How to Find a Meeting Location for Your New Church

Last week I shared some thoughts on raising funds for a new church plant (click here for that post), and today I’d like to tackle another issue that’s vital in starting a new church… LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

Once you’ve confirmed the call of God to plant a church, securing a meeting location is one of the most important – and sometimes most challenging – tasks on your agenda.

Here are a few “do’s and don’t’s” to finding just the right place for your new church to meet:

• DO clarify your target area. Has God called you to a specific community or neighborhood?  Is there one part of town where you just know you’re supposed to be?In searching for a meeting location, you don’t want to venture much further than 5-10 minutes outside of your target area, so you need to have that target area fairly well-defined.
• DO look for locations that are familiar to the people you’re trying to reach. Ask around and observe people’s patterns, then use that to give you some ideas.Since you’re brand new, people won’t be familiar with you so you want to make sure they’re at least familiar with your location.  The familiarity factor is why some of the best meeting locations for a church plant are schools, movie theaters and community centers.
• DO ask God for eyes to see beyond the “obvious.” Sometimes an answered prayer for “fresh eyes” is just what you need to find your next meeting location.There is a tendency to lock in on one or two potential meeting spaces to the neglect of dozens of others.  Block out some time, take a drive and ask God to open your eyes to the possibilities.
• DON’T make a rush decision on a meeting location. Your new church’s meeting location is very important and not to be decided lightly.If God has called you to this area, then He has also picked out just the right meeting place for His new church!
• DON’T ever stop looking for meeting locations. It’s a good idea to keep a running list of potential places to meet for as long as your church is portable.You never know when a sudden growth in attendance, a school board policy change or an excessive rental rate hike might have you scrambling for a different space, so it helps to stay ahead of the curve.

Church planting is an exercise in faith… And sometimes it’s in that moment just before you give up that He’ll lead you to the location you were hoping for all along!

P.S. If you’re starting a church I want to give you more than $85.00 of Church Planting Resources for FREE.  Click here to download yours today!

How to Invest Your Advertising & Promotion Budget (Part 1)

I shared some thoughts on how to set up your church’s budget a while back (click here for that post), and today I’d like to give you the first of two “hard-learned” tips about how to spend that budget.

I want to address specifically how you spend the line item in your church’s budget marked “advertising” or “promotion” or whatever you have chosen to call the funds that you have set aside to spend on getting the word out about your church.

You do have an advertising budget, don’t you? If not, that may be a topic for a different post…

Too often I see well-meaning church leaders take their already scarce advertising budget and make two painful (and completely avoidable) mistakes that lead to very few, if any, results in their churches.

Here is the first of those two painful mistakes (and how to avoid it):

Advertising Mistake #1: Spreading the advertising funds so thin that none of it makes an impact.

I see this all the time.  Your church carves out a few thousand dollars to spend on advertising for the year and then tries to streeetttccchhh those funds to do something each month.

The end result is that very few people are even presented with your advertising message (whatever media you choose  to use) and you end up disillusioned about the whole process.

Solution Principle #1: Focus every dime of your advertising budget on your church’s Big Days.

Like I teach in The Ignite Seminar, I believe churches can maximize their evangelistic efforts by building to four “Big Days” each year (one in February, Easter Sunday, one in the summer, and one just after school starts).

By focusing your advertising on these special Big Day opportunities, you can afford to touch more people with your ads AND you can boldly avoid….

Advertising Mistake #2 (which I’ll share in Part 2 on Monday)

P.S. For more information on planning, preparing, promoting, executing and following up on “Big Days” at your church, check out The Ignite Seminar.

Assimilation/Ministry Pastor Wanted @ The Journey Church in NYC

Are you the one?  You may be just the pastor I’m looking for…

I’m looking for an “A” player to fill a key pastoral position here at The Journey Church!

Fair warning: This position is not for the faint of heart.

However, if you have the skills and experience below and a raging passion to “give the people of New York City the best opportunity to become fully developing followers of Jesus,” you may be just the right fit!

Here’s the official position description:

The Journey Church is a contemporary 8 year old church in New York City with locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.  The position of full-time Pastor of Ministry & Assimilation is currently available.

The Journey consistently has approximately 1,000 adults attending weekend services, over 1,100 in groups and expects continued growth.

PASTOR OF MINISTRY & ASSIMILATION

Responsibilities:

Leadership, growth and innovation of The Journey’s ministry and volunteer systems – with the goal of getting 50% of Sunday attendance involved in meaningful ministry on a weekly basis.  Also, leading The Journey’s assimilation system in moving first time guests to becoming fully developing members.

