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

I love pastoring in a small town. Really, I just love pastoring, no matter where I’m doing it. But much of my pastoring experience has been in small towns and I love the dynamics of pastoring in small town America. But here’s an interesting fact about the U.S.—most of our big cities are comprised of small towns. Most large urban and suburban areas are made up of communities averaging about 25,000 people. For instance, Atlanta has Decatur, Druid Hills, Inman Park, Riverside an

The first ever Small Town Church Conference will be October 3-4, 2016 in Villa Rica, Georgia, hosted by LifeGate Church. I love pastoring in a small town and, along with the other Small Town Church lead team members, believe every small town church can have huge impact for the Kingdom. I am excited about this conference and would like to share some reasons I think you should be here too: 1. The SmallTown.Church Conference is planned for the specific dynamics of the small town

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