Every church has a First Impressions Team. Those who welcome greet and serve all who attend your public gatherings. But how many churches have a Second Touch Team: those who are responsible for following up and seeking to connect those new attendees into the life of the church?

One way to encourage your congregation to attend and invite a friend on Easter Sunday is to write a personal letter to every member of the church concerning your upcoming Easter Service(s).

Leaders lead! In sending a letter to your congregation, you’re showing initiative and leadership. Make a heartfelt appeal to your people to make this the best Easter ever in the life of your church. Here are 5 questions the letter should address.

I have been concerned lately that pastors and church leaders are putting very little evangelistic energy into their Easter Services. Here are a few reasons we are hearing:

• “All our key people go on vacation at that time.”

• “We don't want to be an attractional church.”

• “We are having staffing issues and can’t handle a big workload right now.”

• “We have not had fruitful Easter Outreaches in the past.”

There is an old adage, “Speed of the leader, speed of the team.”  The evangelistic temperature of any church can be measured by one person – the pastor.  If the pastor has a heart that is broken and continues to be broken for the lost in their community, it will spread like a virus through the board, staff, lay leaders and members. 

Two weeks after I received Christ, I was invited by my new Christians friends to attend a Saturday seminar on evangelism. To be honest, at that time, I didn’t even know what evangelism was or even meant. I was just excited to be with my new friends.  By the end of the day I discovered that evangelism was just sharing what Jesus has done for me with the people who come into my life.

“Helping to fulfill the Great Commission is the single most important task of the Church. Therefore, developing evangelistic leadership to carry out that mission should be a top priority.” – Bill Bright

Are your board meetings filled with a burning passion to see every man, women and child reached with the gospel in your community?

When it comes to equipping your church to be actively engaged in evangelism many start with a class or a seminar because that is the way we were taught. It is not that I am against classroom education or equipping seminars, I just believe that these trainings should come after one's heart has been captured through positive experiences.  Providing your people with positive, low risk experiences that build on each other is one of the best ways to design your equipping strategy.

“Evangelism was the prerogative and duty of every church member… The ordinary people of the first century church saw it as their job: Christianity was supremely a lay movement, spread by informal missionaries.” – Michael Green

We will not advance the gospel through the church without the serious training for every member in how to share the gospel winsomely and accurately.  The Apostle Peter makes in very clear that every follower of Jesus must be prepared to articulate the hope they have experienced in Christ.

Over thirty years ago I saw my first Christian movie it was about the life of J. Hudson Taylor. That movie and his books laid a spiritual foundation in my life on what it means to abide in Christ. Here is short bio and some of his faith stretching thoughts.  May God inspire you through this man’s humble faith and precious insights in walking with Jesus.

I am amazed at how many pastoral staff members in local churches are woefully inactive at personally sharing their faith or even explaining the gospel.

How does one help their staff or volunteers to increase the number of spiritual conversations they get into in a typical week of ministry?

Ed Stetzer once said, “If you want your church to be evangelistic and you yourself are not evangelistic – you are on a fools errand.” 

If you are going to see the spiritual conversations in your church increase this year you must see them increase in your life as a leader.

Here is a great collection of quotes reflecting the value of coaching from N2Coaching.

Every church will have an opportunity to relaunch and retool their ministry either in the fall or the spring prior to Easter.  We hope this series of articles will inspire and practically assist churches as they investigate the relaunch process. We desire that every church will take this God-given opportunity to heart and leverage it for kingdom expansion.

If you have never read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream" speech. May I encourage you to do it today in remembrance of this great leader.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18

Every church will have a unique opportunity to Relaunch their ministry this fall. Whether your church is six weeks old or 170 years young, each church will have a chance to reorient their ministries, equip their leaders and inspire their people to fulfill the mission of Jesus of making more and better disciples in their unique context.

Here are ten practical steps to help you and your team to think through your Relaunch Plan.

Growing as a coach, leader or manager is an art form. I recently read an article on 10 Coachable Situations.

The author wrote, "When I hear managers talking about coaching their staff, they are often speaking of coaching them to improve their performance, and usually at an annual performance review. What if you considered coaching as a tool that you can use at any time, and not only when your employees are not performing, but also when they are doing great work? Coaching allows you to extend your influence all year long, in many situations, at any time. It requires you to pay attention to situations that are appropriate for coaching".

Over 30 years ago I was given a profound gift of Arnold A. Dallimore’s classic work, George Whitefield, the Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival.  George Whitefield was not a man of great physical stature but he was a powerful servant of God.

What would God’s reaction be towards the goals and plans we have set out for our lives?

In the midst of some crazy things going on with family and work I found strength in focusing not on how God can meet my needs for emotional strength in chaotic times but by focusing on where God finds His joy.