Samuel Deuth's Blog

OK Pastors and church leaders, we’re all a few weeks in now to holding our church services online. If you’re like me, there has been a ton of challenges that came with this season, but we’re also learning a ton and I believe when this “online only” season has finished, we’ll all be stronger and healthier because of it. One thing is for sure, and I’ve loved the way many have phrased it, “The Church Has Left The Building.” Now, in many ways most churches were already thinking outward and city impact, but I think for all of us, it stirred up a fresh reminder that we gather to equip and prepare the church to GO AND BE THE CHURCH out in our city!

So, with that in mind, I’ve compiled a few keys to creating great online church services and creating community beyond the stream that I’ve observed from a ton of conversations with great churches around the world as well as my own experience right here at Awaken Church.

Before we launch into the full list of best practices, here are 3 key resources to help your church if you’re not already using them:

https://churchonlineplatform.com/ (Online Homebase for Your Service Feed)
https://livingasone.com/ (Helping your broadcast your feed to all social accounts)
https://zoom.us/ (serving your team meetings and online small groups

KEYS TO ONLINE CHURCH, COMMUNITY & DISCIPLESHIP

Be Authentic

Overall, no matter the approach you’re taking, make sure it’s still you and it’s still the culture of your church. Functionally you may have to adjust your set up and your stage may no longer be there, but do your best to bring a consistent and familiar culture to your church family. Sometimes you may want to have more of a sit down convo on these online services, but don’t be afraid to stand up and bring a bold word if you’re feeling it.
You’re church will connect and continue to engage with the culture of the church that they first came to, and when services transition back to a local building, you’ll want those people to continue with you and not be shocked that you’re completely a different church than they fell in love with online.


Do Less—better

I’m a fan of the “less is more” approach to many things, but in this setting it applies. Don’t settle for less if you have the ability to bring something strong, but don’t try to pretend that you have a set up that you don’t have. Get someone with a fresh and creative eye and design a nice, simple and quality backdrop for your filming if you aren’t able to do a stage.
And if we’re at this for a few more weeks, there’s time to improve on what you have, but make sure things are as excellent as possible since this is a massive front door now to your church.
Also, don’t feel the need to “keep doing everything” you were doing before. This might be a good to time to strip back all the programs a bit and be able to decide what you really want to major on when you are back on location.


Bring Faith & Life!

This is one of the keys you’re seeing out there with great churches (mine included) that are really moving forward is bringing faith. This isn’t a time for passive, group hug moments that rehearse the social fear narrative, rather we need to be calling people to hope and faith and victory in the name of Jesus!


Stay Connected with Your Staff/Team

ZOOM is your friend for this. I’m sure you’re already connecting heavily with your creative and production teams, but keep the whole team engaged and connected. Keep them leaning in and praying for your city and for the strength of the church. Keep them prioritized on connecting with people.
Keeping teaching them and imparting wisdom, faith, leadership and vision.


Create Online Small Groups (Zoom)

Back again with a ZOOM promotion

[image error]In my Bible reading this morning, I was right in the story of God leading His people out of Egypt. I was “for sure” frustrated with how much they kept grumbling to Moses and God about there current moment—I also realize how often that can be me, forgetting all God’s blessings and provision the moment I feel pain or discomfort.

One of the horrific statements that the Israelites made that I want to be sure I’m not saying or thinking, and I’d encourage you to avoid is assuming that the desert must mean that God is distant. Look what they said/ask…

And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” — Exodus‬ ‭17:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Is the Lord among us?

Wow! How crazy to ask such a question after all the supernatural signs they had just experienced. All throughout the Bible we see God’s frustrated, but continued grace towards our distrust of Him, and we also see God’s delight when He finds Faith on Earth! I pray He finds faith in us today. As we all navigate this unique and challenging season of economic shutdown, let’s put our eyes and trust in Jesus.

If you’re wondering “IF GOD IS WITH YOU?” The answer is a resounding yes!!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. —Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

Also, watch the latest video on HAVE FAITH IN GOD, short 15min message I did on YouTube:

The Online Following Jesus Course is Now Available!

