I wanted to share this brief article that I wrote recently:

You and I may look different on the outside but beneath our skin we are a function of common machinery. We both have hearts that pump blood, even though we are different blood types. We both have senses that take in the world, though some of yours may be more elevated than some of mine.

In the same way, all churches are made up of a set of common systems, even though we may utilize those systems in slightly different ways based on our individual calls to ministry. The question isn’t whether or not these systems are in place, but whether or not we acknowledge and maximize them.

Even if you are not sure what the eight church systems are, much less how to keep them healthy, they are there, ready to help you achieve God’s purpose for your church – and we all know that part of that purpose is to mobilize disciples.

None of the eight systems of the church would be able to function without people. In fact, I like to say that relationships are the tracks on which systems run. Each system encourages you to fine tune your skills for developing disciples and mobilizing them to carry out the work of the church.

That said, there is one system that focuses specifically on this goal: The Ministry System. The Ministry System asks, “How do we mobilize people for significant ministry in our church?” God wired people to grow as disciples through serving. If you don’t have a system in place that helps your people get plugged in, you will be hurting both yourself and your untapped leaders.

You will never mobilize disciples if you aren’t continually creating disciples and teaching them to have a heart for service. And since all of the eight systems will ultimately be run by volunteers, you need as many dedicated servers as possible.

Your church will thrive – and you will save yourself a lot of stress, time, energy, and money – when you have well-developed systems in place and stocked with people who are motivated in pursuit of a common vision. How do you make that happen? By understanding and strengthening each of the eight systems that operate within your church.

To learn exactly what these systems are and how you can do your part to cooperate with God by maximizing them, check out my free report “Healthy Systems, Healthy Church” at:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/resources/church_systems_report.php

God is not haphazard with His church, and neither should we be. Let’s all do our part to develop the eight systems of the church fully so that God can work through them mightily.

I’m honored to be a part of an incredible lineup of speakers today at the ChurchPlanters.com Conference near Atlanta.  There is something exhilarating about being in a room full of people who are so passionate and driven by God’s call on their lives that they are stepping out to start new churches all over the country.  I love to think about how many lives God will change through the faithfulness of the church planters I am with today!

I’m talking today about one of my favorite topics: the importance of building healthy systems to manage a growing church.  The biggest of all the reasons why I love church planting is because it is effective: church plants reach more people than existing churches.  However, without the right systems in place, even the most passionate and gifted church planter will struggle to lead a growing church.

If you don’t mind, please take a moment to pray for me and all of us at this conference (speakers and attendees).  Thanks!

For more information on church systems, click here to download my FREE “Healthy Systems, Healthy Church” Report.

P.S. I will be leading the LIVE One-Day Launch Conference in the Baltimore area on Tuesday, March 17 (my only one for the year).  Click here to find out more or to Register Now.

It’s that time of the year again. When the two top teams from the NFL
compete for the title of Super Bowl Champion!

In keeping with that time-honored tradition, we too wanted to be part of the
Super Bowl fever and create our own mini Super Bowl!

So here it is. We decided to look over our resources that have made the
greatest impact in 2008, and from there have our very own Super Bowl offer
featuring those seminars and resources.

Here they are:

• The Evangelism, Assimilation, Stewardship, Small Groups and
  Strategy Seminars
  
• 10 of our most in demand sermon series (that’s over one year’s worth of sermons)
• Breaking Growth Barriers workshop
• Leadership Skills For A Growing Church
• Time Management For Busy Pastors
  
• PLUS 14 MORE GAME WINNING RESOURCES!

We’ve put all of these “top performers” in one package and we’re making it
available at over 50% off!  This offer is good until midnight Monday.  So,
before your team wins or loses go ahead and place your order here: CLI Super Bowl Package

Now, I know what you might be thinking, “But I already have some of these
resources.”  Well, you could give away 1/2 of the resources, help some other
pastors and still save money.

For more info or to order go to:
CLI Super Bowl Package
or call 800-264-5129 today.

Please review the package and you will agree there are so many great
resources – an incredible price – that will benefit you, your family and
your church!