Requires the ability to lead teams effectively and to raise up new leaders.  Also, organizational and administrative skills are a must.

Must be extremely hard-working and have had leadership experience on a large and growing church staff.  Other desired characteristics include strong interpersonal skills; growing leader; team builder; sense of humor; risk-taker (seminary not required).

No resumes will be considered that are not personalized for this specific position and that are not accompanied with a Cover Letter that outlines:

1) Your ministry experience
2) Why you are interested in this specific position
3) Why you might feel called to New York City

Familiarity with the book “Fusion” by Nelson Searcy is a must.

If you are interested, email a resume and a detailed cover letter to Pastor Kerrick Thomas, our Executive Pastor, at kerrick@journeymetro.com.

Sorry, but emailing me or contacting the church in other ways shows that you can’t follow instructions and thus you won’t be considered – ha (but true!).

- Nelson

New Maximizing Easter E-Book & Webinars!

If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you already know that I’m convinced that NOW is one of the greatest times in our lifetime to reach more people and grow our churches!

Combine that with the fact that Easter is the most likely day of the year for unchurched people to attend your church, and Easter 2010 has tremendous potential to expand God’s Kingdom!

That’s why today I’m releasing my revised and expanded Maximizing Easter 2010 E-Book!

I went back and updated this new version with information we couldn’t fit into last year’s Easter e-book, plus a lot of what we learned from your feedback.

Download your Free Copy of the Maximizing Easter 2010 E-Book (PDF) here:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/easter

I want to do even more to help you make the most of Easter this year, so I’ve put together a brand new Maximizing Easter Webinar that I’ll be leading for you next week.

In this 75-minute webinar I’ll walk you, your staff and your volunteers, step-by-step, through implementing the most important ideas from the E-Book and give you many more impactful ideas that were not included.

Best of all, you and your entire team can participate without ever leaving the office!

We’re offering the Maximizing Easter Webinar at 4 different times to be sure that you can attend one of them, PLUS - just for registering you’ll receive over $190.00 in FREE BONUSES (more than 4 times your investment for the webinar).

For more info and to Register Now for the Maximizing Easter Webinar:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/webinar

Perfection – A Saturday Quote

“The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement.”
- George Will

How to Fund Your Church Plant

I get the distinct pleasure of investing in a lot of church planters through our ministry here at Church Leader Insights.  In fact, we give away thousands of dollars worth of resources to church planters every week (click here for more info).

That means I get to hear all sorts of stories – some good and some bad – and answer A LOT of questions.

One question that we’re asked pretty regularly involves funding a new church plant – especially in a “less than ideal” economic environment.

Here are a few tips that will help you raise the funds that your new church will need to launch and become healthy as soon as possible:

• Pray over, plan and polish your vision and strategy before you start trying to raise funds. Nothing says “I won’t be a good steward of your financial support” like not having a plan.  The more serious you are about the process, the more likely others will be to take you seriously.
• Put together a list of everyone you think might possibly have a heart for what you’re doing, complete with their contact information. You never know who might be willing to support the new work until you begin asking. Intentionally carve out time on your calendar to call, call, visit and call some more.
• Ask clearly and boldly! Remember that you’re giving people an opportunity to invest in God’s Kingdom work – don’t back into the question about financial support or say no on their behalf. Paint the picture of what God is doing, ask boldly, and await their answer.
• Don’t let ‘no’ defeat you. If God has called you to start a new church, He has also made available just the right resources to fulfill that calling.  When you’ve clearly and boldly asked and someone says no, move on to the next person on your list.
• Be creative to expand your list of potential supporters. When someone says ‘yes’ and agrees to support your new church, ask them if they know of two or three others who may be willing to partner with you.  When someone believes in you and your work, they may very well know others who will too.
• Don’t burn your bridges. That church that wasn’t willing to partner with you two months ago (before you had anyone else on board), may be willing to help now that they see others doing so.  A ‘no’ today doesn’t necessarily mean a ‘no’ forever.
• Over-communicate your gratitude. When someone agrees to partner with your new church send them a handwritten thank you note immediately.  That shows that you truly are thankful and serves to reinforce the commitment they just made to the new church. And send another note (with an update on the work) each time you receive a check from them.

A mentor of mine told me many years ago that, “If you’re the lead pastor (or church planter), you ARE the chief fund raiser for your church… Get over it!”

