Special for Today – 2010 Stimulus Package (Because you asked for it)

Some of our most popular resources at Church Leader Insights are those that deal with pastors and church leaders personal growth.

Many of you have requested that we put together some sort of “Pastor’s Personal Life Package” of resources.

So here it is – your 2010 Stimulus Package!

By investing in this one package (up to $100.00 in savings), you’ll receive:

• Setting & Achieving Godly Goals
  This new 3-hour seminar will teach you how to set and achieve Godly Goals in your leadership, your church and your personal life.

• Time Management for Busy Pastors
  With this 3-hour seminar, you will learn 34 proven time management principles that you can apply immediately to save yourself up to 60 hours each month.

• Leadership Skills for a Growing Church
  In this 3-hour seminar, you’ll learn the 6 “secret skills” that every leader can develop to help you lead your church to greater growth and effectiveness.

P.S. Hurry, Package Special Ends 11:59PM this Monday, January 4th!  CLICK HERE

Free Resources for Church Planters

Are you planting a new church?

Following God’s call to start a new church is a heroic task and I have a standing offer to give you more than $85.00 in church planting resources for FREE!

Your free resources include:

	The Call of a Church Planter ($23.95 Value)
	Funding Your Church Plant ($23.95 Value)
	Launching Large ($13.95 Value)
	Starting Small Groups from Scratch ($23.95 Value)

To sign up for your FREE Church Planting Resources, simply click on the link below and follow the directions:

FREE STUFF FOR CHURCH PLANTERS

Merry Christmas

Since I’m pretty sure that there won’t be too many of you reading my blog over the next couple of days, I wanted to pause today to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.

As for my own family, Kelley and I are looking forward to celebrating together with our son Alex.  He is about 3 1/2 years old now, and he’s understandably excited about Christmas!

You’re a part of the Church Leader Insights family and I thank God for the opportunity to partner with you to maximize your leadership and grow your church!

Have a safe and enjoyable Christmas.

Your friend,

Nelson

P.S. Don’t forget about the big CLI Christmas Sale going on now through January 4!  Click here for details.

Register Today – Fusion Webinar, January 12

I want you to join me on Tuesday, January 12, from 1:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern time for The LIVE Fusion Webinar.

This will be my first webinar training of 2010 and it deals with a system (Assimilation) where you can see almost immediate results after even the smallest improvement, so it should get your church off on the right foot toward maximum growth in the new year.

The Fusion Webinar is all about helping you become the best possible steward of the guests that God sends your way.

Best of all, you (and your entire Assimilation team if possible) can join me for this training without ever leaving your office or home!  You just need a phone and a computer with internet access to participate.

To help you make it worth your while, I’m giving you some of my most helpful assimilation resources as bonuses (worth far more than your $39 registration fee) just for signing up!

You’ll learn:

• Principles to help you create an inviting environment for first-time guests
• How to ”wow” first-time guests into wanting to come back
• The Journey Church’s ”Assimilation System,” used to follow up with the 30+ first-time guests who attend the service each week
• How to turn first-time guests into second-time guests
• How to turn second-time guests into regular attenders and then fully-engaged members
• How to drastically increase the number of guests who give you their contact information
• How to use a Connection Card (Including what to put on it – and what not to put on it)
• How to get people to turn in a Connection Card
• Plus much more!

P.S. To learn more or to register now for The LIVE Fusion Webinar on January 12th, CLICK HERE.

Don’t Miss the Christmas Sale!

I know most of you are making final preps for your Christmas Eve services, putting the finishing touches on your 2010 preaching calendar or maybe even out and about Christmas shopping, but I wanted to be sure you know about something special that Church Leader Insights is offering right now.

Today through January 4th, we’re giving you a chance to pick up 4 of my most powerful, comprehensive resource packages at savings of hundreds of dollars (one of them saves you over $1000.00)!

To find out more and secure one of these packages at a price you won’t see again, go to:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/christmas-sale/

‘Tis the Season for Upgrading Your Assimilation System

It seems like this is the time of year for you to share what you’ve been learning and putting into practice with me and the Church Leader Insights team.

Here’s a note I recently received from Pastor Kevin Yandell, of New Community Christian Church in Morris, Illinois about some of the changes he’s made to his church’s Assimilation System:

Hey Nelson,

We have made several changes that I know are going to bring tons of great results.