Pastors!! I hope this article and resource can help you Make Disciples Online without the pressure of trying to start something from scratch, buy something expensive or hire more staff to manage!

I know I don’t have to convince you that discipleship is key. But, I’d like to add to that, in the times we’re living in, that it’s not just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential. Yes, discipleship by name is in the great commission, but why? Because it’s more than an empty command, it’s essential for the health and growth of the new believer! Discipleship becomes the covering and fertilizer for the seed of God’s word as it gets planted into the heart of the new believer. Without strong and intentional discipleship some believers will fall away, and many more will be ineffective in making any real difference in the world around them.

What the world needs is a discipled Church.

At the time of writing article we’re right in the middle of the Covid-19 virus spread around the world, which has caused all public gatherings which includes churches to be move for a short season from physical locations to Online Gatherings. Some churches are more ready than others to take on this challenge, but I’d say many of us would have to admit we’re doing a lot of scrambling to get everything ready to not only “have service” online, but figuring out how to connect and disciple people in that online space.

Well, I can’t solves all of those dilemmas that you’re facing, but I hope to be able to come alongside you and your team to help carry one of those elements for you! A few years back we released a simple, practical and powerful book called, Following Jesus, that many churches currently use as the gift they give to new believers or guests when they come to Christ at their church. As well as some use it in small groups and new believers classes. Pretty much from the beginning I’d have pastors ask about when I was going to have video curriculum that goes along with it, and I wanted to do it and planned to, but didn’t get to it until just a couple months ago that I finally decided to make the investment, hire the crew and get this done! Little did I know that just as I was finished producing this video series and getting the online course set up, that churches around the world would need to solve the online discipleship question! The team and I are so thankful to be able to do our best to serve and support churches in this season and beyond!

Here’s The Online Discipleship Course that churches around the globe are jumping onto:

Click Here To View The Online Following Jesus Course

5 WAYS TO CREATE COMMUNITY AND DISCIPLESHIP ONLINE:

Faith Filled Online Church Experiences

It’s key that we don’t see online church or even a forced season of online services as a time to coast or pull back or “just try to make it through.” It honestly might feel like you’re just trying to make it because of all of the long work days and reinventing that we’re all doing, but if you keep a spirit of faith at the forefront of your online experiences, you’ll see the church continue to rally, build and drive forward! Now, each of our churches will have different capacities as far as what you’ll be able to provides from a technical, video standpoint, but we can all bring faith and strength!

Tech Note: There are a couple key things I do recommend for online church streaming.

Church Online Platform (For Overall Live Streaming of service)
Living As One (For sending that live feed to all of your social media platforms)

Efficient Follow Up and Connection

With online services, we want to be more intentional with updating and reviewing our online follow up process. Just this past weekend, I filled out our churches online new believers form just to test and see what the auto reply features were like and because of that we noticed a few things that weren’t as personal and we made some updates to feel more genuine even in an online world. To be able to quickly and efficiently get the information to people that they request during an online service, I’d suggest you use an “Auto Texting” company. So, that people can text in to get information without a slow personal follow up. No matter how you choose to follow up, be sure that everyone who reaches out gets communication!

Small Groups Communities Online

This can be a new space for many churches, but it’s important to create a space for connection beyond the Sunday experience. There are several simple ways that you can create online small group gatherings. Two key ways is to use services like google hangouts and facebook groups. My favorite is using ZOOM to create great video hangouts. With Zoom (and other services) you can share your screen, so that the group host could share content with the whole group.

Online Discipleship Course (I have a good one I recommend

I absolutely love reading the Bible! If you’re reading this, then you might feel the same way, or maybe you secretly don’t enjoy reading the Bible but you feel guilty about that and want to figure out how to love reading it and how to really be able to understand and apply God’s word?!

Psalm 119:103 (NIV)

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

In this quick article I’m hoping to help calm your fears and unknowns around reading the Bible. Because if you can find your way into a daily habit of engaging with the Bible and applying it to your life, just like I’ve discovered, then I’m confident that you’ll find the fulfilment, peace and transformation!