Happy Super Bowl watching!

Nelson Searcy

P.S. Enjoy the game and make sure that you too have your own personal Super
Bowl plan and goals for 2009!

P.P.S Yes, the game is still a few days away, but we couldn’t wait any
longer to share this great CLI Super Bowl Package with you! Click here for the CLI Super Bowl Package.

Since 2002 we’ve meet in portable locations – nine different locations to be exact. From schools to renovated funeral homes (not recommended) to cinemas to off-broad theaters to concert venues.  I love being portable and I love the benefits of being portable (keeps the entrepreneurial spirit alive, mobilizes more volunteers, keeps you fast and fluid, frees up money for evangelism, etc.).

Recently Bob Franquiz and I sat down and recorded a new resource entitled The Portable Church Challenge. I had hoped to send the CLI family an email about it today and offer it for purchase but there have been some delays in packaging.

But, my delay is your gain – I want to offer you the complete resource as a download at a big savings. But more on that in a minute.

In the new resource, Bob and I discuss

The Portable Church Challenge: 10 Commandments for maximum growth in a portable location is the ideal resource for sustaining growth in a portable facility.

And lead you through:

-    Finding committed servants who take ownership in the church
-    How to cast vision to fund your portable church
-    Learn to keys to hiring gifted staff that thrive in a portable church
-    How to be innovative with the facility you meet in
-    Transforming any environment into a place of worship
-    Understanding what does and doesn’t limit you as a portable church
-    Learning to focus on what matters most
-    And much more!

Building a church is about building people. Don’t let facility keep you from becoming the church God wants you to be!

As I mentioned there is a delay in the CD production but the full 2-hour download with all the supplemental resource is available now.  It will regularly sell for a $67 investment but I want to give it to you as a pre-sale for $20.00 off.  Simply enter this special code: blog112 when you check out. Here’s the link to the download.

The Portable Church Challenge – Complete Resource Download – Save $20.00 – Click Here

Remember, enter this special code before you check out : blog112

This code will expire in one week.

Nelson

Last week I released my latest report entitled “How to Conduct A Christmas Offering.” Its been the fastest downloaded report I’ve offered (over 1000 people in a few days!).  If you haven’t snagged your copy yet, grab it now (its not too late to plan a Christmas Offering) – its FREE:

HOW TO CONDUCT A CHRISTMAS OFFERING FREE REPORT LINK CLICK HERE

If you’ve already downloaded the report (and assuming you found it helpful) will you send this link to a friend or let the pastors in your network or on your blog know about it? I want it to help as many people as possible.

We are rolling out our Christmas Offering this Sunday.  That’s a little early for most churches but it ties in with my message this weekend.  You would be fine to roll out your offering on the Sunday before Thanksgiving or even December 7, depending on the amount you want to raise (start earlier if the amount is more than three or four times your regular weekly offering). Check out the free report for more details on the hows and, more importantly, the why’s.

I’ll try to post some of the documents we are using in our Christmas Offering tomorrow.

And let me be the first to say…Merry Christmas,

Nelson

P.S. I’m sure I didn’t cover everything about Christmas Offerings in the report so if you have any questions, use the Ask Nelson button on the right!

Today, I’m in Tampa for my Senior Pastor’s Coaching Network. On the flight down, I found myself thinking: Why do I do this? Why do I take a day away from home to fly a thousand miles to invest in coaching? Once I started asking these questions, they kept coming: Why am I driven to do a NY Coaching Network plus a Tele-Coaching Network? Why do I push the folks at CLI to offer quality coaching for Worship Leaders, Church Planters, Executive Pastors and Small Group Pastors?

From time to time, it’s good for us to ask ourselves such “Why do I do what I do?” questions.

Here’s the conclusion I came to 30,000 feet in the air: I’m addicted to the results that these coaching networks produce for the pastors who participate!

Yep, I’m addicted to net Kingdom growth. I love evangelism; I love church growth and I love pastors.

