Did you know that the majority of church plants fail within the first year?
Why?Â
Because most church planters start churches without a clear calling from God.
In order to plant a healthy church, y...
Pastors, need a bit of inspiration for yourself, your sermons or your congregation?
Look no further than Vance Havner, a man described as "The Dean of America's Revival Preachers." Billy Graham once ...
"There’s nothing to be scared of. In fact, God has uniquely positioned you to influence the people in your life for him. And he has only one requirement you have to meet in order to qualify. You simpl...
Big Idea #4 from Understanding Church Growth:
Of the three kinds of church growth, conversion growth should be your goal.
The three kinds of church growth are: biological, transfer and conversion. Conve...
As pastors, we can be frustrated and saddened when we see our church members struggling to share their testimonies, or when our attendance numbers aren't growing with new believers.
What if there's a...
Big Idea #7 from Understanding Church Growth:
Don’t insist on moral reform as a prerequisite to becoming a disciple.
As pastors, we need to allow room for our people to grow. People do not need to be pe...
Dear Pastor,
Trust me when I say that I know church planting is difficult. I’ve started churches in New York City and Boca Raton, FL and have been coaching hundreds of Church Planters since 2004.
Star...
Big Idea #3 from Understanding Church Growth:
Do not neglect the important steps of assimilation and ongoing discipleship.
Donald McGavran writes that the church must be faithful in “folding and feeding...
Big Idea #6 from Understanding Church Growth:
Church planters who enable people to become Christians without crossing barriers are more effective — people prefer to join churches whose members look, ta...
Big Idea #1 from Understanding Church Growth:
Don’t grow content with mediocrity or stagnancy.
We are called not simply to search, but to find. Results matter. As pastors, we must set membership goals a...
Big Idea #5 from Understanding Church Growth:
The two principle preconditions for revival are prayer and feeding on God’s word.
Although evangelical awakening is a movement of the Holy Spirit that depen...
Big Idea #2 from Understanding Church Growth:
Always keep evangelism forefront in your mind and mission.
God’s mission is for us to be His ambassadors, bringing the Gospel to all people. As pastors, we ...
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Meet Dr. Nelson Searcy
Nelson Searcy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. By God’s grace, he identified and developed the Eight Systems of a Healthy Church® that he has used to coach over 5,000 churches in the US and around the world to adapt those eight systems to their unique ministry fields, resulting in great health and growth.
Nelson regularly coaches pastors online and in-person through the Church Leader Insights and Renegade Pastors Network ministries that he founded. He also leads several annual pastor in-person conferences and online training events. In ministry for more than 25 years, Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.”
He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 20+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life and Ministry, The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests Into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church. Nelson is the recipient of the prestigious Donald A. McGavran Award for Outstanding Leadership in Great Commission Research.
He is a longtime student of church history, especially mastering the areas of evangelism and church growth. He divides his time between NYC and South Florida. He battled Stage 4 cancer and has been cancer-free since 2018, praise God! He has an amazing wife, Kelley, and a teenage son, Alexander, who continues to grow in so many ways.