I grew up in a home where love for God’s word was modeled by my father and mother, and even though I loved the Bible, I was also inconsistent with my reading until I figured out a specific couple strategies that really helped me unlock a consistent Bible reading game plan, which I’m going to share with you. I’m so passionate now about helping people really know and follow God’s word that I included a whole chapter on The Bible in my book called, “Following Jesus” which focuses on the 7 essentials to following Jesus.

In this article, I’m not going to specifically take the time to prove to you why the Bible is the true and the authoritative Word of God, but here are two great books by one of my heroes, Lee Strobel, that I’d highly recommend that you check out if you’re wanting to learn more:  The Case For Christ, & The Case For Christianity- Answer Book.

So, let’s get into some simple and practical ways that you can begin to read the Bible and see your life completely and fully transformed into all that Jesus intended it when He said in John 10:10 that he came to give us life to the full!

John 10:10 (NIV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

WHY WE MUST READ OUR BIBLE!

I’m not saying you MUST read your Bible because I’m going to introduce some religious rule, but I’m saying that you MUST READ YOUR BIBLE, because of how powerful and transformational it is.

There’s so much that could be said about the Bible and why I encourage you to fully get into it, but I’ll just focus on this, that the Bible is the way I connect with God, it’s my road map for a fulfilled life, and it’s authority by which I push back the work of the enemy and establish the Kingdom of God here on Earth!

The Bible is My Direct Link to God!

Some often ask or make a statement like, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we just had a direct link to hear from God?” or wouldn’t it be nice if God could talk to us every day? Well, the truth is that is exactly what the Bible is; it’s HIS WORDS TO YOU. Every time you open up the Bible, God is speaking to you! This is the first and most important reason that I read the Bible, simply to hear from my creator and father! There’s something powerful that happens in a child’s life when they hear from their father and it’s the same way when we hear from our heavenly father through the Bible. It infuses us with life and strength!

The Bible holds the Authority & Power of God!

We know that God is powerful, but the Bible shows us that His Words is infused with and is a carrier of the power of God. So, when we use the Word of God and when we speak out the Words of God, they carry power and authority that shift and impact the world around us!

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

4 Keys To Read, Study & Apply The Bible For Transformation!

1. Prepare Your Heart

How we approach the Bible really changes what we receive from God’s word. Approach your reading of God’s word with anticipation of the truth and life that God wants to bring to you. My dad (George) taught me to pause and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me and reveal the word of God to me as I read it.

2. Read To Respond

The transformation is in the application. We don’t want to just read the Bible to check off a box, because we don’t see any changes in our lives. The power of God’s word begins to really change and transform us once begin to listen and follow what God is saying.

James 1:22-25 (NIV)

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

3. Stay Consistent

My goal, and I encourage you to do the same, is to read the Bible every day. The more time in the word the better. Now, is reading the Bible once a year good? or once a month? Yes, of course, but our life needs way more than that to stay healthy and thrive. Imagine only eating once a year or once a month? Your physical body would be starving and most likely dying. In same way, if you want to get stronger spiritually, you want to get a daily intake of God’s word!

One of the ways to stay consistent s the download the Following Jesus App on Apple or Android.

4. Use a Reading Plan

There are many different ways to help stay in the Bible daily and for me, one of the big ways was is using a daily Bible reading plan. I created a Following Jesus One Year Bible reading plan on YouVersion Bible App, which I use. You can even read it with a friend to help with accountability. The reading plans help me stay consistent and doing the one year plan helps me make sure that I get to read the whole Bible each year. So I get the full force of the truth and power that God has available to me through His Word.

My Favorite Bible Study Strategy That Everyone Can Use!

Years ago when my friend Chad Veach and I were both youth pastors in cities near each other in the Northwest, he introduced me to my favorite Bible reading strategy that I also included into the Following Jesus book, called, S.O.A.P.  It’s a way to study the Bible. It will be a huge help for you and it’s an acronym that stands for, Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. Let me explain how you use it.

What you’ll need: Bible (or Bible App), a note pad of some kind and a pen and I encourage the one year following Jesus Bible reading plan.

Begin your Bible reading time by selecting the reading plan for that day or just any portion of scripture from the Bible. Then use the steps below to study the Bible.

