Nick and Fletch have been [...]
Rethinking Normal: Making the Most of Our Golden Opportunity to Start Again
Anxious to get your church back to normal? You could miss the most effective ministry season of your life. Dumpster Day? Wait, what? I wondered to myself. Sitting in on a Zoom meeting with the [...]
Kim Kira and Bobby Scott Discuss Race Relations
What makes this video of high value is that it is between an Asian American and and African American. This gives good insights into the care that we all must take to root out [...]
Five Reasons Your Organization May Want to Elect the 8-Week Covered Period for Its PPP Loan
The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the “Flex Act”), which became law on June 5, 2020, replaces the 8-week period (referred to in the law as the “Covered Period”) for spending Paycheck Protection Program [...]
Registering to Attend our Church Service … Really?
If you ever attended a sporting event or concert, you likely paid for a ticket and in some cases obtained a reserved seat for that ticket. You may have even tried to obtain entrance [...]
Improv Leadership: How to Lead Well in Every Moment
Fletch talks with Stan Endicott, co-founder of Slingshot Group. Stan has developed Improv Leadership. Improv leaders apply five competencies to initiate powerful conversations, create memorable moments, and craft personal coaching strategies that help people [...]
Reopening Your Church
Christianity Today’s Church Law & Tax recently launched ReopeningYourChurch. This is free website curating important content from Church Law & Tax and other sister websites, including Preaching Today and Small Groups. The goal: A trusted [...]
6 Powerful Currents to Saturate Your City for Christ
Fletch talks with Tim Lucas and Warren Bird on a fascinating story of a New Jersey church that began “on accident” and grew into one of America’s 100 Fastest-Growing Churches, with over 5,000 in [...]
Racial Issues & the Church: Is “Blackout Tuesday” the Best Answer?
Four church leaders explore race relations in the church and society. Fletch and Mike Gould will be joined by XPs Nicholas Smith and Tim Samuel. First we listened to Nick and Tim share perspectives from [...]
Re-Opening Checklist for Portable Churches
It’s a confusing time we live in now–especially if you are a leader in the church. Generally, leading is very real work. Specifically, leading during a time of pandemic is simply exhausting. Why? Because [...]
How Churches Can Benefit From The Remote Workforce
It's estimated that by the year 2020, 43% of the workforce will be freelance, 60 million people. That’s roughly four times the number in 2015 of 15.5 million. Moreover, businesses and churches are discovering [...]
Befriending Your Monsters
Luke Norsworthy started a powerful conversation at this year's XP-Seminar. Many pastors were deeply moved by Luke's talk. Join us for more as Fletch and Luke Norsworthy discuss Luke's latest book, Befriending Your Monsters: [...]
Setting Vision for Your Church
Vision is more than one short statement. Your church needs that short statement but it also needs much more. The vision statement is the tip of the iceberg. Vision statements set out far-reaching goals and [...]
PPP Loan Good Faith Certification: Now What?
As CapinCrouse previously reported, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) will perform a “full audit” of the loan applications of all recipients of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans [...]
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. [...]
Cass Commercial Bank: Outstanding Customer Service in the Pandemic
Cass Commercial Bank has shown tremendous help to its clients during the pandemic. The following note demonstrates their concern. It begins with the important question of "how you are doing?" It then acknowledges the [...]
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 [...]
What Church Leaders Must Do, and Not Do, in the Pandemic
One of the CEOs I coach leads an organization with almost five hundred employees. In a video call with him this week, he began by explaining how he spent two days calculating when the [...]
April 22 Analysis, Don’t Pop The Champagne, yet …
Don’t pop the champagne yet, but … Yesterday on April 22, the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. was its lowest ever at 1.9%. I was hoping in my estimate that this would happen [...]
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 [...]
Virtual Instruction–Navigating Online Resources and Child Safety
Greg Love and Kimberlee Norris of MinistrySafe have created a five page document on Virtual Instruction–Navigating Online Resources and Child Safety. This is both an analysis and a collection of best practices. The document is [...]
Post-Coronavirus Facility Reopening Checklist
Churches will reopen for public worship but the timing of that remains uncertain. It could be late May or in June. There are many questions about reopening, especially about safety protocols for a facility. [...]
Weathering the Pandemic’s Economic Impact
Fletch and Warren Bird talk about how church looks differently right now for all of us during the coronavirus pandemic. On this podcast, we cover finances, outreach, and other key insights to keep your [...]