In the four years that I’ve been doing coaching networks I’ve seen:

- churches double in size in six months to a year.
- churches that have been in decline for 30 years start to grow again.
- pastors regain a passion for evangelism and church growth.
- big rewards from little tweaks in a church’s systems.
- pastors grow and find balance in their lives, while leading a growing church.
- church planters launch with over 300 people.
- pastors avoid major mistakes because they received input and guidance from the network.
- pastors make lifelong friends by being around like-minded pastors.

Plus so many more incredible things… pastors lead their churches to over 100% adult participation in groups; Executive Pastors avoid hiring disasters; Worship Leaders get on the same page as their pastors and…. well, you get the picture.

All over the country I meet pastors who say, “I’ve heard about your coaching network and I’ve been meaning to get involved.” Well, now is your chance!

The coaching networks we offer are unique. Here’s why:

1) Each is based on a proven system that has delivered personal and church growth to all types of pastors and churches. (In other words, there’s a specific agenda we will work each month. We aren’t just making this up as we go, or spinning our wheels each month with nothing to say).

2) All of our networks are positively focused on church growth (not on blaming our denomination or our rehashing our past mistakes).

3) Each network is led by a practitioner who is leading daily in the area they are teaching you about. (For example, our church planter networks are led by church planters who have launched within the last few years; I lead the Senior Pastor Networks and I’m neck-deep in the daily leadership of The Journey, etc.)

Several major Coaching Networks are starting between now and early 2009. This is the time to request more info so that your application can receive priority treatment. Here are the coaching networks slated for early 2009:

- Senior Pastor Coaching Networks with me in NYC and Tampa, FL (Starts early 2009)

- Small Groups Tele-Coaching Network with Kerrick Thomas (New Network!)

- Church Planting Tele-Coaching Network with Bob Franquiz (Starting Dec 2008!)

- Worship Leader Tele-Coaching Network with Jason Hatley (Pass this along to your worship leader)

If you are interested in receiving an application for any of these networks, send an email to cristina@churchleaderinsights.com and let her know which one interests you.

Four years ago, I was invited by a good friend to co-lead a network with him. Since then I’ve coached over 400 pastors. I’m just as addicted to the Kingdom results of these networks as I was after that first Church Planting Network. I can only believe that God is going to continue to do even greater things through these networks in the future. I hope you’ll join me for the ride!

Nelson

“The devil doesn’t care how big your church is – he cares how influential it is.”
- Brian Houston, Pastor, Hillsong Church, Sydney, Australia

(Quote courtesy of Perry Noble, read the entire post here)

SYSTEM #8: THE STRATEGIC SYSTEM

It’s hard to believe that we’ve worked our way to the last post in our weekly, Wednesday “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” series! If you have been taking this opportunity to spend some quality time with your systems over the last eight weeks, I trust that you are already seeing the effects. If you haven’t been following along, make sure you go back and check out all of the Slack=Lack posts.

Today, we’re going to wrap things up by looking at the system that sits above the other seven systems and ties them all together – The Strategic System. This is the system that asks, “How do you constantly evaluate and improve your church?”

Think of the Strategic System as your church’s annual physical. Just like with your body, if you don’t pay periodic attention to how the systems are working, disease can creep in. The Strategic System keeps your church humming along efficiently, by making sure that you are continually evaluating and improving all of your other systems.

To get an idea of how things are going with your Strategic System, ask yourself these questions:

• When was the last time I checked in with my eight church systems? (Hopefully, this blog series has helped you with that one!)
• How prepared am I for what God wants to do in and through my church?
• Do my staff members know and understand our strategy?

Strategy has a bad wrap, but without it, we continue to re-invent the wheel week after week, month after month and year after year. A well thought out strategy will help you become more faithful and fruitful in every area of your ministry.

Take some time this week to think through your church’s Strategic System. Meet with your strategic team and discuss ways to improve your strategy. As you sow some time and effort into you Strategic System, you will reap the reward in your other seven systems.

Don’t skimp on strategy. It’s the thread that ties your church systems together.

Here’s your mantra for the week:

In my Strategic System, effort = excellence.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this blog series as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Let’s all commit to no more slack and no more lack!

