10 Reasons Americans Go to Church — And 9 Reasons They Don’t

As our congregations are cycling up for the school year, this CNN report on a recent Pew Research Center study has much to challenge and encourage our church leadership!

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is one way your congregation can grow the number one reason people attend church, “To become closer to God?”
  2. What is one practical thing your congregation can do to combat one or more of the reasons why people do not attend worship?

Interview with the “Nones”

In this interview with Pastor Fred Lehr he shares about some interviews he did with seven “None” students. What he learned and shared will help all church leaders as we interact with more and more of those that identify as “None!”

Downloads to share or edit for local use: PowerPoint Slides

Go deeper with Becoming a 21st-Century Church: A Transformational Manual by Fred Lehr and They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations by Dan Kimball

Discussion Questions:

  1. As you listened to the things Fred learned, what struck you the most?
  2. What area of your ministry or personal interaction with others needs to change after listening to this interview?

The Leadership of Billy Graham

Though flawed and of his time and steeped in a biblical fundamentalism that is not of our tradition, there is no denying that Billy Graham was one of the most influential Christian leaders of the last 50 years. In 2005, the book The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham detailed some leadership lessons from his life and this summary of that book will offer some thoughts to improve your own leadership.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What “leadership secret of Billy Graham” spoke to you the most?
  2. What could you do right now to grow that leadership trait?

Seven Habits of Outwardly Focused Churches

This article by Thom Rainer will give you some reasons why ministries can slowly lose their outward focus and lots of practical ideas about how to regain an outward focus.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Can you think of some reasons why your ministry may have lost some outward focus?
  2. What is one of the seven ideas for a more outward ministry that could be applied soon in your context?