COVID-19 and Culture Shock
COVID-19 has brought culture shock and angst to us all. David Fletcher and Mike Gould explain our discomfort at home, in the home-office, shopping and family life. Experience a one-minute street scene of India [...]
Nurturing Your Team Culture in Turbulent Times
Jenni Catron gets to the questions of: “How do I help my team adapt to this new work-from-home normal?” “How do I navigate the challenging financial and staffing decisions I’m facing?” “How do I provide guidance for [...]
The Green Squiggly Line and Your Church: Good and Bad News about Eradicating COVID-19
The good news is very good. By Sunday, April 19, the daily growth rate of COVID-19 in the United States should be at 1%. This is a sharp decrease from the 76% daily growth [...]
Video Discussion of The “After Party”
Mike Gould and Fletch hosted Chad Cronin, Campus Pastor at 2|42 Community Church. In an informal discussion, Chad shares about how their church is hosting "After Parties" for newcomers. These Zoom rooms are ways [...]
Fletch’s Analysis on Monday, April 6
This crazy chart is hard to read, at first. The orange bars are the number of COVID-19 cases. They rise from 13,677 on March 19 to an estimated 367,408 for today, April 6. These [...]
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 [...]
Streaming Sunday Slowed COVID-19
When 60 million Christians began to gave up in-person worship on Streaming Sunday, they helped slow the growth of Covid-19. Although there is tremendous economic loss in the Stay-at-Home orders, this helped reduce the [...]
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 [...]
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered through the SBA 7(a) program
Cass Commercial Bank has prepared preliminary information on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered through the SBA 7(a) program. Things may change some as the program works itself out on website and lenders. Thanks [...]
Great and Free Resources from Around the Web
There are many free resources on XPastor about Covid-19. There is a wealth of free information on the web. Here is just a smattering of those that we follow. Beware of information overload. There [...]
How to Lead a Staff Remotely
Chemistry Staffing led a recent webinar on the "The Nuts and Bolts of Virtual Leadership." This conversation with church leaders is about how to make the shift from in-person ministry to leading a remote [...]
New Law Requires Employers to Pay Certain Benefits to Employees
Michael E. Batts, CPA, is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee, P.A., Certified Public Accountants. Along with partner Michele Wales, CPA, and CPA Kaylyn Varnum, they unpack a complicated new regulation from the [...]
Covid-19 Care Response Volunteer Procedures
Fellowship Bible Church of Winchester, Virginia has developed a 12-step procedure for Care Response Volunteers. These volunteers delivery grocery and medicine to those who are unable to travel to a grocery store or pharmacy. Special [...]
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 [...]
Fletch and CapinCrouse on Covid-19, Free Webinar Recording
David Fletcher joined Rob Faulk and Lindsey Whinnery to talk about Managing the Impact of COVID-19: How Churches Can Respond. Rob and Lindsey are both partners with CapinCrouse, a national full-service CPA and consulting firm [...]
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 [...]
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly about Coronavirus for Your Church
The past seven days have been a slow burn of bad news. Just when you think things couldn't get worse, they do. Then they do again. The Coronavirus has touched all of us in one way, shape, [...]
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 [...]
Coronavirus: Stay Prepared and Stay Informed
As Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads across the globe, so does the misinformation on the internet. So, who can you trust? It is especially important that church (nonprofit) leaders are using credible information sources, [...]
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 [...]
I’m Thinking About Giving Up Church for Lent
You heard me right. I’m thinking about giving up church for Lent. Last year I attended a church that placed a high priority on all the disciplines associated with Lent Season, beginning on Ash Wednesday [...]
Covid-19–A Reasonable Response
As of this writing on March 12, 2020, Covid-19, the disease cause by the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), is on everyone’s mind. Questions abound, stirred up by a 24•7 media cycle that thrives on catastrophes. There [...]
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 [...]
The Kryptonite of Multisite Momentum: Sustaining A Vision For Rapid Multiplication
Unfortunately, I am old enough to reminisce about the original “Adventures of Superman” created in the 1950s. But proudly, I am young enough to have only viewed them as reruns in the 1960s! It [...]
Five Insider Tips for Pastoral Success in 2020
Fletch and Jonathan Jarboe talk on five keys to make 2020 a great year for your church. In the 40 minute webinar, they will discuss 1) Staffing—how to maximize volunteers in your church, 2) [...]
