Wow! I am blown away, hundreds of Senior Pastors have already joined me for my Breaking The Top 3 Growth Barriers Webinars and TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!

In this 75 minute webinar I’ll help you identify the Top 3 barriers keeping your church from growing AND how you can break those barriers to reach the people that God wants you to reach.

You can still sign up and join me for one of three FREE webinars that best fits your schedule:

• TODAY from 11:00am-12:15pm Eastern OR
• TODAY from 2:00pm – 3:15pm Eastern OR
• TODAY from 7:00pm – 8:15pm Eastern

Click the link below to reserve your spot NOW.

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/index.php/free-stuff/top-3-growth-barriers

Passionate. That is how I would describe my stance on seeing healthy churches grow. I think that the simple fact that you are a reader of my Blog means that you are also passionate about seeing your church grow.

Over the next 3 days, I am going to lead my Top 3 Growth Barriers webinar for FREE at 9 different times! Why would I make this commitment to senior pastors? Because I know that as much as you want your church to grow, God wants it to grow even more than you do.

Will you invest this time to join me for one of the upcoming webinars and see what God can accomplish as we work on your church together?

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared with what lies within us.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

It’s Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church with a quick question for you?

When is the last time you read the story of Samuel anointing David as the future King of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16)? It’s one of the great stories of the Old Testament, and as I was reading it this week it took on a whole new meaning for me as a pastor and a worship leader.

Let me explain . . .

In the Old Testament when a person was pronounced king, they underwent the tradition of being anointed with oil. The oil was poured on the soon-to-be king’s head. From there it ran down the hair, through the beard and all over the body.

This symbolized two important things . . . God’s spirit being poured out on the new King (1 Samuel 16:13), and the belief that as goes the King (oil running down the head), so goes the Kingdom (running over the rest of the body).

As goes the King, so goes the Kingdom.

What an incredible illustration of the power of Godly leadership . . . both then and now!

To make this even more personal think of it this way . . .

“As goes the pastor, so goes the church.”

OR

“As goes the worship leader so, so goes the worship team.”

Humbling isn’t it?

You and I carry the responsibility not only of our own health and growth, but also for our churches and our teams.

When we are growing, our churches will as well. But when we’re stagnant . . . well you know how this sentence ends.

This principle is true across all areas of our ministry:

• Your team will be ready for rehearsal to the extent that you are ready for rehearsal.
• Your team will pray for and prepare for Sunday to the extent that you do.
• Your team will model Christ-likeness and generosity to the extent that you do.
• Your team will . . . you get the picture!

So, as leaders of churches and worship ministries we must have a constant focus on our own personal growth — spiritual, leadership, artistic, etc — because you can bet our teams have a constant eye us!

Over the next few weeks I want to share with you THREE WAYS that you can invest in your personal growth (and as a result the growth of your team) this year.

Let’s cover the first one today . . .

#1 – CREATE A WRITTEN PLAN FOR YOUR GROWTH

You will grow only to the point that you plan to grow.

If you approach personal growth (in any area of your life) with little thought, goals or plans, don’t be surprised when you find yourself in virtually the same ruts a year from now that you’re in right now.

Personal growth requires planning.

In my coaching networks I walk worship leaders just like you through a process of how to create a one-year personal growth plan. This growth plan has one simple purpose – to assure that you are growing in your faith, your family life, your ministry and other key areas over the next 12 months.

It is a powerful process that provides a written game-plan for the year ahead and markers to help you stay on track.

Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision and make it plain…”

God’s instruction to Habakkuk can also apply to you and I.

Write down a clear vision / plan for what you want to see God do in and through you this year, and you will likely see it come to be!

Next week we’ll talk about Step #2, but for now here are some thoughts to help you get started on your written growth plan:

1. Set aside one-hour this week to write down your plan for growth in the following areas:* Faith – your spiritual growth plan* Family – goals you have for your family / marriage / relationships* Reading – books and topics you want to read

   * Ministry – milestones you want to celebrate and challenges you need to overcome

2. Pray and ask God to help you accomplish your goals / plans for these areas.
3. Post your plan in a place you can see it everyday to help you stay on track.

Your partner in ministry,

PS – Are you ready to GROW YOURSELF AND YOUR MINISTRY this year?

I want to invite you to be a part of my NEW Tele-Coaching network for Worship Leaders beginning on March 16. And when you apply by February 15 and are accepted into the network, you will receive over $733.00 in savings and bonuses.

I have personally coached 200 Worship Leaders in the last 6 years through these networks and for many of those:

• The worship team volunteers DOUBLED
• Worship services become MORE CREATIVE and LESS STRESSFUL
• The relationship with the Pastor DEEPENED
• The Worship Leader got MORE done, FASTER, so they could work on the MOST important things (and make it home for dinner each night

For me – the joy of coaching is in the fruit it brings to your life and your church’s.  So YES… I’m passionate, and YES, I would like for you to seriously PRAY about joining this network.

