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You can sign up all of your teachers by emailing me their email addresses: josh@joshhunt.com
Pastoral ministry has its share of pitfalls and challenges. Face them with confidence, equipped and inspired by the thoughtful, refreshingly honest, intensely practical (and often humorous) insights of pastors Dave Stone (author of Keeping Your Head Above Water) and Rick Rusaw.
This new book and CD by my friend, Tim Eason will help you take your Powerpoint to a new level. Also included are ideas about doing video ministry. Tim also has a great web page: www.churchmedia.net and a free E-Newsletter. |
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;” Proverbs 27:23 (NIV) People ask me from time to time, “how many conferences do you do a year?” I have done some quick math about this—so many conferences a month, so many months, so many down months, etc.—and came up with 60 or 70 conferences a year. I have told quite a few people this and really thought it was true. I did the hard math recently and actually counted the number of conferences for last year. It was 40. This year I have done or scheduled 55. I walked smack dab into the reality principle. Preachers are famous for their estimations. “Ministerially speaking” is a euphemism for, “fudging up; way up.” The thing is, reality is what reality is. Pretending doesn’t change anything. I think I am capable of doing 60 or 70 conferences a year, maybe more. But, if I think I am already doing 60 or 70 a year, then I won’t work to try to increase that. Failing to follow the reality principle leads to bad decision making and a failure to reach our God-given potential. Another place I have been looking at the reality principle in my life relates to video. I have been dreaming for some time now about the idea of transitioning from America’s Sunday School Trainer to America’s Sunday School Teacher–by way of video. I spent a pile of money, and a lot of time, trying to develop video based interactive Sunday School curriculum. I actually think I produced a halfway decent product. In fact, I honestly think these videos are better than the bottom third of our Sunday School teachers. But, that doesn’t matter, because reality is, I can’t sell them. At least, I can't sell enough of them to justify the kind of time and money I have put into it. I constantly have to balance my desire to get a message out and double the "capital C" Church in the next twenty years with my responsibility to feed my kids. Truth is, doing the ministry is a lot more interesting to me, but I have these hungry kids. (Is anyone else amazed at how much a 17-year old boy actually eats?) Well, these two doses of reality have caused a change of direction for me. I am going to quit producing curriculum videos and concentrate on filling my calendar. I hope to do as many meetings in the last half of this year as I did all last year. I want to write one new book a year that helps teachers do a better job, as well as produce one (and only one) new video series. I have set the goal of 80 conferences a year and am making plans to reach that goal. It is an expression of reaching toward the mark for me. Reality thinking helped me to clarify these goals. (If you are worried about me spending time with my kids as well as feeding them, you might consider that when I am home, I don’t really have a day job. I have some things I piddle with–like I have a couple of new books I am working on–but I get to spend a lot of time with my kids when I am home.) Enough about me; let’s talk about you for a while. In order to grow a double you have to do four things:
Most churches think that the great need of the hour is to attract more visitors. I knew one church that had 100 visitors a week and thought they needed more in order to grow. Reality is, most churches have plenty of visitors. Reality is, the difference between doubling churches and non-doubling churches is not so much around the Magnet Factor as the Velcro Factor. My research indicates that doubling churches and non-doubling churches both have about 5% Magnet Factor. To be fair, there is a slight difference; doubling churches have slightly more than 5%, while non-doubling churches have slightly less. But, the difference is pretty subtle. The big difference between doubling churches and non-doubling churches does not have so much to do with the Magnet Factor as the Velcro Factor. Two important points:
Teach a halfway decent lesson each and every week; nothing less will do. We can take America for God by giving the ministry to laymen who are using their gifts to grow their groups to double their classes every two years or less. We can do it, but we are going to have to look reality in the face to pull it off. |
This is the book that teaches classes to follow up on guests. This is the book that teaches teachers to teach a halfway decent lesson, each and every week, nothing less will do. This is the book that teaches groups to invite every member and every prospect to every fellowship every month. This is the book that teaches teachers to double every two years or less, and if we can do that, if we can double every two years or less, we can turn the world upside down for our Lord. Come with me, become captivated by the vision of doubling groups. Book Double Your Class and Disciplemaking Teachers offered at a discounted, bundled price.
TIGER Training Eight things teachers must have to double every two years or less. I have pastors say to me fairly regularly, "I know your plan will work; I just can't get my laymen to do it. How do I get them to buy in? How do I get them to do it?" If I could sit down with you and your staff, or perhaps a group of pastors in your area, we could walk through and discuss together eight things that teachers must have from you in order to double every two years or less. I would go through the content of this video. TIGER Training is an 8-part interactive video designed to be used by the church staff, or a group of pastors.
Do you know what REALLY keeps churches from growing? It is not what you think. It is not that we can't figure out how to double a class in two years or less. The great church growth myth says that church growth is about understanding a handful (5, 9, or 12, depending on who you listen to) of broad principles in order to grow. It is not true. Church growth is not in understanding a handful of broad principles. It is about implementing in the details. This course is designed to be used with your deacons and/or top leadership team and deals with attitudes and actions of doubling churches. It is taught in an interactive format where you watch some content, discuss it, watch some more content, discuss some more, etc. It will lead you to discuss, in the details the attitudes and actions that are necessary to double a church in five years or less.
I like to call this course, "I can double your class in two years or less!" I would like to teach one of your classes for 13 weeks and teach them some basic Christian ideals, but also throw in the five disciplines of doubling classes and hold them accountable for accomplishing them. Once again, this is shot in a studio and taught in an interactive format: I teach; you discuss; I teach; you discuss.
The #1 predictor of the growth of any class is the teaching ability of the teachers. Great teachers double classes. Average teachers plateau classes. Crummy teachers kill classes. This Interactive Video course teaches you how to be a great teacher, a disciplemaking teacher. | ||
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