Nelson

P.S. – If you haven’t already, make sure you download the free Church Systems Report, which details all eight systems and how they work together.

P.P.S – For more on developing a strategy for your church, check out The Strategy Seminar.

SYSTEM #7: THE LEADERSHIP SYSTEM

Welcome back to the weekly, Wednesday “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” series! If you’ve been following along with us for the last six Wednesdays, let me commend you for putting in the effort to take your systems up a notch. As we learned a couple of weeks ago, effort = excellence when it comes to building stronger systems!

Today, we’re going to be diving into the Leadership System. This is the system that asks, “How do you develop leaders at all levels of your church?”

As your church grows, you will need to develop leaders at every level – staff, lay leaders and high power volunteers. A well-planned Leadership System will make sure you are developing the right people in the right ways. This system will help you with staff management, organizational efficiency, and personal development.

To get an idea of how things are going with your Leadership System, ask yourself these questions:

• When was the last time I invested in developing new leaders?
• How am I helping my current leaders grow personally and spiritually?
• Am I modeling the kind of leadership I want to see from my leaders?
• Are any of my levels of leadership in need of more people?

Here are a few tips to help you start structuring this system for health: Define the expectations of every leadership position in your church. Assign requirements for each role, and make sure that you don’t let anyone blindly climb the leadership ladder. And put deadlines on service roles, so that everyone who agrees to serve in a high level volunteer position knows that it isn’t forever.

I encourage you to carve out some time this week to sit down with your Leadership System. Think through your leader development process. Take a hard look at who is moving up through the ranks and make sure that you have enough leaders at all levels of service. Pick up and scan a book on leadership that you might want your staff to read together.

By the way – Don’t forget to make the connections between systems. The Ministry System that we discussed two weeks ago is a direct inroad to the Leadership System. Everything works together for optimal success.

The more attention you give your Leadership System, the better the leaders you’ll attract. So make this your mantra for the week:

In my Leadership System, attention = attraction.

Nelson

P.S. – If you haven’t already, make sure you download the free Church Systems Report, which details all eight systems and how they work together.

SYSTEM #6: THE STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM

Wednesday has rolled around again! Time for the weekly installation of our eight-part “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” series. I’m particularly excited about the system we are looking at today. It’s a crucial system and one that’s surrounded by a lot of questions and misconceptions…

Have you ever had a hard time getting new believers to tithe? Have you ever wished you had more faithful givers? Of course you have. We all wrestle with the money issue. That’s where The Stewardship System comes in. This is the system that asks, “How do you develop extravagant givers at your church?”

Stewardship is a tough issue. That’s why most of us, as church leaders, tend to separate it from other spiritual disciplines, like praying, reading our Bibles and going to church. We are afraid to hold our attenders accountable in the personal area of money.

But, let’s face it – money is not only essential to Kingdom growth, it’s also an essential factor in the spiritual growth of our people. We will never develop strong disciples until we learn to develop strong givers.

How effective is the stewardship system you have in place? To get an idea of how things are going, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you modeling extravagant giving?
• How do you know when someone gives a gift for the first time? How do you respond?
• When was the last time you taught on the spiritual discipline of giving?
• Have you given your people a tithe challenge in the last year?

Most new givers – and even a lot of more seasoned givers – don’t understand the importance of bringing the full tithe. There is a path we have to lead them down, as they mature in their understanding of stewardship. That kind of growth doesn’t happen haphazardly. But as God blesses and works through the Stewardship System, we can build churches of faithful, and even extravagant, givers.

This week, spend some time with your Stewardship System. Think through your process for explaining the importance of giving. Think about how you follow up with those who give. Write out your own financial testimony.

If you will give this system some true attention, you can begin to recast the sticky issue of money as the important spiritual discipline it really is.

Nelson

P.S. – If you haven’t already, make sure you download the free Church Systems Report, to learn more about the eight church systems and how they work together for the healthy growth of your church.

P.P.S – To dig deeper into this issue of developing extravagant givers, check out The Stewardship Seminar.