If you truly believe in the new church that God has called you to start, then you’ll be asking people to come to your church, give their lives to Christ, give financially, serve in the church, join the church and so on and so forth.

You might as well use this time to learn to be a “Master Asker.”

P.S. My friend and Coaching Alum Jimmy Britt mentioned this and a lot of other good tips for church planters in a recent post on his blog — Click Here to Read.

P.P.S. If you’re planting a church right now (or in the near future), I want to give you more than $85.00 in Church Planting Resources – including “Funding Your Church Plant.”  Click Here to Get Your Resources Now.

Last Call – Coaching Starts Tomorrow!

Well, you’ve probably heard me talking about it for a while now, but my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching  Network begins TOMORROW and I have just a few spots available!

I shared in this post a couple of weeks ago my frustration with the negativity and pessimism that is running rampant right now in many church leadership circles.

I really believe that now is the best time to reach more people and grow your church!

This network gives me the opportunity to come alongside of you and partner together in a coaching relationship for the next 12 months to help you grow your leadership and your church.

So Pastor, my question for you is this: What are you going to do over the next year that will take you through a proven process to grow as a leader and to lead your church to greater effectiveness?

Growing churches are led by growing leaders!

If you’ve been waiting to apply for some reason, today is the day!

The first call is tomorrow and if you’re serious about maximizing your leadership and ministry I’d love for you to join me.

Download and submit your application now:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Teach Your Church to Value Newcomers (Free Sermons)

One of the many benefits of having coached so many great pastors is the sharing relationship that we build.

For example, Pastor Steve Wilson of China Grove (NC) First Baptist Church is a Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Participant.

He recently sent over some sermons that he preached to help the people of his church tune into the needs of the guests that God sends their way.

I talk a lot in The Assimilation Seminar about how your church’s guests are gifts from God.  He could have sent them to any church in the area, but he prompted them to attend yours.

That’s a powerful concept that’s vital for church leaders to understand, but it can be a tough topic to try and teach your people.

Steve did a great job with these two sermons and he gave me permission to share them with you today:

• Sermon #1: GETTING READY FOR COMPANY
• Sermon #2: GUESTERIZING OUR CHURCH

Thanks Steve!

P.S. My new Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors starts THIS THURSDAY, so I’m making one Last Call for Applications.  To find out more and download your application, CLICK HERE.

How to Get to Know Your People (Demographics)

Since we planted The Journey and especially since my book Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch came out, I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries and questions about what’s involved in starting a new church.

One of the more frequently asked questions is about Demographics.  It’s normally asked something like this: “I know I need to learn more about the people in the area where we’re starting a church (age, family makeup, income, etc.) but how do I get that information?”

Here are four solid sources of demographic information:

1) Your denomination.  If you’re affiliated with a denomination, you can check with them to see what’s available — many denominations will provide you with demographics free of charge.  For example, Southern Baptist churches can obtain free demographics through the North American Mission Board.

2) Another free source of demographics is ZIPskinny.com.  This site is helpful for seeing basic demographics and projections.

3) The Leavell Center of Evangelism in New Orleans offers a more comprehensive set of demographics for a very reasonable cost.

4) The best reports that I’ve seen can be obtained from The Percept Group.  They’re a little more costly, but they are easily the most extensive and useful on this list.

Church Planter: Let me encourage you – no matter where you get your demographic information – make it your aim to learn everything you possibly can about the people God has called you to reach.

This will have far-reaching benefits, from promotion and advertising to ministry strategy to planning your preaching, all combining to help you and your new church be as effective as possible!

P.S. Are you planting a church?  I’d like to give you more than $85.00 of church planting resources to help you in getting started.  Sign up for yours by clicking here.

There’s No Such Thing – A Saturday Quote

“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.”
– Tom Peters, Author

Can I Help You Read More This Year?

Well, now they’ve done it!

For years one of the frequently asked questions in my coaching networks has been “How can I read more?”  And for years I’ve been able to quietly give a tip or two in passing and move on, but now…

The team here at Church Leader Insights has twisted my arm and convinced me to share my hard-earned – and up until now closely held – secrets to reading more in a brand new, 75-minute webinar called (creatively enough) “How to Read More.”