Scripture: (Focus one one verse)

Whether you’re reading one verse that day or you’re reading 4 chapters from the Bible, your goal is to focus in on the one verse from your reading that sticks out to you. Once you find that, write out that verse on the top of your page or in your digital notes.

Observation: (What are you seeing, feeling and observing that’s happening in this verse)

What are the people doing, what is God doing. What seems to be the focus of the verse?

Application: (What will you do now?)

With this observation that you have, what are you going to now do with that? How are you going to live today in response to what you just read? What decisions or changes do you need to make to follow what the Bible is saying?

Prayer: (Confess and declare)

Based on what you just read and the decisions you’re making to follow what God is saying to you, take a moment to pray and declare and ask for God to empower you to obey God’s word. Also, there may be something you need to confess to God now that you’ve just read that verse. And there may be a new passionate declaration of faith now that you’ve just read that! Ask for the Holy Spirit’s power to help you!

That’s it! Here’s what I promise you, if you apply this strategy to your Bible reading, you’ll begin to see your world shift in no time because of all of the application of God’s Word into your life. Imagine if you read the Bible this way and applied it to your life once a week. That’s 52 little tweaks and upgrades to your life, and imagine if you did that daily! That would be 365 small but powerful decisions! It’s no wonder that our lives can so rapidly change and grow the more we read and follow God’s will; which is found in His Word!

I’m praying this helps you fall in love with God and His Word! And as you study and apply God’s word that your life is fully transformed! For more help and encouragement around your faith, download the Following Jesus App in Apple and get copy of the Following Jesus book.

Also, I’d love to hear from you on this study strategy! Comment below your questions or the your favorite ways to read the Bible!

 

One of the traps that we can fall into is building our message around the audience liking or being impressed with what or how we’re preaching.

In my book, Preaching Forward, I talk about this concept of preaching in a way that moves the church forward. This is key because we need to see our role as preachers and teachings of the word of God as a key part of God’s way that he develops and matures His church and moves his collective church forward in his will.

Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV) He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

[image error]If I preach without the big picture in mind of a goal I’m taking the audience towards, then I’ll be left to just focus on and think about my small and one time message; and my focus will mainly be on hoping that I do a good job so that they will approve of and celebrate and maybe even tag me in a post about it on instagram.

But, when I preach with the mindset of results then I’ll prepare and deliver my message in a way that’s more productive and helpful to help individuals and the collective church move forward. If I was to get in the car and then invite you to jump in the car with me, one of the first things you’re going to ask is, “Where are you going?” How you answer that question will determine who will be willing to jump into the vehicle with you It can also be frustrating if you told someone to get in the car with you and told them that you were going to the mall but you actually drove them to the local school.

So, what is the result that you want to take people towards during your preaching? Well, as you’d imagine there are so many things that could be the focus of your message, so that could be hard to nail down, but the key is that you’re focusing on results. The goal isn’t to entertain, but to help.

Results look like anything that’s helping people exchange the worlds way for God’s way.

Passion: A key result I’m looking for is that when people are done listening to me that they are drawn closer to Jesus.
Devotion: Are people being called and compelled to leave their old way of sin and commit to a life of following Jesus.
Relationally: Learning to forgive others quicker and speak life and encouragement.
Wisdom: Results are seen in new choice that align with God’s word.
Mission Minded: Let’s work to raising up believers who share their faith.
Generosity: When the gospel engages people, generosity in all areas is a result. How generous financially is your church?
Serving: If the greatest must first serve, then a key result is to creating a desire and culture of serving in God’s people.
Marriage & Parenting: Seeing marriages restored, seeing parents raising Godly children are great results.
Supernatural: Each time you preach, there doesn’t have to be a massive outbreak of miracles, but I’d encourage you to start expecting more. God’s word is powerful and releases faith into peoples hearts to believe for the impossible! Preach and then demonstrate!
Authority: A big result of healthy discipleship is believers taking greater authority in prayer.
Faith: One of my favorite things to preach is faith and to stir the congregations faith to believe for all that God has spoken and promised!

