Church Growth

Ineffective evangelism is usually a symptom of something more profound — a crisis of Christian maturity. Before we can expect our churches to grow wide, we must first ensure they are growing deep.

Every pastor knows the feeling. Those seasons when the church feels colder, when enthusiasm wanes, and when voices of discouragement seem to echo from every corner. Learning to recognize and respond to these chilling influences becomes essential for long-term ministry survival.

Pastoral ministry often feels less like a calling and more like a high-stakes competition. You stand in the pulpit, but you are not the only voice speaking to your people. Every day, they are shaped by a chorus of other influences, each vying for their allegiance. How do you lead a church when the cultural currents are pulling in every other direction? This is the central challenge Gary Comer addresses in his book, The Game of Pulpits.

We have data to prove that our training method helps pastors lead churches to new life and new groth.

At Turnaround Pastor Inc., we have done a study of pastors who led their church in a church revitalization turnaround. Using The Birkman...

Reinvigorating the Aging Church I doubt the current wisdom of rescuing dying churches by merging them into larger, stronger...

Is there a distinctly Free Grace perspective on how to motivate Christians to faithful evangelism? Yes, there is… Gratitude Motivates...

The journey to church revitalization is a roadmap. It is not a recipe. When you follow a good recipe, you put together the correct...

It takes a different set of skills to lead a church through the 200 barrier Breaking the 200 barrier looks like the typical pastor’s...

I love Rich Birch. He’s an independent, out of the box, creative thinker. I love people who challenge prevailing wisdom and push the...

Sometimes the obstacle to a church’s growth is lodged between the ears of the person many call Pastor. Plateaued churches are often stuck...

Over the past five years, my colleagues and I have noticed a disturbing trend in plateaued and declining churches. Many of them are...

Only once has a physician told me, “This will hurt.” The anesthesiologist prepping me for eye surgery brandished a long, curved...

Dr. Gordon E. Penfold Co-founder of Turnaround Pastors, Inc.   The Two Barns   “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times ....

The Two Barns “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times . . ..” So begins Charles Dickens’,  A Tale of Two Cities. In this...

They just couldn’t bring themselves to kill the midweek children’s program. It had been singularly unproductive for years. The leader had...

Think you’re up for the challenge? Chances are 9:1 against your being able to pull it off. Here’s the scenario: You’re sitting on the...

You got to know who’s out there! Since this is my blog post, I get to define a couple of key terms. That’s one of the benefits of...

It’s a stark fact most pastors wish they could avoid. The person most responsible for leading a dying church into life and growth sits in...

What should you do first when someone says, “it’s not about the money”? That’s right. Reach for your wallet. Because it really is about...