Project, Spinoff, or Partnership?
When should a new community initiative remain a church project, be spun off as an independent nonprofit, or pursued in partnership with another organization?
Resource topics: Planning & Change
What About the Nones?
The growing category of religiously unaffiliated people and what their rise means for congregational planning. Listening sympathetically to Nones can reveal opportunities.
Five Lies We Like to Tell About Church Growth
Challenges five common myths congregations use to explain or excuse failure to grow. Uses evidence to push back against comforting but counterproductive narratives.
Two Kinds of Customers
Congregations serve two different customers — members and the broader community — and confusion between these leads to strategic drift.
The End of the Race to Be Lax
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a pattern in which congregations competed to be the least demanding rather than the most effective. A call for more intentional planning.
Tips and Principles for Congregational Consultants
Practical tips from 20+ years of consulting across 33 denominational families. What makes congregational consulting work, cautions for new consultants, and lessons learned.
How to Measure Ministry
The challenge of evaluating ministry when outcomes are inherently qualitative or long-term. A goal-focused framework for measuring what matters in congregational ministry.
Agenda Items for Your Board this Summer
Specific agenda items for congregational boards to address during the quieter summer months — governance reflection and long-range planning.
How Boards Plan
The annual cycle through which boards engage in strategic planning — when and how boards set direction, evaluate progress, and hand off implementation to staff.
What Kind of Planning Should We Do?
Helps congregations choose the right planning approach — strategic, operational, or adaptive. Most congregations do too much formal planning and not enough learning-by-doing.