I’d love to hear more from you on what results you focus on and how you’re getting that done? Comment below or reach out on my personal or Preaching Forward social media. Also, for more training and coaching we also have an e-course called, Preaching Essentials: And other great preaching videos on our youtube channel:

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Over the last couple decades of working with many great churches in the area of discipling new believers I wanted to pass along some key things that will help you create a great new believers packet and reach, connect and disciple new believers. A few years ago we release a resource book for new believers called “Following Jesus”, which is a short, fresh looking book that targets the 7 initial key steps for a new believer to follow. God has really breathed on it, and many churches now around the globe have started implementing the book into their discipleship strategy; this has allowed me to get to engage with a lot of great churches on effective approach to discipleship and creating new believer packets and the overall assimilation and discipleship strategy.

It’s also important for me to note before we get into the below how to section, that we remember that overall, the most important thing after a new believer comes to Christ is for them to feel that hospitality and connection to the family of God. So, the packet is not the focus, it is a tool to connect with the new believer and get them on the next steps of following Jesus.

So, here are a few key things to consider as you put together a great new believers packet.

1. What do you put into the New Believers Packet?

As you’re putting together a packet, don’t overthink it, it’s better to have something than to wait too long because you’re wanting to make it perfect or you’re waiting for the budget. Also, sometimes people will do a packet that connects with both the visiting guest and a new believer, and some do them separately.

When putting the packet together, also consider your ability to continue with it, so don’t make it too complicated or so expensive that you quit using it after a month.

Key Things In Packets:

Physical copy of the Bible or YouVersion Bible App info
Letter/postcard/message from the pastors
Following Jesus book (or other discipleship tools)
Optional additional gift: Like, free coffee voucher for your church or Starbucks. Coffee tumbler. Or a journal and pen. (Branded for your church is great for these gifts but not essential)
Clear next step direction. This could be on the same letter/postcard as the letter from the pastors, but something that make sure they know what’s next. Like do you want them to come to a small group, a growth track of some kind, a new believers course?

2. How to get the packet into a new believers hands

The greatest new believers packet in the world doesn’t help if you don’t get it into the hands of new believers. Below I’ll list a few key ways that churches attempt to connect with new believers, but first I want to note that I highly encourage a genuine and passionate call be given in every service for people to choose to put their faith in Jesus!

Whether your church style is invite people to come forward to the altar or keep people in their seats, it’s key to create a decisive moment for everyone in the room to get the opportunity to hear and answer that question of whether or not they will choose to follow Jesus.

Once the call has been given, we then have to make sure give them a clear and simple next step that guides them to connect with you so that you can get the discipleship tools into their hands and make that crucial relational connection.

Here’s a few ways people do it:

Hand out the packet to them in service when they raise their hand or come forward.
Have a clear place out in the lobby that they can go to and pick up their new believers packet and other guest info if they’re new. (We have Following Jesus banners to help with this)
Text in services. Have a screen up that has instructions on a text in number that then allows you to follow up with people.
Remind them at the end of the service again what the simple next step is for a new believer (and for a guest)
If you invite new believers to raise their hands, also Have team in auditorium that are watching for that and then kindly come up to them after service to get the book into their hands.

3. Following up with New Believers

This is a key part of the process, like we already noted, you can have the best packet, get it to them, but at the end of the day, you want to be sure you make the connection and do your best to get them connected and starting the discipleship process.

Here’s a few things to remember in follow up:

Always do your best to gather contact information from any new believer, especially if they grab a packet. (Don’t need to ask for too much info, but enough for your church data base system and to basically be able to email/call them.
Have an automatic system of follow up as the base of your follow up. So, if get their email, have a series of a few emails that they get that welcomes them to the family and gives them next steps and links to helpful resources. If you gather their cell, have a auto text go out. This helps to make sure that even if for some reason, a lot of a great connection or follow up happens, for sure you’ll know that there was some initial connection and exchange with all guests and new believers.
Make the next step simple, clear and consistent. If you have 3+ plus things you’re trying to get a new believe to do, they most likely won’t do any of them. So, make sure that you identify which you want them to go to first. Is it a small group, is there a growth track or new believers Sunday school type class. What it is, is less important as the need for it to be clear.
Make it as relational as possible. So, while you want to gather their data and get them into the follow up systems. Make it the goal to attempt to help them make a good relational connection on the day they make that decision for Christ.

