In the 15 years since I made the jump from youth ministry to leading a small church, I found that the learning curve was steeper than I though it would be. On top of that, there’s so much technology out there that sifting through all of it takes a team of poeple. I’m not talking about the big stuff like starting and stopping ministries or launching a building campaign. These have little to do with church culture or the missional stance of your congregation. I am talking about my own personal habits that I have picked up and the tools that I use. Here are my recommendations for every pastor of a small church to include in their workflow and personal habits.
- Use http://planning.center as a Church Management System. The People Module is free and is quite useful! Add whatever else as needed.
- Use the Giving Module in Planning Center. Add online and text-to-give features to help people under 50 give as faithfully as they want to.
- Make Invite Cards.
- Keep a clean and up-to-date website and post pictures often on your Facebook page.
- Work Mondays.
- Record yourself preach and watch it every Monday.
- Learn to use Connection Cards to help visitors reach out to you.
- Write First and Second Time Guest cards on Monday.
- Pick a book a month and read it with your team.
- Teach through books of the Bible, or use Liturgy to choose your message, or buy them! You don’t have time to be pithy or thoughtful.
- Get a regular coffee shop and regularly meet people outside the office — especially new poeple.
- Learn to present the gospel every week.
This is not a “grow your church quickly” system. It is not personality or culture driven. These are the winning habits that move the chains. Win a few first downs in a row you start to get touchdowns.
See something you think I missed? Let me know! See something you think is just extra work? I’d take the feedback!