We changed our Connection Card and that change has increased the number of people completing the card.  I have received many positive comments from regular attenders about the Next Steps on the back of the card.

I also wrote out my Welcome and Closing scripts.  The first few weeks, the devil was laughing, because we had no 1st time guests.  But this past Sunday we had 7 1st time guests.

I email those who give me email addresses and thank them for coming and invite them to write back their thoughts about their time here.  I have received a couple of very helpful responses.

I also started writing notes to 1st and 2nd time guests and including a gift card with each.   We are giving 1st time guests “How Good is Good Enough”, along with a mug and other stuff in a gift bag.

I am excited about these changes and I know that God is going to use these changes to allow us to reach many more people.

Thanks for all you are doing.

Pastor Kevin Yandell
New Community Christian Church

Good work Kevin – and thanks for the update!

As you’re wrapping up 2009 and moving into 2010, I encourage you to take a realistic inventory of your church’s systems and make plans to upgrade.  One thing is for sure, if you keep doing what you’re doing you will keep getting the results you’re getting!

P.S. To upgrade your church’s Assimilation System, check out The Assimilation Seminar.

Pressure… A Saturday Quote

“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.”
– Tommy Lasorda, baseball manager

Should You Keep Mailing Offering Envelopes?

Any of you who have listened to The Stewardship Seminar or The Stewardship Intensive know that I am a firm believer in creating custom offering envelopes for your church and including them in each week’s program/bulletin.

In fact, I shared our latest envelope design from The Journey (including our Christmas Offering info) in a post a few weeks ago (click here to download).

Since there are so many different styles of offering envelopes out there (including those tiny ones that can barely hold a quarter) and methods associated with receiving the offering , the transition sometimes leaves churches with a few questions.

One such question is about using an Offering Envelope Service, with personalized printed envelopes for all of your church members, typically distributed annually or quarterly.

Many churches have been using these services for years and ask me about whether they should discontinue because of their new system.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a reason to stop the envelope service.  The cost of these services is typically very inexpensive, so just do both!

In fact, we do both at The Journey – we have envelopes in every program each week and we mail out envelopes to our members and regular givers.

Some people who get the mailed ones asked to be removed from the mailing and said they would use the ones we provide on Sunday, but we have a lot of people who appreciate the convenience.

That said, we saw a much bigger increase in giving when we went to envelopes in the program compared to when we add people to the mailed envelope service.

P.S. Is your church’s Stewardship System due for an upgrade?  Check out my most comprehensive stewardship resource, The Stewardship Intensive.

Ignite Ideas – Right on Time!

Among the responses I’ve received to Ignite: How to Spark Immediate Growth in Your Church is this note from Rob Huffman, Senior Pastor of Clearview Church in Chesapeake, Virginia and one of my Coaching Alumni:

Nelson,

Thanks for the insight in the new book. I read it the first day I got it in about 2 hours.

I am already working with my Associate Pastor to focus on our 4 big days for next year.

It’s funny you would write about the calendar and the big day, because the Sunday before we got the book we put 4 big days on the calendar for next year.

So reading the book helped reinforce that.

Thanks!

Rob

Isn’t it great how God seems to bring just the right book or resource at just the right time to equip us to do what He’s leading us to do!

I am far from the first person to write about using “Big Days” to help grow your church, but in Ignite I tried to give a solid explanation of how Big Days tie into your overall Evangelism System.

Thanks for the feedback Rob!

P.S. You can order your copy of Ignite: How to Spark Immediate Growth in Your Church by clicking here.

What Could You Do with 150+ New People Serving? + Free Downloads

One of the new resources we released in 2009 is The Ministry Seminar. It is our newest systems seminar and it’s all about getting the maximum possible number of volunteers involved in serving at your church.

Here’s a recent email I received from my good friend Roy Mansfield, Small Groups Pastor at Northstar Church in Panama City, Florida (and former CLI Director of Training Events), about how they were able to use The Ministry Seminar in their church:

Hey Nelson,

We hired a Marketing entrepreneur in our congregation to work three days a week to oversee our “Front Lines Ministries” (greeting, ushers, cafe, parking, child check-in etc…).

I had him listen to The Ministry Seminar and worked with him to design the process and ministry ladder for the Front Lines.

Marty and I team taught our version of “You Were Shaped to Serve” in our 40 Days of Purpose campaign (I climbed a “leadership ladder” and everything) and we had 171 people sign up to serve for the first time!