The How to Read More Webinar
Tuesday, February 16
1:00pm – 2:15pm Eastern
12:00pm – 1:15pm Central
11:00am – 12:15pm Mountain
10:00am – 11:15am Pacific

Here’s some of what I’ll be sharing:
- How to find time to read (without robbing time from the more important things)
- How to know what to read (and what NOT to read)
- How to increase your reading speed (hint: its not by becoming a speed reader)
- How to retain what you read
- How to get everything you can from a book
- How to stay motivated to read (and not to feel guilty if you aren’t)
- Plus much more

Plus, just for Pre-Registering you’ll receive over $97.00 in FREE BONUSES (that’s more than three times your investment).

So, will you join me (on the phone and over the internet) for this practical training opportunity?

Hurry though, you have to pre-register to get your bonuses and this thing is filling up fast!

REGISTER NOW FOR THE
HOW TO READ MORE WEBINAR

P.S. If you’ve been waiting to apply for my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network, now’s the time — it starts next Thursday — Click Here to Download Your Application

A Record-Breaking Big Day Report!

I‘ve found that February is one of the best times each year to reach new people, so ’tis the season for Big Days!

I just received a great report from Jamey Stuart, Senior Pastor of Believers Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Jamey is a two-time coaching alumni, an advanced coaching grad and one of our great CLI-certified trainers – he gave me permission to share this report with you:

Hi Nelson,

Our Big Day was BIG!

If a Big Day is an all out push towards a specific Sunday in order to break an attendance record and reach as many as possible for Jesus, then we did pretty good.

Average attendance at Believers has been around 585 recently. Sunday we had 796! Our previous non holiday attendance record was 694, so we smashed some records and created a lot of buzz and a lot of momentum.

We had 5 people make decisions for Christ, but I had some very significant spiritual conversations with folks who are clearly getting close and even got a couple of them connected with a small group. It was a GREAT Big Day!

Thanks for your leadership and teaching to make it happen. Felt like I implemented the plan and had a textbook big day. In saying that, I don’t want to discount God. He kept the bad weather north of us, he touched peoples’ hearts, he brought them in. Grateful just to be a part of it.

Anyways, thanks for your impact on Believers Church in Chesapeake, and thanks for your friendship!

Blessings,

Jamey

That’s an awesome report Jamey – Go God!

And great job cooperating with Him to “smash some attendance records.”

P.S. Time is running out for you to apply for my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network (it begins next Thursday) — click here for more information and to apply now!

P.P.S. To learn more about planning and executing a Big Day in your church, check out The Ignite Seminar.

Free Growth Barrier Resource – Today Only!

I am convinced that right now is the best time to grow a church.

People  are most open to the Gospel in times of tension, trouble and transition — and there’s plenty of each going around!

So, I’m excited about the potential for growth over this next year and I want to help you break your next growth barrier this spring.

So, with that desire and in preparation for my new Tele-Coaching Network (which begins next Thursday), I want to give you your choice of one of my bestselling Growth Barriers resources (Breaking the 65, 125, 250 or 500 Barrier).

To receive your Free Growth Barriers resource, click the link below and enter the current growth barrier you’re facing (65, 125, 250 or 500):

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/giveaway

P.S. There’s still time to apply for my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network, but you need to hurry! For more info and to apply, click here.

A Good Marriage – A Saturday Quote

“A good marriage is when you’re married not to someone you can live with, but to someone you really cannot live without.”
– Dr. Howard Hendricks, Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

Have You Seen ‘The Shark Tank’?

Like Tim Ferriss in his book The Four Hour Work Week, I think a little TV for relaxation is OK (24 anyone?).

But every once in a while there’s a show that is entertaining and instructive. Here’s one:

The Shark Tank

During this one hour show entrepreneurs make sales pitches to a group of investors and either walk away with money or straight-talk-street-smart advice.

So far, I’ve found leadership lessons in every show (think ‘early Apprentice,’ before it went haywire or like ‘The Pitchmen’ before Billy Mays passed).

I have to thank my co-author Jennifer Henson and her husband Brian for turning me on to this show.

This is a great show for leaders and church planters. Check it out!

- Nelson

P.S. Are you learning anything from a current TV show that you would recommend?  Click the “Ask Nelson” button on the right side of this blog and let me know.

NEW PODCAST – Interview with Perry Noble

Don’t miss this month’s Church Leader Insights Podcast, where I interview Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC, about leadership, stewardship and moral integrity.

In this special podcast, you will actually get an ‘inside look’ into my current TeleCoaching Network for Senior Pastors where participants had the chance to hear from Perry… now, you do too.

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.

You’ve Been Lied To…

Do you know what?