Praying for you as you work towards being more effective as a church in connecting with and discipling the new believers that God bringing to your church family. Again for more Following Jesus discipleship resource check out: followingjesusbook.com

Any other questions don’t hesitate to reach out!

Samuel Deuth

 

*This article and content appears on both my site and the site I guest blogged for called, Ministry Voice.

I love my kids and of all the things that my wife Katie and I hope for them and want for their future, I want them to know Jesus personally and to live out the Bible in their daily lives. As parents of two young children I know the uncertainty or even insecurities that can rise up as far as discipling our kids is concerned. A few years ago I released a book called, Following Jesus. This is a book that is not in a few languages and used in churches to disciple adults and teenagers, but now I’m in the process of writing the Kids version of the book and I’m getting so excited about the potential impact. So, as I’m writing this discipleship book for kids I wanted to begin to talk out some of these concepts as I go.

Our biggest fear in Discipleship is often not having all of the answers or knowing just what to say, but initially discipling your child is more about living it then just saying it. And it’s not some official time each day or week that you have to sit your child down to have a teaching time, but instead you learn how to bring your relationship with Jesus into every part of your lives. Look how Moses describes this process in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Yes there are some specific ways that we can be intentional with teaching our children God’s word, but initially we can focus more on bringing Jesus into our daily lives like we see in the verses above. Showing and teaching our children about Jesus is more natural than you realize. You don’t have to have all the answers to your kids wild questions! Ha! Primarily focus on sharing with them what you do know and why you follow Jesus.

Here are 7 Big Themes in the Bible to focus on with your kids:

1. Their Father in Heaven perfectly created them, loves them and wants to talk with them!

Genesis 1 – The creation Story
Psalm 139:13-18 – God hand creating each of us

2. God gave us to free will to choose to follow him or go our own way and sin.

That sin caused us to be separated from God.
Romans 6:23 – The cost of sin was death
The price for our sin had to be paid for to rescue us back from the enemy.
1 Peter 1:18-21 – redeemed by the perfect lamb (Jesus)

3. Jesus came to earth to bring us close to God again through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

John 3:16 – God loved us so much he sent Jesus to rescue us
Ephesians 2:12-14 – we were brought close by the blood of Jesus

4. Jesus sent us His Holy Spirit to empower all those who Follow Jesus!

Acts 1:4,5,8 – Jesus sends us his Holy Spirit

5. God also gave us the Bible, which is the Word of God. The Bible teaches, corrects us and guides us.

Psalm 119:105 – The Bible guides our lives

6. God has a good purpose and plan for us while we’re on earth here.

Matthew 6:33 – seek God’s purpose first
Much of our purpose is found as we connect with the community of other believers called, The Church. Jesus given the church the mission to tell the whole world about Jesus.
Matthew 28:19-20 – Go and make disciples!

7. After this life, those who Follow Jesus will spend eternity in paradise with God.

John 14:1-6 – Jesus is in heaven preparing a place for us

Think about these key themes in the Bible, what they mean to you, and then begin to bring them up and remind your kids of these truths. These key themes and many more will help your child build an unshakable foundation to build their life on!

I’d love to hear from you any other key themes you teach your kids or ways that you’ve found helps connect God’s word to their young world! 

I’ll be releasing more of these kinds of blogs and will let you know when the kids version of Following Jesus is release, but for now, grab a copy of the original one and or download the Following Jesus App for Apple or Android.

 

Growth is one of the main keys to retention. While retention helps to sustain growth, you’ll actually find that as you grow the people that God sends you, you’ll see them not only getting connected but reaching and bringing more people to Jesus.

When we grow people, we grow the church.

I’ve loved seeing the needed trends in the last decade to learn how to better connect with people that are coming to our churches and providing a pathway to get them connected and a part of a team. But, that in itself shouldn’t be our focus. If we make retaining people our primary focus, we’ve taken the first step to losing them. Our calling is to disciple and grow people, not to just hold onto them for the sake of our attendance stats.