By Thursday, Mark and his team had everyone contacted to schedule their first serve opportunity.

It was a great day (we even had 9 people become Jesus followers and 11 more request info about making that decision) and I think the law of spiritual preparedness was a big part of the effectiveness.

The Ministry Seminar was a great tool for me to give to Mark!

Pray for us as we’re kicking off our “LOL: Discovering the Joy of Service” series in two weeks and our plan is to challenge people in one service to walk out of the service the are attending and stay and serve in the next service.

Thanks again for your investment in so many churches.

Roy

171 People signed up to serve for the first time in ONE DAY! That is unbelievable – way to go!

Roy also sent over some of the documents they’re using with all of the new people serving, and gave me permission to share them with you, so here they are (right-click and choose “Save As…” to download each of them):

• Front Line Ministry Opportunities & Commitments
• Front Line Service Sign-Up
• Ministry Leader Covenant & Commitments
• Weekly Server Covenant & Commitments
• Service Leader Covenant & Commitments

P.S. What are you going to do in 2010 to get the most possible people involved in serving at your church? Check out The Ministry Seminar for a comprehensive look at how to build your church’s ministry system.

First Time Guests that Can’t Wait to Come Back

The Church Leader Insights team and I love to read your email about how God is using what we do to help you lead your churches and reach the unchurched.

Here’s one such email I received recently from Pastor Al Marks and asked if I could share with you:

I have to tell you a story from Sunday.

A young couple and their kid visited. The wife turned in a connection card. We send the email and a handwritten note with a Starbucks card. The following week they were back.

She came running up – gave me a hug and said, “Thank you so much for your note. It meant so much. It made me cry. I can’t believe a church would send us such a sweet gift. I couldn’t wait to come back.”

God is honoring our efforts to track first and second time guests. We started the end of August and have averaged 3-4 first time guests per week. Of those who turn in connection cards, we are having about 70% second time visits.

Of those who come a second time we are finding about 90% sticking coefficient. We have seen six come to membership with five baptisms. That is in two months. We are definitely praising the Lord around here.

Thanks for all you are doing to bless the kingdom.

Al Marks
First Baptist Church Vallejo
www.FBCVallejo.com

And thank you, Al, for sharing – Keep up the good work!

I would love to hear how God has used this ministry to help you and your church in 2009.

If you have a brief story you’d like to share, just click on the “Ask Nelson” button on the right side of the blog and send me your Praise Reports!

P.S. To learn how to WOW first-time guests and put a system in place to help them move toward fully-committed members of your church, check out The Assimilation Seminar.

Executive Pastor Webinar – Did You Miss It?

Kerrick Thomas (our Executive Pastor at The Journey) really did a great job on the webinar he led last week called The Top 3 Skills Every Executive Pastor Must Master.

There was a high turnout (over 300 Executive Pastors participated), and the early feedback has been very positive.

Just in case you missed it (or you were on the call but want to listen again), Kerrick set up a webpage where you can listen to the audio from his webinar at:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/xpreplay

Also, on the listening page you’ll find links to the resources that Kerrick mentions in the webinar AND a very special deal on one of our most comprehensive resources (for a limited time only).

P.S. Kerrick is beginning a BRAND NEW Executive Pastor Tele-Coaching Network on January 21.  You can find more information and download your application by clicking here.

Achieving Your Goals – A Saturday Quote

“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”
– Tom Landry, football coach

P.S. To learn about setting and achieving Godly Goals that will positively impact your leadership, ministry and family, check out my new resource, Setting and Achieving Godly Goals.

NEW PODCAST – Top 9 Books of 2009 for Church Leaders

December is a great time to look back over the previous 12 months, reflect, collect all that you have learned and celebrate what God has done.

One area where 2009 has been a great year is with regard to incredible books for church leaders!

We’ve seen proven additions from Geoff Surratt, Gary McIntosh and Elmer Towns, among others.

As the old saying goes, all leaders are readers, and that’s especially true of growing church leaders.  With that in mind, below you’ll find the Top 9 Books of 2009 for Church Leaders.

Click Here to Listen Now

P.S.  Did you know that you can subscribe to the podcast, so that you’ll automatically get each month’s CLI Podcast?

For more info on Subscribing to the Podcast, click here.

Igniting a Culture of Evangelism

I am still blown away by all the great feedback you have been sending about my latest book, Ignite: How to Spark Immediate Growth in Your Church.