When to Use Outside Experts
Churches used to be able to handle a crisis or major event on their own. The current scenario is complicated by publicity on social media, a tangle of laws and regulations and the prevalence [...]
When Embezzlement is Discovered
The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has a downloadable PDF detailing what to do when fraud is discovered.1 When a church discovers embezzlement within the ministry, the following issues should be considered with the assistance [...]
WheatFields’ Report Card on Risk Management
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 [...]
Red Flags of Embezzlement
This material is from The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. With its mission of Enhancing Trust, ECFA now certifies nearly 2,300 Christ-centered churches and ministries based on its high standards in financial management, governance [...]
Areas of Risk Management
We have brought together material from Mike Batts and from Brother Mutual to see the scope of risk management. Mike Batts is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee. He has more [...]
9 Essentials of Avoiding Fraud
Fraud is just about losing money, right? Fraud does have negative financial implications for churches, but the impact goes far beyond money. Fraud and misuse of church resources can create sensational news—and not good [...]
WheatFields’ Report Card on Volunteer Screening
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 [...]
Utilize the Experience of Your Insurance Agent
Charlie Cutler is the Managing Partner of ChurchWest Insurance Services and works with over 3,000 churches. He offers these thoughts from the perspective of an insurance agent. As ChurchWest says, “A good agent will [...]
US Screening Trends 2019
Not all background checks are created equal, while Protect My Ministry educates and emphasizes proper ordering, 40% or 4 out of every 10 churches are knowingly ordering a lesser search than they should. This [...]
Background Check Blueprint
When making personnel decisions including hiring, retention, promotion, and reassignment, employers and organizations sometimes want to consider the backgrounds of volunteers and employees. For example, some organizations might try to find out about the person’s [...]
An Insurance Company on Child Protection
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company has a free, 60-page ebook, Child Protection in a Ministry Environment: Guidelines for Ministry Workers. With sample policies and forms, the major areas of the book are: Identifying Abuse: Disrupting [...]
An HR Professional’s Perspective on Reference Checks
Tiffany Henning is an expert in human resource issues. Henning earned certifications of Professional Human Resource (PHR) and Chartered Retirement Professional Counselor (CRPC). She created a non-profit human resource network called HR Ministry Solutions [...]
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 [...]
Tools for Averting Predators—Preventing and Discovering Fraud
These tools are provided by The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. With its mission of Enhancing Trust, ECFA now certifies nearly 2,300 Christ-centered churches and ministries based on its high standards in financial management, [...]
Reflections from an Attorney on Sexual Offenders
Eventually most churches encounter a known registered sex offender who is either already in the congregation or desires to attend. Trying to determine whether or how to live with a wolf is dangerous and fraught [...]
10 Discoveries: The Latest Research on Church Mergers, Part 2
Fletch talks more with Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin about the preliminary findings on "Church Mergers" for those who participated in their online survey. Bird and Tomberlin write: Topics include: • What motivated your [...]
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 [...]
An Executive Minister on Church Event Safety
Our youth and children’s ministers recently said, “This is one of the most spiritually transformational events that we do.” We were discussing a camp for elementary age kids where our youth serve as counselors. [...]
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 [...]
Board Meeting Minutes and the Four Social Styles
I’ve recently had numerous inquiries about board meeting minutes. You can snooze now or later. So I’ve been thinking about the four social styles. Those four styles are analytical, driving, amiable, and expressive. I [...]
A Personal Perspective on Worship Songs
I recently visited with a pastor of a large church who articulated his concern for the state of music and worship in the church. He described his view of church music as a “cutting [...]
Important Considerations for Church Benevolence Programs
Many churches have benevolence programs to assist members and others in the community during times of emergency or financial crisis. Situations of need can — and often do — arise unexpectedly. Having a written [...]
10 Discoveries: The Latest Research on Church Mergers, Part 1
Fletch talks with Warren Bird and Jim Tomberlin about the preliminary findings on "Church Mergers" for those who participated in their online survey. Bird and Tomberlin write: Have you experienced a church merger first-hand? [...]
Spiritual Development and Ministry Metrics
Spiritual growth is a process and you can help people on that path. Identify your process and key milestones to measure. Obtain and utilize the right data. Fletch and Mark DeMoss will examine this [...]