I’m sick and tired of hearing everyone tell me why right now is such a bad season for the local church . . . whether its the constant news about the economy or the uncertain mood of our nation or you name it.

Everybody seems to be telling us pastors that we should just ‘hunker down’ and ‘hold steady’ or ‘wait it out’ until the economy turns around, the weather gets better or . . .well, you get the picture.

But you’ve been lied to!  They are wrong!

NOW is the BEST time to grow your church!  And I’ll tell you why.

People are MOST LIKELY to attend church and turn to God when:

1-    They are under tension
2-    They are in transition
3-    They are in trouble

And right now there’s a ton of each going around.  Everywhere you turn there’s trouble, transition and tension  . . . and (between you and me) that excites me!

Because I know that right now people are more open to God then they’ve ever been in my lifetime.

That’s why I will say it again: NOW is the BEST time to grow your church.

Now is the best time to reach new people.

Now is the best time to be aggressive about evangelism and assimilation.

Now is the best time to challenge yourself and your people to step it up.

Now is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see our churches impact our cities and communities like never before.

I heard one pundit say, “Never waste a crisis!”  I don’t want you to waste this time of crisis either by listening to the lies of the slow-growth/no-growth mentality coming from certain areas of the ministry world.  They are wrong!

I mean, think about . . . almost all of the churches that we look up to today as model churches (I’ll resist mentioning their names since we all look up to different ones and come from different denominations and backgrounds. .  . But you know who they are) are churches that chose to THRIVE not shirk back during the last economic recession.

One highly influential church that I am intimately familiar with was birthed during the last great recession of the early 1980s . . . and today, thousands around the world are being impacted.  I can’t prove it but I can only imagine that the pastor of this church heard the no-growth/slow-growth pundits of his day saying it ‘can’t be done in 1980′ so just ‘wait it out.’  Thank God he didn’t listen!

I hope you won’t listen either!

So, let me ask: what could you do over the next six to twelve months to give your church the best opportunity to capitalize on the tension, trouble and transition that we are facing?

To say it another way, what are you going to do over the next 6 to 12 months to grow your church?

Are you going to buy into the lies of those who say, “wait – not now – this too will pass”?

OR

Will you step up to the call that God has placed on your life and say, “Here I stand . . . everyone else may slack up and shut up and back up but I’m going to step up and reach up and (dare I say it) grow up and be the Pastor God called me to be.”

Will you say, ” Whether the economy is on an up turn, a down turn or a u-turn, I’m going to reach out to the lost people in my community and do everything I can in the power of God and His Spirit to keep them from perishing!” (See 2 Peter 3:9)

That’s what I’m doing and that’s what I’m challenging you to do.

In fact, I’m going one BIG step further . . .

I’m looking to PERSONALLY INVEST my time, talent and God-given ministry insights to come along side of Pastors (like you) with this mentality.

Here’s how committed I am . . . .I’m going to do all I can to not only be the pastor that God has called me to be here in New York City but to also be the ‘COACH’ God has called me to be to other pastors.

In just a few short weeks, I’m starting a new Coaching Network for kingdom-minded, church-loving, evangelistically-passionate pastors.

And if this is you, then I want you to consider applying.

I’m not looking for complacent, weak-in-the-knees, mealy-mouthed ministers who are looking to ride it all out until the next boom time.

I’m looking for passionate, God-called, Spirit-driven pastors who are ready to see their church (and themselves) go to the next level.

Here’s what I know . . . now is NOT the time for average!

Now is NOT the time for average leaders, doing average things in average ways.

Now is NOT the time to do what we did last year and “hope” for different results.

Now is NOT the time to stick our seminary-trained heads in the sand and expect that the devil is strapped for cash and won’t bother us until things turn around.

Now IS the TIME FOR ACTION.

Now IS the time to accept new challenges . . .

. . . to break out of the confining box of what we’ve always done

. . . to invest my time and resources in the handful of opportunities that can significantly impact the growth and Kingdom-reach of my church.

Are you READY for the challenge?   Is NOW your time?

If so, then please follow this link to learn about my NEW Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors that begins on Thursday, February 18.

Follow this link (or keep reading for even more):

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Since 2004, I’ve personally coached over 600 pastors (you can read some of their testimonies below) and I’ve probably talked to 600 more who drug their feet or shook their head and refused to join or even apply for one of my networks because of one lame brained excuse or another.

Believe me, I’ve heard it all:

I would join your coaching network IF . . .

If it was on a different day . . .