The efforts pay off big time when we start posturing our systems around growing people and not just about keeping people. Where are you taking the people that God has given you? If you’re just “retaining” them, we risk becoming the servant who just didn’t lose his talent, but never multiplied it.

We’ve been given a mandate to increase and multiply; this happens through discipleship. Create a culture where community is a norm as the bedrock for discipleship. From there, you’ll want to have a setting or strategy for helping teach new believers how to know and Follow Jesus (which is how many use the Following Jesus books) and you’ll want to think beyond basic discipleship to ongoing discipleship, which many call leadership development.

This is more of a culture point that you build your systems and strategy from, rather than a specific step by step directive. But, grab onto this concept with your team and re-evaluate all of your discipleship and retention strategies with the goal of growing people not just retaining people.

If we can help in any way with you and your team as you strengthen your discipleship strategies let us know. We also have an e-course that focuses just on Discipleship and Assimilation.

Writers aren’t just those who are good with words, but those called to give words to a generation!

I love writing in all forms, form social media and blogs to articles and fully published books, each is it’s only challenge and opportunity. I was blessed to have my first book be a top seller, Following Jesus, has been sold and distributed to near 200,000 people in 3 languages and 8+ countries. I initially self published and it was later picked up by a publisher. I’ve just released and self published my second book, Preaching Forward. I’m now working on my next two books.

I still have a long way to go in the writing and publishing world, but I’ve been getting more requests on my process and how to get started in the book writing and publishing process. This article and checklist is aimed at my self-publishing process, the steps are slightly different when trying to get your book published through a major publisher. Enter your email to download the PDF of my checklist and I also put a few writing tips below.

ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW AND WE’LL EMAIL YOU THE 12 STEP BOOK WRITING AND SELF PUBLISHING CHECKLIST!

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QUICK WRITING TIPS

Write to Engage NOT to impress. (Make your goal impact, change and transformation.)
Write in your Natural Voice. (No need to pretend to be more or less than you are.)
Write about What You’re Passionate about. (Your passion is what people need, let that come through your writing)
Write Well. (I took time to develop and study how to write well when I first began. It’s worth it.)
Write Truth. (Don’t be flippant with your voice, put it to good use. Your voice goes further on the back of truth.)

As a preacher, you’re called to be a steady blazing fire that guides people towards to the Gospel, but sadly many are more of a momentary flash in the night sky that impresses for a moment, but does very little as far as leading people to Jesus. Why is that? It’s not for lack of desire by the preacher, or lack of heart from the preacher, but, it can be linked to a lack of Character in the life of the preacher.

While we as preachers are not the message, it’s our lives that carry the message. Our ability to last in our ministry calling has very little to do with our gift and skill as a preacher and communicator and so much to do with the character and integrity of our lives.

In chapter 10 of my book, Preaching Forward, I share 7 Character Tests that every preacher must pass, in this post I want to highlight those because it’s essential that we deepen and strengthen our character if we’re going to fulfill our calling to ministry and to preaching the Gospel. To read the full content on this topic of character and dive into the other topics of calling and the craft of preaching and teaching, get a copy of the Preaching Forward book and take the preaching essentials e-course.

[image error]7 Character Tests Every Preacher Must Pass: (Excerpts)

Obedience Test

Will you be willing to follow fully the call of God on your life? If you’ve been running from the call or a specific part of your calling, stop right now, and reaffirm your commitment to obey His leading.

Agenda Test

Whose kingdom are you building? He’ll test to find out if this is just about building your name? Or if it’s about advancing His kingdom?

People Test

Will you serve and love people or will you use and abuse them? Jesus put loving people at the forefront of stepping into the call of ministry.

Congruency Test

Is my life in alignment with my message? In a world where we often separate our public from our private world, this is a high priority for those who preach the gospel.

Courage Test

Am I willing to preach the truth when it’s not popular and extend grace when it’s undeserved? Both take courage and be are essential.

Stewardship Test

Am developing and multiplying the gift that I’ve been given? Shaping and developing your craft as a communicator is key.

First Love Test

If we lose our first love then we’ll lose our way in ministry. This test helps us determine if I love my gift more than my savior?

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To read the full copy on the 7 Character tests, grab a copy of the Preaching Forward book in paperback or kindle.