Preventing Sexual Abuse in Your Church
Sex abuse claims remain the top reason churches go to court each year. Fletch interviews Matthew Branaugh, editor for Christianity Today’s ChurchLawAndTax.com, about this troubling ongoing trend in the church. What policies and protocols [...]
Four Ways to Nurture Your Community to Increase Participation
Every church wants their people to be as involved as possible. No one wants a church of people on the sidelines. So, why isn't better engagement happening more often? Watch the Video [...]
David Fletcher and Mike Gould Answer Questions about Church Ministry
Fletch takes questions live from webinar participants about a wide range of church ministry. Mike Gould hosts the time as questions come in about how to run a church, staffing, compensation and more! [...]
Watch Out for Boards Asleep at the Wheel
Golden Opportunities Are Missed When a Board’s Eyes Are Wide Shut It was a Busby family vacation trip to Texas. The afternoon we drove from Houston to Dallas is still etched in my memory. [...]
The Complexity of Today’s Church—New Risks We Face
Learn from a Compiled Case Study Dan Black, Executive Pastor of WheatFields Good News Church, thought on what had been said at the Risk Management Team meeting. “Maybe I need a better handle on [...]
Becoming a Healthy Church
What will it take for your church to become a healthier church? Given the realities of your particular ministry setting, how will you begin that process? If you were to start that process today, [...]
Registered Agents with Our State
Hey Fletch … I would like to say that the XPastor website is awesome! My church has changed the treasurer for the church. Is it necessary to make an amendment with the State of Texas? [...]
A New Scorecard: Why Your Church Needs Spiritual Measurements
Four years ago, our staff huddled up in the Senior Pastor’s office to answer one question: What are the marks of a disciple? The person leading the meeting drew a figurine on the board [...]
Five Common Problems in Multisite Churches
When the modern multisite practices were started, I had the happy accident of being around. Working with our team at Leadership Network, we set up a gathering of 100 or so practitioners in Chicago [...]
Millennials and Discipleship
Hey Fletch … I’m a millennial and thinking about the call to prioritize and pursue discipleship in my own life, both upwards and downwards. Do you have any articles that I could read on this [...]
Help for Ministry Strategy
Friday, March 29, 2019 Hey Fletch … I found your site on a Google search and was impressed with all of the resources and tools to help pastors. You're awesome! I have a question [...]
Bullying and Harassment
Hey Fletch … An article on XPastor mentions a doctoral dissertation by Dr. Art Hunt, I Never Expected This Would Happen To Me. I would be very grateful if you could let me know how [...]
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 [...]
45 Minute Meetings. Really???
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 Hey Fletch … I read the Hey Fletch column on February 12 about the 45 minute meetings. This just won’t work. How am I supposed to do an annual review in [...]
Church Metrics
Thursday, February 21, 2019 Hey Fletch … I am wondering if you have any suggestions on books that show the importance of “Knowing Your Numbers.” I have found that keeping my finger on the pulse [...]
45 Minute Meetings
Hey Fletch … I heard you say once that you often limit meetings with staff to 45 minutes. Can you explain that to me? DRF—Your memory is better than mine. I don’t recall saying that [...]
What Does It Mean? “Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand”
Thursday, February 7, 2019 Hey Fletch … Thank you for all you are doing in the will of God. Matthew 4:17 says, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, ‘Repent, for [...]
Staff Not Responding to Email
Hey Fletch … I send out emails to our staff and don’t get a response. What should I do? DRF—First, make sure that your emails ask for a response. Keep each email with just one [...]
Campus Expansion
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 Hey Fletch … I have admired you from afar and the work you do! We are a multisite church with over 3,000 people. We need some creative strategies for future campus [...]
Church and School Issues
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 Hey Fletch … We are seeking some consulting regarding our church and a school we have. We are trying to make strategic decisions regarding the school and looking for a consultant [...]
Spouse Travel and Expenses
Friday, December 28, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our senior pastor is going to a conference and purchased a ticket for his wife as well. I don’t have any policies regarding spouse expenses. Suggestions? DRF—The bottom [...]
How to Review the Elders, Senior Pastors and Staff
Friday, December 21, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our church doesn’t have a clue about how to do reviews. We want to review our Elders, Senior Pastor and staff. Can you help us? DRF—The place to [...]
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 [...]