If it didn’t require a 12 month commitment . . .

If it was at a different time . . .

If it was in my town . . .

If it wasn’t a long distance call . . .

If it was half the investment price . . .

If you offered me a scholarship . . .

If the application was online . . .

If things were better between me and my elders/deacons/staff/wife or dog!

If . . .If . . .If . . . NOW is not the time for if’s!  Now is the time for action.

Trust me, you’ll thank me later for being so hard on you.

The fact is, the average Pastor who completes my network sees 30% growth in their church within a year after completing the network.  Many see MUCH MORE!

What could God do in you and your church over the next year if you just had the faith to step out, stand out and fill out your application?

Keep reading the FAQ below for more details or you can download your application right now at this link:

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Yes, I’m fired up as you can tell from this email.  I’m fired up about those who lie to us and try to hinder the work of God and I’m fired up about the incredible potential of the local church and I’m fired up about this new Tele-Coaching Network.

But mainly, I’m fired up because I know what God can do in our churches over this next year!  Join me on this ride, won’t you?

I look forward to reviewing your coaching application and I apologize in advance if I can’t fit you in because you waited too long to act or if your application doesn’t prove to me that you really want to be a part of this ministry-changing, Kingdom impacting and leadership-defining network.

Your friend (and truth-telling-renegade-pastor),

Nelson

P.S. I know that some of you are like me and you want to read all the details.  Well, at the link below you can find the answers to Frequently Asked Questions, testimonial videos, and much more.  Read it closely but don’t wait too long to apply.

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Guerrilla Lovers? Vince Antonucci Stops By Today

Today I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for Vince Antonucci and his new book, “Guerrilla Lovers: Changing the World with Revolutionary Compassion” (along with a bunch of free resources for pastors, guerrilla assignments, and more at www.guerrillalovers.com).  Vince is a church planter and pastor, and so he knows about fundraising and teaching about money…

So Vince, one of the chapters in the book had to do with how a guerrilla lover handles their money.  Can you tell us about that?

Answer: Sure.  We live in the richest country in the history of the world, but most of us spend most of our time trying to figure out how to get more money.  Guerrilla lovers try to figure out how to give it away.  It’s a whole different approach to spending.

Like, for me, I’ve made a decent amount of money in the last few years.  And I’ve spent it in all kinds of ways – an iPod, a car, clothes.  But, to be honest, I can’t remember how it felt to purchase any of those items. They were all things I was excited to buy, and felt like I “needed” but actually acquiring them gave me no rush.

Let me tell you what did.

On two different occasions in the past year my wife and I decided to give some extra money away. Both times we knew of a family in need and realized that some of our extra could meet their need. So each time we told our kids what we were going to do, filled an envelope with hundred dollar bills, and drove over to the home of the family.

We wanted our act of kindness to remain a secret, so the whole way over we discussed how we could drop off the money undetected. The kids were getting more and more excited, but tried to whisper. (I’m not sure why, maybe they think our car is bugged.) Finally, nearing the house, we turned off our headlights and parked behind a tree.

I quietly opened my door and then ran towards the house, keeping cover behind bushes and parked cars. I slid the envelope under the welcome mat and then ran back to the car. I gently closed the door, we put the car in reverse, turned it around, and then sped away, everyone in the family celebrating that we had not been caught and imagining how the family would react when they found the envelope.

That was a rush. I can’t think about it without smiling.

And that’s how guerrilla lovers spend their money, and that’s life changing.

Thanks Vince, that’s good stuff!  And if you want to order Guerrilla Lovers, you can do so here.

Free Webinars for Senior Pastors Start Tomorrow!

Over 600 Senior Pastors have already signed up for my Top 3 Growth Barriers Webinars this week, are you one of them?

I really enjoy doing this webinar – it’s 2 hours of content, based on my bestselling “Growth Barriers Workshop” resource.

You’ll learn to identify the top 3 growth barriers that all churches face regardless of size AND some principles and strategies to break through each of them!

So if you’re a Senior Pastor and haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time and space for you to sign up – but I encourage you to register now.

I’m doing this webinar at 4 different times for your convenience:

Tuesday, February 2 (1:30pm – 3:30pm)

Wednesday, February 3 (3:00pm – 5:00pm)

Wednesday, February 3 (7:00pm – 9:00pm)

Thursday, February 4 (4:00pm – 6:00pm)

(All Times EASTERN)

To find out more and to register now, CLICK HERE before it’s too late!