It’s so rewarding to see how God is already using it to encourage church leaders to stoke the fire of evangelism in their churches.

I got permission to share one of the emails I received recently from Pastor Mat Weeks in Arizona:

Nelson,

I started Ignite today.  Honestly, I was not looking forward to it.  I thought it would be another book on doing a ‘big day’ and I didn’t want to read a book on doing a ‘big day’.

I’m not against or theologically misaligned with ‘big days’—just stink at doing them and they’re a lot of work.  Forgive me, after all, what I was thinking, of course the “Systems Guy” is gonna deliver more than ‘how to do a big day’ in a book on evangelism!

I was very encouraged to read that Ignite will show me how to “create a consistent culture of evangelism” in my church.

In fact, I have been praying for God to lead and assist us in that very endeavor, so the book must be part of His Divine response—and I’m confident it will deliver!

Have a great weekend bro,

Pastor Mat
Horizon Church
Surprise, Arizona
www.YourHorizon.org

P.S. If you still haven’t grabbed your copy of Ignite, you can order it from Amazon (best price available) by clicking here.

Cultivating the Spiritual Gift of Generosity

As church leaders, we’re all called to make disciples.  A big part of the disciple-making process is helping people recognize and grow in using their spiritual gifts for God’s Kingdom.

This is not a foreign concept to any pastor I know – in fact, you are probably doing it already with respect to some spiritual gifts.

For example, if someone has the gift of serving, you give them opportunities to serve.  If someone has the gift of hospitality, you let them serve as a greeter.  If someone has the gift of leadership, you give them opportunities to lead.

As Pastors and Church Leaders we have an obligation to cultivate all of the spiritual gifts.

But how do you cultivate those people in your church who have the gift of generosity?

Here are some ideas to help you cultivate the gift of generosity in the people of your church:

1 – Familiarize yourself and them with God’s generosity. Jesus talked about money more than heaven and hell combined.  Read through the Gospels and look at the generosity of Jesus with the person in question.  Read the parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16), The Parable of the Worker’s in the Vineyard (Matthew 20) and others.

Remind them that God doesn’t give us what is fair, he gives to us out of His grace.  Generous giving is an extension of God’s grace and His work.  Generosity is not fair.

2 – Don’t neglect the tithe. Generous giving is above the tithe.  The Bible tells us that the tithe belongs to God, so generosity is not giving something that already belongs to God.  Remind people to continue to be diligent in their tithe and know that generous giving is above the tithe.

3 – Help them to recognize God’s voice in their life. Most people who have the gift of generosity are compelled to give a specific number.  Help them to have confidence in the direction that they’re given.  Encourage them to only give what they’ve been told/compelled to give.  No more or less.

4 – Teach them to discern how they are to give what God calls them to give. Sometimes they are to give anonymously and sometimes they are to do it with someone else’s knowledge.  God may not only use them to give but to compel others to do so.

There may be times when they’re to give their gift with someone’s knowledge through a testimony to help disciple others.  Sometimes their giving and someone else knowing is to teach that person or to compel them to do the same.  God uses people with the gift of giving to be examples to others.  Encourage them to only do that which God leads them to do.

5 – Encourage them to never be motivated by guilt or manipulation. Others who find out that they have this gift or ‘are just a generous’ person may try to take advantage of them.  Encourage them to not allow this to happen.  God has given this gift to them and it’s their responsibility to be obedient.  He’s already found them to be a good steward, now it’s just up to them to be obedient.

6 – Challenge them to grow in their gift. There may be times when they’re to give a gift that seems completely outrageous.  Challenge them to trust God that this is the right gift to give.  Take it as a challenge and opportunity for growing their faith.

Look for ways to give in both large and small ways.  It may be as simple as leaving behind a larger tip for their waiter or it may be that they’re to give to a large endeavor.  Help them to look to grow in their gift not only by the amount that they give but by the number of opportunities that God gives them.

7 – Let them know there may be times when God doesn’t give them a figure to give. He just wants them to give out of the gift He’s given them.  That’s an opportunity for them to use their discretion.  During those opportunities let them know that there’s no right or wrong gift.  God just wants you to use the gift He’s given them.

8 – Challenge them to set goals for their giving. One of the things that Jesus taught in the Parable of the Talents is that “you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.”  Encourage them to look for opportunities to grow spiritually through their financial goals.

