Childrensbulletins.com: a great way to connect with your children when they are attend Big Church. They are customizable and can display your church logo.
Google Docs: a great one stop shop for all your document needs.
Smallgroup.com: every study that Lifeway has produced is available to you online and fees are based on size of your church.
Think differently about how you do outreach: commission your church members and attenders to be mission partners with existing organizations.
Bob and JimBo take some time to share their favorite Replant hacks. This wide ranging conversation had the boys riffing about practical stuff they have found helpful to them as Replanters.
Episode #17 - Websites, Social Media, and Marketing in a Replant with Wesley Lewis from OneEighty Digital
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It was great to have Wesley Lewis from our podcast sponsor Oneeightydigital.com talk all things Website, social media and all relevant topics.
It’s a good probability that one of the first things needing to be changed is the website of a Church needing Replanting.
The Website is the “front door” of your church.
Things to avoid your church website:
-Using stock photos
-Representing something that you are not
-Not including contact information, address, email and a map
The web is the “yellow” pages of today-you want to be found, you want to provide good information that helps people know who you are.
Things to make sure your website has:
-A good header image (you have 5 seconds to make a good impression)
-Where you are, your service schedule, how to contact your church
-A brief description about what your church is like (using language that any outsider who si not part of your church could understand)
-All this needs to be available within one scroll
Is it important to have sermon archives/sermon podcast on your website?
-Definitely, your members are most likely to listen to the entire message, guests will listen to clips.
-Consider transcribing your sermons this creates more hits on search engines.
-Use key words to give an SEO boost.
Should a Replant or Normative Size Church “live stream” their services?
-Livestream is mostly likely for your members or attenders who cannot be there
-Guests will most likely watch clips
-One positive is that live streaming extends your ministry a bit beyond your local area.
-In some cases this allows for you to reach out to those who might want to partner with your church financially.
-Mark Zuckerberg has said that the future of Facebook is video.
Is there a way to get the passwords from someone who may be disgruntled and won’t give them?
-Yes, you’ll need to contact Wesley to find out how.
What kind of person should run your website?
-Someone who knows how to connect with your community.
-Someone who possesses a missions mindset that desires to reach people with the gospel.
-They don’t have to be the most tech-savvy or the most social media savvy, but someone who knows how to tell stories well-people really respond to stories.
What can you do if you struggle to think about what to put on the website?
-Tell good stories
-Celebrate your strengths
Should you work with a company or just use a site builder?
-You always get a better product when you work with a team to develop your sites through a creative collaborative process.
-Predefined sites which you can customize are good but may limit what you can do in terms of telling your stories.
Wesley’s toolbox recommendations for your website
-Develop a good content team: to capture and write up stories for your site.
-Use a social media scheduler
-Invest in marketing: understand that you are marketing even if you don’t market. Empower people to share news about your church through good content.
-Develop a google my business page: make sure it’s accurate and up to date.
-Get info from a professional: even if you just buy someone lunch-pick their brain, get their opinions about marketing, sites and how your church can connect with the community.
Episode #16 - Rebranding and Replanting with Special Guest Rodney Richardson of Rare Design
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When NBA, NFL teams, and other major sports franchises want to rebrand they call Rodney Richardson at Rare Design. Rare Design also helps a lot of churches and Rodney is a lay elder at The Church at 4 Points. Rare Design and 4 Points help support and manage Ddembe Ministries in Uganda. Rodney has served in various forms of lay leadership in local churches – including one replant. The combination of his ministry experience and professional expertise give him a unique and valuable perspective on replanting and rebranding.
“Branding” is about much more than good looking images. “When I use the word ‘brand’ it is synonymous with story. It is your story.”
We need to understand who we are. Where we come from. Our heritage. A lot of times we forget why we got into things in the first place. So much about replanting and rebranding is remembering. Remembering the story of the church. Embracing the story and the legacy of the church.
A vital characteristic for a replanter is a Respect for a Church’s Legacy – “A pastor with Respect for a Church’s Legacy knows how to love and build off of a church’s past without allowing people in the congregation to idolize it in an unhealthy way.” This requires a posture of humility.
Replanters need to recognize that God planted the church they are pastoring intentionally. Each church is a unique place in the world. No other church has the exact same story.
Sometimes when looking into the history of the church you are pastoring you might find things you wish weren’t there. We have to be honest about the past and approach it with grace. We have to recognize and repent of things like this when we find them. Sometimes there are things that must be dealt with. Sometimes there are wounds and there has to be a healing process. Part of replanting is facing the ugly stuff. “If we don’t know it, if we don’t admit it, then we can’t know how to deal with it to move forward in right ways.”
Ecclesiastes 4:12 – Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
The three strands of any organization are:
The Story – Vision, Mission, History, Beliefs, The Stories of Who We Are
The Culture – Systems, Structure, Personnel, Processes, Protocols, The Daily Living of Who We Are
The Expression – Identity, Marketing, Public Relations. The Outward Expressions of Who We Are
The story is the most vital. We need to build our structures and expressions according to our story. When all 3 strands converge, your entire organization will come into alignment, positioning you for success.
