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?

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.

I’d like to invite you to join me THIS WEEK for one of three FREE Senior Pastor Events I’m leading in the great state of Texas:

Dallas/Fort Worth Area  – TOMORROW (Wednesday, December 7)
Austin Area - Thursday, December 8
Houston Area  – Friday, December 9

We have a great group of Senior Pastors signed up for all three events, but we still have space available for a few more.

So, will you…

#1 – Join me for one of these events?

#2 – Help me get the word out?

I hope so, as I’ll be teaching you:

• What is keeping your church from growing the way God desires
• How to identify and break the three most common barriers blocking your church’s growth
• Pouring the foundation for solid growth in the future
• Specific coaching on these growth barriers
• The tools you need to break through these barriers
• Plus much more!

CLICK HERE to Sign-Up Now for one of these  Top 3 Growth Barriers LIVE Event for Senior Pastors in the Lone Star State!

I want to help  you break your next Growth Barrier this fall!

Between now and this Friday, August 5, you can get one of my bestselling “Breaking Growth Barriers” resources ($29.95 Value) absolutely FREE!

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.

Facing the same attendance barrier week after week, month after month, even year after year is disheartening to even the most Kingdom-minded pastors.

So this week you can select from one of four resources (choose the one that is closest to your current adult church attendance):

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

To select your FREE resource, visit The Great Growth Barrier Giveaway Web site at:

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

Hurry – the giveaway ends this Friday, August 5th

P.S. I want to help as many pastors as possible with this week’s giveaway, so will you pass along this link/info to any other Senior Pastors you know who are looking to reach more people and lead their churches to grow?

Feel free to post on your Facebook, Twitter, send by email, etc.

Thanks!

I’d like to invite you to join me next week for one of three FREE Senior Pastor Events I’m leading in Florida:

West Palm Beach Area  – Tuesday, July 26
Daytona Area - Wednesday, July 27
Tampa Bay Area  – Thursday, July 28

We have a great group of Senior Pastors signed up for all three events, but we still have space available for a few more.

So, will you…

#1 – Join me for one of these events?

#2 – Help me get the word out?

I hope so as I will be teaching you:

• What is keeping your church from growing the way God desires
• How to identify and break the three most common barriers blocking your church’s growth
• Pouring the foundation for solid growth in the future
• Specific coaching on these growth barriers
• The tools you need to break through these barriers
• Plus much more!

CLICK HERE to Sign-Up Now for one of these  Top 3 Growth Barriers LIVE Event for Senior Pastors in Florida!

I’m pumped about two FREE Senior Pastor Events I’m leading next week in Charlotte and New York?

Charlotte, NC Area NEXT Tuesday, July 19
New York City NEXT Thursday, July 21

We have a great group signed up for both events – in fact, New York City is completely full (click here to add your name to the Waiting List), but we still have space available in Charlotte.

PLUS – Jason Hatley (Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey) is leading separate FREE events for Worship Leaders on the same days.

He still has room for a few more Worship Leaders for his “3 Secrets of a Healthy Worship Team” event in both Charlotte AND New York City.

See more info on Jason’s events in the P.S. below.

There’s no time to waste getting signed up though, these events are next week!

I will be leading The Top 3 Growth Barriers Workshop for Senior Pastors – here’s what you’ll learn:

• What is keeping your church from growing the way God desires
• How to identify and break the three most common barriers blocking your church’s growth
• Pouring the foundation for solid growth in the future
• Specific coaching on these growth barriers
• The tools you need to break through these barriers
• Plus much more!

CLICK HERE to Register Now for the Charlotte Top 3 Growth Barriers LIVE Event for Senior Pastors!

P.S. I mentioned the FREE Worship Leader Event that Jason Hatley (my Worship Pastor) is leading.  

It’s called Three Secrets of a Healthy Worship Team and here’s what you’ll learn:

• How to fuel your passion for health and growth
• A revolutionary idea used by only a handful of highly successful worship teams – NOW available to you!
• How to ignite growth, and ensure the long-term health of your team
• The #1 mistake that keeps people from joining your worship team
• How to generate opportunities for explosive growth
• How to instill God-honoring standards on your worship team
• Plus much more!

Reserve Your Spot Now for one of these FREE Worship Leader Events below:

Charlotte Area
Tuesday, July 19
Click Here to Sign Up Now

New York City
Thursday, July 21
Click Here to Sign Up Now

In the most recent issue of the Outreach Top 100 Fastest Growing Churches, I noticed that three of my Senior Pastor Coaching Alumni made the list:

• EastLake Community Church
  Bothell, Washington
  Ryan Meeks, Senior Pastor
• Northstar Church
  Panama City, Florida
  Marty Martin, Senior Pastor
• Harvest Church
  Byron, Georgia
  Jim Cowart, Senior Pastor

First, let me say – Congratulations to each of these churches and their pastors!

Second – I encourage you to go to school on these churches…

- Visit their websites (I’ve linked to them above) and see what they’re all about
- Listen to their message podcasts and hear how they communicate
- Do a little research to see what they’re doing right and how you may be able to do the same at your church

Better yet – find a reason to visit them (and bring a notebook when you do).  We can all learn by seeing where God is at work and making careful observations.

Rarely do I visit another church where I don’t pick up something that we can do differently (aka: better) at The Journey, but you have to keep looking.

Third – Don’t say “it can’t happen to me” – there’s no limit to what God can do through you and your church if you’ll cooperate with Him to make it happen!

P.S. What do all these churches have in common?  All three of the churches above are led by pastors who have graduated from my Coaching Network.

I’ve got a brand new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network beginning on Thursday, February 24, and there’s still time to apply if you hurry – here’s the link to read more and Apply Now (takes less than 10 minutes):

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

And who knows? We could be reading your name on next year’s fastest growing churches list!