9 – Teach them to be wise about those who concern themselves with your gift. Studies have shown that generosity as a spiritual gift is given to a small percentage of believers.  With that in mind, they should be careful of people who seem overly concerned with their gift.

10 – Lastly, remind them that they can’t out-give God. We can try, but it will never happen.  In fact, it’s a lot of fun to try to out-give Him and watch how He blesses in return.

P.S. Here are some great resources to help you cultivate the spiritual gifts of the people in your congregation:

• For more on cultivating the gift of generosity, check out The Stewardship Intensive.
• For more on cultivating the gift of hospitality, check out The Assimilation Intensive.
• For more on cultivating the gift of serving, check out The Ministry Seminar.
• For more on cultivating the gift of leadership, check out Leadership Skills for a Growing Church.

LAST CHANCE – Free Webinar for Executive Pastors

This is Kerrick Thomas – Executive Pastor at The Journey.

I just wanted to give you one last chance to participate in my FREE webinar “The Top 3 Skills Every Executive Pastor Must Master” TOMORROW, Wednesday (December 9) from 1:00-2:15pm (EST).

I’m really looking forward to this webinar - and really believe it will be a big help to Executive Pastors (and even to you Lead Pastors who wish you could get more out of your Executive Pastor or who are looking for just the right person to be your future Executive Pastor)!

During our time together we’re going to be looking at 3 of the most important skills that that have helped make my time as Executive Pastor at The Journey Church successful, fulfilling and yes…even enjoyable.

I want to help you apply these skills so that you will be better at relating to and helping the Lead Pastor, leading staff, managing the finances and taking responsibility for your own professional development.

It’s not too late for you to sign up for this 75-min webinar.

Just CLICK HERE for more info and to REGISTER NOW!

How to Structure Your Church for Growth (Part 4)

Today’s 4th and final installment on structuring your church for growth is going to be a bit of a turn from the previous 3 posts.

After looking at the issues of by-laws, church governance, and budgeting, today I’d like to share a few quick thoughts about the importance of having your salary package set up properly.

For whatever reason, many of us in church leadership tend to neglect the issue of our personal finances, especially when it comes to how our salary package is set up.

I would dare say that the vast majority of pastors I talk to about this are currently erring on one of two sides when it comes to the way they’re getting paid:

1) They are unsure/afraid that they’re in violation of Federal and/or State tax laws, or 2) They are leaving a considerable amount of money on the table (ie: paying more than their share of taxes).

What does this have to do with your church growing?  Well, you’re not going to be able to devote your attention to leading your church if you’re too busy looking over your shoulder for the tax man!

With the special nature of clergy tax laws and the myriad of unique rules and potential pitfalls, I have one big recommendation, Pastor:

Get some professional help!

I recommend Steve Merriman and his team at Clergy Advantage (formerly Clergy Financial).  They know more about clergy tax law than anyone I have ever met – including the IRS!

I’ve never been more thankful for the Clergy Advantage team than I was about a year and a half ago when I was audited by the IRS.

The minor expense of paying for a group of people who work with clergy salary issues EVERYDAY is more than worth the peace of mind of knowing you’re in good hands.

Don’t waste another day living in fear when it comes to your taxes – Get some help!

P.S. Clergy Advantage is offering a Free Webinar on Tuesday, December 15, called “Tax Free Money for Ministers.” You can read more and register now by clicking this link.

Your Goals – A Saturday Quote

“Your goal should be out of reach, but not out of sight.”
– Anita DeFrantz, Olympic rower

P.S. To learn how to set goals that will positively impact your leadership, ministry and family, check out my new resource, Setting and Achieving Godly Goals.

Perry Noble on “What Makes the Church Come Alive”

Here’s one of the articles from the most recent CLI Newsletter.

We pack each newsletter with the best content the web has to offer. Here’s an example from Perry Noble:

WHAT MAKES A CHURCH COME ALIVE?

“CHANGED LIVES…when dead people are being brought to life a church cannot remain on life support.  Changed lives change a community! . . . THE GOSPEL…when the Gospel is THE agenda instead of some ridiculous issue that happens to be the ‘fad of the year’. . . PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY…when people in the church begin to accept responsibility for where they are in their spiritual journey…and then are willing to do something about it.” Read the full article here…

The Church Leader Insights Newsletter is designed to bring the best and latest thinking on Church Growth, Evangelism, Leadership and Church Planting directly to your inbox every month!

If you’re not already subscribed, you can click this link to sign up right now.