2018
William Vanderbloemen is the CEO and Founder of Vanderbloemen Search Group. a recruitment and consulting firm for churches. Previously, he served as the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Houston. Recently, William interviewed me for his podcast and I interviewed ...
![No, A God-Sized Vision Doesn’t Need To Be Big And Scary No, A God-Sized Vision Doesn’t Need To Be Big And Scary](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82302.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Does God’s vision for our life, church and ministry have to be big to be real?
I keep hearing that it does. Sayings like “if your vision isn’t big enough to scare you, it’s not from God” have been popular for quite some time now. Apparently we’re ...
![The 3 Most Common Challenges Small Church Pastors Face – And How To Help The 3 Most Common Challenges Small Church Pastors Face – And How To Help](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82275.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Small church pastors are some of the hardest-working, most passionate and sacrificial people anywhere.
They serve without fanfare, helping in ways most people will never see. And they face challenges that many will never experience.
In over five years of writing, speaking and ...
![Small Church Pastors: A Tribute To The Forgotten Heroes Small Church Pastors: A Tribute To The Forgotten Heroes](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82231.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Where did we get the idea that small churches are small because there’s something wrong with them and/or their pastors?
There are millions of small church pastors doing great, kingdom-building work with little or no budget, little or no facilities and little or no salary. ...
![4 Steps To Start Moving From Teaching A Crowd To Equipping The Saints 4 Steps To Start Moving From Teaching A Crowd To Equipping The Saints](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82227.jpg?h=168&w=300)
So, my last blog post stirred up a lot more response than I expected.
In The Biggest Mistake Teaching Pastors Tend to Make – And How To Correct It, I encouraged pastors to move from being a teaching pastor to an equipping pastor, based on the Pastoral Prime Mandate of Ephesians ...
![The Biggest Mistake Teaching Pastors Tend to Make – And How To Correct It The Biggest Mistake Teaching Pastors Tend to Make – And How To Correct It](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82163.jpg?h=168&w=300)
If you are a teaching pastor, I have a gift for you. I’m going to share one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in 35+ years of pastoral ministry.
It happened when I recognized that I was commiting what is probably the biggest mistake most teaching pastors ...
Better churches become bigger churches. Right?
Maybe not.
That’s been the rule of thumb for businesses, too. And it’s no more true there than it is for us.
As it turns out, constant growth doesn’t work for the majority of churches or businesses. Yet they can still ...
By far, the most common question I’m asked about small church ministry is “if your church is healthy, why is it so small?”
It’s a valid question, for sure. And one that I’ve answered in several previous blog posts, including these:
![The Two Biggest Mistakes Churches Make With Money The Two Biggest Mistakes Churches Make With Money](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82052.jpg?h=168&w=300)
There are two equal, but opposite mistakes churches regularly make regarding money.
Especially for smaller churches, these are the main ways that finances (or lack of them) stop us from doing the ministry we’re called to do.
(This is part of an ongoing series, Money and ...
![How To Give Money Less Power Over Your Church How To Give Money Less Power Over Your Church](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82029.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Money is in charge of too many of our churches.
So many good congregations want to do great ministry, but their limited finances cause them to make too many decisions based on what they can or can’t afford, instead of what God is calling them to do.
It’s a trap that ...
![9 Common Social Media Tactics That Never Draw Anyone Closer To Jesus 9 Common Social Media Tactics That Never Draw Anyone Closer To Jesus](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/82021.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Social media has no moral component to it – except the ones we give it. It's just a tool.
A very powerful one.
And we’re only beginning to grasp its impact.
When used well it can connect, inform and entertain us. But when it’s used poorly, as it so often is, ...
![Churches Renovate Their Building, On Average, Every 30 Years? Really?! Churches Renovate Their Building, On Average, Every 30 Years? Really?!](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/81975.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Uh… Wow.
Every 30 years?
Yes, those are the stats, according to a church renovation expert I heard at a recent conference.
By the time his company is called in to help a church renovate their sanctuary, lobby, exterior or anything significant, it’s been three full ...
![Time, Not Money, Is The New Church Commitment Currency Time, Not Money, Is The New Church Commitment Currency](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/81957.jpg?h=168&w=300)
The Sunday morning pass-the-plate offering has always been a reliable predictor of the commitment level of church members.
Long before they started leaving – often before many started complaining – people would express their dissatisfaction with a church by stopping ...
![Church Attendance Patterns Are Changing And We Have To Adapt Church Attendance Patterns Are Changing And We Have To Adapt](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/81889.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Church attendance is changing.
As recently as 20 years ago, if ten people became church members (either formally or informally) the average attendance grew by eight or nine people.
Not any more.
Today, if ten people become church members, average attendance grows by five or six. ...
![The Growth Gap: How The Megachurch Phenomenon Has Unintentionally Isolated Small Churches The Growth Gap: How The Megachurch Phenomenon Has Unintentionally Isolated Small Churches](https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/81856.jpg?h=168&w=300)
Sometimes it seems like the divide between big and small churches is so vast it’s almost insurmountable.
And it’s increasing, not diminishing.
Why is that happening? And why has the divide has become especially large in the last few decades?
I think it has to do with ...
Read More from Karl
![Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of under 250 Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of under 250](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41AU9uOZQAL._SL500_.jpg)