Just go to www.worshipleaderinsights.com/coaching to learn more and apply online!

Between now and this Thursday, January 19, I’d like to give you one of my bestselling “Breaking Growth Barriers” resources absolutely FREE ($29.95 Value)!

As a fellow Senior Pastor, I realize that reaching more people and growing a church can be overwhelming. Combine that with the fact that churches all seem to face specific barriers along the way that threaten their ability to reach more people for Christ, and it’s a recipe for frustration.

Not reach new people week after week, month after month, even year after year is disheartening to even the most Kingdom-minded pastors!

I want to you break through your current growth barrier this spring! Select from one of four resources this week (choose the resource that is one step above your current weekly ADULT attendance):

• Breaking the 65 Barrier
• Breaking the 125 Barrier
• Breaking the 250 Barrier
• Breaking the 500 Barrier

To choose your FREE resource, click the link below:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/index.php/free-stuff/growth-barriers-giveaway

Go ahead and download yours today- it ends this Thursday, Jan 19

Here’s why I’m doing this… basically two reasons:

1- I WANT TO HELP YOU BREAK YOUR NEXT GROWTH BARRIER THIS SPRING.

We’ve had a tremendous response to recent webinars, live events and new resources, and I’m sensing that more members of the Church Leader Insights family are ready to go to the next level than ever before.

2- A KEY THEME OF MY NEW SENIOR PASTOR TELE-COACHING NETWORK IS “BREAKING GROWTH BARRIERS” SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU A TASTE OF WHAT WE WILL COVER.

This resource will give you a jumpstart on the Tele-Coaching Network before it begins on February 23.

The Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network is a proven, 12-month process to take you and your church to the next level.

You can learn all about coaching and apply online at www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching.
Again, to download your NO COST Breaking Growth Barriers resource, simply visit:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/index.php/free-stuff/growth-barriers-giveaway

Looking forward to a great spring ministry season together,

Nelson

P.S. Do you know of another Senior Pastor who might want or need this FREE Resource? Please forward this email to them!

Here’s the link again:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/index.php/free-stuff/growth-barriers-giveaway

Hurry – the giveaway ends this Thursday, January 19

And, feel free to share this link with your fellow Senior Pastors via Facebook, Twitter or email. This FREE resource is for Senior Pastors Only.

“If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him.

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

- Ben Franklin

The final touches are done on my upcoming LIVE event that is about to hit three states – New York, Oregon and California. I will teach the Six Secret Skills All Senior Pastors Must Develop.

Over the last two decades, I have been mentored by and learned from some of the most effective church leaders in America. During my interaction, I’ve discovered a handful of vital leadership secrets from these pastors that the rest of us just don’t know.

In this brand new seminar, I will reveal to you the six secret leadership skills that you need to lead a healthy, growing and effective church.

In New York Area:

Friday, January 20
9:00am – 12:00noon

In Portland Area:

Thursday, February 16
9:00am – 12:00noon

In San Francisco Area:

Friday, February 17
9:00am – 12:00noon

This seminar will teach you:

• Which of these skills are non-negotiable, regardless of your natural ability and intuition.
• Why “balancing your time” is a myth and how you can effectively manage the increasing demands on your time.
• The dangers of attempting to lead your church alone and how you might be limiting what God wants to do.
• The secret skill required to multiply your ministry by building teams and reproducing leaders.
• The shift you must make in your thinking to become a “future focused leader” (and why that’s so important).
• How to ensure that you keep your leadership relevant and unchanging, at the same time.
• How to harness the power of goal setting to accomplish more and grow your faith.
• The bonus effect that these skills will have on your family and personal life.
• What one trait is common among all high-impact church leaders (you might be surprised).
• How your generosity sets the tone for everyone within your sphere of influence.
• The contrarian truth about how much you should be resting to be productive.
• A surefire secret to finish your ministry well through the power of the Sabbath.
• And much more!

Space is Limited – Click to register today!

As you begin your week, I have a suggestion for you. Don’t be average. The average pastor is going to handle this year just like he did last year and see the EXACT same results. What if you take just 20 minutes and “Check-up” on your church? It’s time to listen to the ”2012 Church Systems Church Health Check Up” Podcast, I think it would be a great way to start this week as your look towards 2012 at your church.

Click Here to Listen Now

In this “first of the year” audio training, I will walk you through how to evaluate the major systems of your church and gives you specific steps that you can take to improve those systems over the next twelve months. This practical podcast will challenge you to take an insightful look at the health of your church and map out a course toward progress.

P.S. Want to learn more about church systems?  Register today for one of my upcoming “Introduction to Church Systems “ webinars.

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/systemswebinar/