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Leading Ideas
Delivered every Wednesday, our free e-newsletter Leading Ideas offers articles by thoughtful, cutting-edge leaders on subjects you care about — navigating change, reaching younger people, financing your ministry, communicating effectively — to help you be the leader God is calling you to be.

The Lewis Center is committed to helping congregations and denominations thrive and grow by providing ideas, research, resources, and training for vital and fruitful leadership. Through Leading Ideas, we share vignettes of leaders and congregations, book reviews, leadership quotes, and helpful “right questions” built around the premise that leaders don’t need answers — they need to know the right questions.

Leading Ideas
0 Reaching People Who Don’t Look or Act Like “Church People”

Rev. Olu Brown started Impact Church in Atlanta 11 years ago with a group of 25 people. Now, it’s one of the 25 fastest growing churches in the country, with almost 4,400 worshipers weekly, onsite or online. He shares tips on reaching people — even those who don’t look or act like “church people.” At Impact Church, we’re a group…

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Leading Ideas
0 Stop Taking Givers for Granted

Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard, authors of Contagious Generosity, explain the importance of developing a system to thank givers to celebrate their spiritual growth through giving and encourage greater generosity. It is sad but true that many churches take their givers for granted. Most nonprofits, on the other hand, understand just how difficult it is to find prospects, cultivate them,…

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Leading Ideas
0 What Kind of Church Will Millennials Lead?

In a very short period of time the Millennial generation will be the largest segment of clergy, says Wesley Theological Seminary President David McAllister-Wilson. Therefore, the key question for the church is no longer “How can we attract Millennials?” but rather “What kind of church will Millennials lead?” As churches of all denominations struggle to turn around their aging congregations,…

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Leading Ideas
0 Did Jesus Invent the Pyramid Scheme?

While the idea of a pyramid scheme may bring to mind shady dealings and unsavory characters, Stephanie Remington of the Lewis Center staff sees genius in the idea of building influence through friendships. She says utilizing our existing networks is a perfectly natural way to grow the church and identify new leaders — a method established by Jesus himself. Ah,…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Tips for Preaching on Politically Charged Topics

Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, author of Sacred Resistance, says it’s up to preachers to address the pain, injustice, confusion, and chaos in our days even when it is risky, and she offers guidance on approaching controversial issues in meaningful and responsible ways. “I went to worship this morning and not one word was spoken about [fill in the blank].” I’ve heard this…

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Leading Ideas
0 9 Top Trends Impacting Church Leadership

Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe and Associate Director Ann A. Michel outline some of the major trends evident in their research and interactions with church leaders. While many of the trends are quite sobering, they also reveal possibilities for innovative and adaptive approaches to ministry. 1. Changes in church attendance patterns Since 2001, worship attendance had been trending downward…

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Leading Ideas
0 Honoring the Context of a New Ministry Setting

Lovett H. Weems Jr. says incoming pastors tend to see everything through the lens of their own experience, vision, and interests, rather than learning how things got to be the way they are. Good leadership is always about the group, not the leader, says Weems. So it’s important for new pastors to take time to understand the pulse of a…

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Leading Ideas
0 5 Strategies for Engaging Millennials

Joshua L Mitchell, author of the book Black Millennials and the Church, shares what his work reveals about how black churches can engage younger adults — strategies that are valuable advice for any congregation looking to better connect with the next generation. Based on the findings of my study, here are five strategies that any church can implement today that…

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Leading Ideas
0 6 Ways to Know If Your Church is Overstaffed

Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff outlines six questions that can help reveal whether a particular staff role is likely to be fruitful or burdensome and counterproductive. Over the past several decades, the trend in many churches has been to add staff with more laity in paid positions. In many circumstances, the addition of staff promotes more vital and…

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Leading Ideas
0 6 Keys to Sharing the Gospel in a Pluralistic Culture

Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe, Jr., says evangelistic strategies often fail because they don’t meaningfully and respectfully engage those we are trying to reach. Powe highlights key values and practices for reaching others while honoring differences, gleaned from a recent study of the renowned 20th century evangelist, E. Stanley Jones. It’s tempting to imagine that revitalizing a church is…

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Leading Ideas
0 Leading Unafraid

How can church leaders confront the fear that prevents congregations from dealing with controversial issues or taking necessary risks? Adam Hamilton, pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, outlines perspectives and strategies drawn from his new book Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times.  Successful people are willing to do the things that…

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Leading Ideas
0 From Parking Lot to Pew: Turning Building Users into Worshipers

Many churches provide meeting space for community groups hoping that building users will eventually show up for worship. But for a church to reach new people through its facility, it must engage in an active, intentional process of building relationships with those using the building, according to Kay Kotan and Phil Schroeder. Who is in and out of your church…

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Leading Ideas
0 Setting the Right Expectations for Volunteers

Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. says it can be difficult to hold volunteers to high standards of job performance, but clear position descriptions, mentoring, and regular evaluation and feedback can help assure that volunteers will do their jobs well. What can churches justifiably expect from volunteers? It is one thing when someone is getting compensated to perform a…

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Leading Ideas
0 Is Your Parking Lot Helping or Hurting Your Church?