Part 4 of 4 posts (click here for Part 1, 2, and 3)
by Dr. Donald E. Ross
Nelson Searcy Coaching Alum
Lead Pastor of Creekside Church (Mountlake Terrace, WA).

Issue # 9: Lifecycle.
Studies show that a church has about a 50-year lifecycle and it’s important to know where your church is on that ride. This fifty year bell curve model can be broken into five segments: 1) Launch, 2) Established 3) Maximum Efficiency 4) Institutionalization and 5) Disintegration.

Usually a turn-around church is locked in segment five and often down the scale on number five.  The further down the scale you are the tougher and longer to turn around, but it can be done.

From a vision point of view, the people in a declining church see it at position three with just a few less people.  They are usually not aware of the precarious position their church’s future is in.  It is the leaders job to introduce the truth of the situation. Congregations usually have big rear view mirror, remembering the past with ease.  They need large windshields to dream about the future.

Issue# 10: Peer Support.
Lone rangers make poor turn-around church pastors.  It’s just too challenging to lead this project alone.  You’ll need to find or build a group of other trustworthy pastors, who believe in you and what you’re doing.

These leaders will help you process your plans, reflect back to you pressure points and talk you through the minefield you are working in.  You need them and God will give them to you.  Don’t do this alone.

Issue# 11: Word.
You must have a high view of scripture to be an effective turn-around pastor.  Being able to regularly “download” encouragement from God’s Word is a needed skill.  Remember, Jesus is the one who said, “Strengthen what remains” which is exactly what you are attempting to do.  Letting Him encourage you through His Word and give you direction.  It’s important.

Reading the Biblical accounts of other turn-around leaders like Nehemiah, Joshua and Moses not only inspire you, it is spiritual life to you as a leader.  You need a high view of scripture.

Issue# 12: Spirit.
Finally, there must be a sense in you, your family, and your leadership core that you are being lead by God’s Holy Spirit in this turn-around endeavor.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “the Advocate” (John 16:7) and anyone leading a turn-around church, needs an advocate to guide them.  The Spirit will be your “life coach”, guiding you through tense meetings, difficult financial decisions and helping to develop a critical strategy to save this church.

Being a turn-around leader is rewarding, but much like a parent who waits years before being appreciated by their children, you will need to be willing to wait and endure to see the results you are working towards.  There is no “quick fix” to seeing a declining church reverse direction, but it can happen, and it needs to happen.

Are you up for it?  If you are, there are thousands of opportunities, as America is filled with declining churches.

Which one will stay alive because you said yes to Jesus?

For information on the Turn Around Church Coaching Network,
see www.TurnAroundChurch.org

P.S. For a package of resources to help you evaluate and improve the Systems of your church, check out The Systems Seminars Package.

Part 3 of 4 posts (click here for Part 1 and Part 2)
by Dr. Donald E. Ross
Nelson Searcy Coaching Alum
Lead Pastor of Creekside Church (Mountlake Terrace, WA).

Issue #6: Endurance.
Although things must change, it will take time.  Researcher Gary McIntosh states that a turn-around church can take from five to twelve years, depending on the setting.

Rural churches and churches in dire circumstances can take longer.  If you are following a leader who fell morally or was financially untrustworthy, trust will take longer to build.

Focus on building trust first with your leaders.  They are the ones who spend the most time with you and the rest of the church already trusts them (hopefully).  If they endorse you it as trustworthy it really helps.

This means some very practical things, like keep your word, don’t be late to a meeting, gain consensus whenever possible, listen well, don’t interrupt and in general be a loving leader.

The average church should begin to see positive signs within 3-5 years.  But the more desperate the situation, the longer it will take. Our church was in “dire circumstances” and we took a bit longer, although we had some healthy signs early on, it was nearly 10 years before we saw significant and lasting change.

Obviously the longer the process, the more endurance is needed on the part of the leader, but again, God is faithful.  If you are called to lead this turn-around, God will give you grace to endure.

I recall one morning when I was very discouraged.  I asked Jesus for another assignment, stating all my qualifications for such a move.  He seemed to reply, “Oh, I’m sorry.  Did I assign you to the wrong place?  Where do you think you should be working?  Perhaps I overlooked something.”

Realizing that I was called to lead these people out of the desert I again recommitted myself to the task assigned.  As I see what our church has become, I am so grateful I endured, and you will be too.

Issue #7: Money.
Here’s the deal… money will be tight.  Period.  Who wants to give to a dying cause?  It takes a while to see a new vision rise, which draws resources.  That’s the downside.

The upside is often declining churches have resources in facilities and property.  These can be tapped to pick up the needed capitol to make needed changes and simply stay alive.  We tapped our equity several times to make changes and to move us ahead.

The pastor should also be prepared to resource himself during a turn-around recovery.  By this I mean, he may have to work a second job or set funds aside to “float” his finances until he gets paid.

God will still provide, and He is trustworthy.  Don’t live in fear of not having enough.  You will.  Never let fear override your faith.

Issue #8: Facilities.
These are important but not first in your thinking and planning.  Usually an established congregation is deeply bonded to facilities, having sacrificed to build or maintain them.

Any changes you make should be done carefully and part of an overall plan.  Getting key lay leaders on board is critical.  You may need to renovate, or even sell facilities for the sake of the church.

Buildings are not the church; they’re a ministry tool.  Sometimes you need to replace tools to accomplish a project.  We did.  As a part of our turn-around we ended up relocating and selling our old campus, and boy was it worth it.  People are the treasure, not the buildings.

For information on the Turn Around Church Coaching Network,
see www.TurnAroundChurch.org

P.S. For a package of resources to help you evaluate and improve the Systems of your church, check out The Systems Seminars Package.