Melinda and I are privileged to pastor in a small town in Central Georgia of about 1,600 people. Don’t feel sorry for us though, we are next to a booming metropolis of 5,000 and the county we live in has a little over 21,000. As you may imagine, literally everyone knows everyone. So attending a new church for the first time can make waves in the community. Many families have a church connection, though it may not be as strong as it once was in the South. Often the younger gen

In the last post we talked about connecting to the small town where you pastor or lead, specifically looking at ways to connect to newcomers and long-time residents. Now let's look at ways to effectively connect to those who might want to check out your church. First of all is first impressions. We all know the stats that tell us most people have made up their minds about returning before you ever get up to speak. So we should be constantly looking closely at what our first i

As a pastor it can seem noble and even Biblical to try to be all things to all men. The apostle Paul even said as much in his letter to the church in Corinth: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law that I might win tho

Sheryll and I have had the privilege of starting and pastoring 3 churches. Our church, LifeGate Church in Villa Rica, also has 2 campuses with more on the way. Our campuses are all led and taught by the campus pastors because she and I have always had a passion to see other couples released into effective ministry. Of those 5 churches we have been part of starting, 4 are in small towns, ranging in population from about 1500 to almost 25,000. I love pastoring, and I especially