Believe it or not, your parking lot could be the thing that is holding back the potential of your church, according to church growth expert Rich Birch. He describes how a tired-looking parking lot creates a poor first impression and offers five tips for launching a parking lot team. The first thing that most people typically see about your church…

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Leading Ideas
0 Unsticking a “Stuck” Institution

In 2014, Amy Butler stepped into the pulpit of The Riverside Church in Manhattan, a church well known for its public witness and prominent pastoral leaders. She shares advice on taking the helm of a well-established congregation and leading change within a historic institution. Those of us called to lead institutions with long and prominent histories have a big task…

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Leading Ideas
0 5 Ways to Know if Your Church Needs A Strategic Plan

Chris Bennett, a Virginia pastor who helps other congregations develop strategic plans, outlines a set of questions that can help your church decide if a strategic planning process is what’s needed to gain clarity around your next steps and develop positive momentum. You may have heard the saying, “Let go and let God.” While it’s not a direct biblical quote,…

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Leading Ideas
0 Stewardship in Times of Transition

Angela Denker describes how stewardship and giving can be difficult in times of pastoral transition in churches. She says it is critical that stewardship be rooted in faith and in God’s mission, not in the individual pastor’s particular vision. Transitions are hard. Change is hard. Transitions are often especially hard in the church. Not long ago, I left a beloved call…

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Leading Ideas
0 Begin with Where

Rev. William H. Lamar IV, pastor of the historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal church in downtown Washington, DC, considers what it means for an older urban church to thrive in a changing context while remaining committed to its history and values. Many church leaders today are asking “What are we to do?” and “How are we to do the things…

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Leading Ideas
0 Fostering the Courage to Lead

David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary, sees courage as essential to church leadership. He explains how courage is formed not through study or proclamation, but within groups where people care about one another and are committed to a common mission. Courage is an essential virtue necessary for faithful leadership. Think of the courage it takes to walk into the…

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Leading Ideas
0 5 Key Practices for Connecting with Your Context

Mark Gornik and Maria Liu Wong have been working to understand new practices of ministry that are emerging in vital and diverse urban settings. They have discerned five important themes and practices in how good, sustainable, and flourishing ministry occurs in cities, and in other settings as well. Practices of Ministry in the City is an initiative at City Seminary…

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Leading Ideas
0 Lead, Learn, Launch: Getting Started with Digital Giving

Need a roadmap for getting started with electronic giving in your church? Alex Benson of Luther Seminary outlines a three-step process for implementing the methods of giving that most churchgoers prefer and regularly use in other financial transactions. Did you know that 34 percent of churchgoers prefer to give by recurring payment via credit card? That the number of checks…

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Leading Ideas
0 The One-Point Sermon

Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized around one point. But that point must be both clear and compelling. Once, I had just preached what I thought was a pretty good sermon. It was chock full of points, quotes, and anecdotes. As…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Ways to Extend the Impact of a Sermon

Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard describe ways to get more traction from each week’s sermon by layering its message into other materials that reinforce the teaching — such as weekly devotionals or study guides — and by posting it online. For most pastors and church staff persons, the weekend service of message and worship demands a disproportionate amount of weekly…

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Leading Ideas
0 Moving Beyond Church in A Box

Pastor Carey Nieuwhof says congregations need to break free of the mentality that people need to come to church at a set time and place to be in relationship with Christ. Churches need to innovate and keep experimenting to reach people, for example, through digital outreach, remote locations, and pop-up churches. Too many church leaders are perfectly equipped to reach…

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Leading Ideas
0 7 Ways Your Quarterly Giving Statements Can Make the Right Statement

Stewardship expert Ken Sloane outlines ideas for making sure that your church’s quarterly giving statements express gratitude and let people know the difference their giving makes, rather than coming across like an impersonal bill or dues statement. When you open your mail, would you rather receive a bill or a nice, handwritten thank-you note?  As we approach the time of…

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This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.