People aren’t coming to your church because they want a cool logo and/or website. People are hurting. People are looking for connection. They are looking for real relationships. They are looking for real answers as to who they are and who they are created to be.
It is important to discover who God has wired you to be as an individual and as a church. When Jesus called the disciples he called a tax collector, a zealot, a doubter, and an impetuous guy who just said whatever came to his mind. Each of these men served God through their personality of who God wired them to be.
Replanters need to figure out what the personality of the church is. Effective replanters have a good sense of Organizational Awareness – A replanter with Organizational Awareness is adept at understanding how power dynamics work within the church, anticipating how changes would be received, recognizing where change may produce friction, and showing an awareness of how current practice and changes affected their position within the community in which they served.
At Rare Design we challenge people to practice the law of asymmetry – dare to be different. You have permission to be who God has called you to be. Don’t measure against the “crowd” – don’t fall into herd mentality. Be empowered in who God has called you to be as a church. You don’t have to be cool and trendy – you have to be who God has called you to be.
When we say we want a good logo or branding usually we are saying we want good expression. But you can’t express what you don’t know.
We are always story telling. Let’s make sure we are telling the greatest story ever told.
OneEighty Digital is a team of design, development, and marketing experts that love working with churches big and small, and they’ve just launched two awesome new products to help churches, plants, and replants. The first is called Launchpad, it’s an all-in-one custom branding and website bundle developed specifically for planters, replanters, & revitalizers who need to get things moving quickly. The second is Church Quicksite. It was created for churches working with tight budgets and can help get them an amazing new church website in as little as 1 week at a really affordable price. Check out OneEighty.Church to learn more about these special new offerings and how OneEighty can help your church Move Forward!
Episode #15 - Dealing with Depression and Discouragement with Special Guest Mark Clifton
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Mark Clifton, Sr. Director of Replant of the North American Mission Board, stopped by the bootcamp and dropped some great knowledge and advice about how to deal with discouragement and depression as a Replanter.
How can a Replanter stay encouraged and healthy?
Unfortunately many don’t.
Pastors operate wounded and then wound others-spending $20 on a 10 cent problem.
Satan’s number 1 tool against a Pastor is depression/discouragement.
The weight of ministry creates a cycle of discouragement and depression that often creates a victim mentality and a context in which operating with emotional intelligence is difficult.
If you find your purpose, joy and meaning in how well your church is doing–you’ll be feeding off the congregation and not feeding them. And you’ll always be searching for Joy.
Find your joy in Jesus alone.
Talk to yourself, instead of listening to yourself.
Should a Pastor admit struggles and weaknesses?
You need to be vulnerable as a Pastor, but you also need to be cautious about how and with whom you are vulnerable.
Find a group of Leaders (Other Pastors, Director of Missions, Associational Missional Strategist, Elders) who you are living in community with and be vulnerable with them.
Be wise about your struggles with the congregation during your preaching.
We must remember that we have the Gospel-our trust is not in ourselves but in Jesus.
Use your weaknesses and inadequacies to point to the cross instead of using them to garner sympathy.
What are some other sources of encouragement for a discouraged Pastor/Replanter?
Read the Scriptures
Read the Puritans
Listen to good sermons (Spurgeon, Martin Lloyd Jones)
Don’t unload your church frustrations on your spouse/family.
Relax and remember that the church is the Lord’s, he is the one who will grow it and care for it.
Fight for your joy, the gospel and your church.
Are there some signs that it’s time to consider transitioning away from your church?
If the work is destroying your family, faith and your Christian walk-you may need to consider stepping down.
To be honest, some men should not be Pastors, and they need to come to terms with that. They could be called to be a good church leader, a great church member.
Every Pastor must have a clear call from God-or he shouldn’t be pastoring.
Often, in the midst of discouragement a Pastor is prone to choose isolation over community.
Find a good Christian counselor-for yourself and for your congregation.
If you are a Pastor experiencing serious discouragement please reach out to someone for help today.
Background: Kyle was called to Replant/Revitalize a church with 60 people that was in 900K in debt.
Q: How do you deal with debt in a Replant?
Be certain of your call: the call to Replant a church is a necessity-especially when that church is in a difficult situation.
Commit to the church: Kyle says; “We bought a house to show the congregation that we were all in, we put ourselves on the line, I knew I needed to do that so I wouldn’t have an out.”
Find/Partner with a friendly lender and communicate with them regularly. FBC had the benefit of their note being with their denominational lender.
Be open and honest about your situation with those who are coming to be part of your church.
Look for ways to reduce your debt: we’ve been praying and seeking sell our land but also exercising patience.
Steady consistent and faithful leadership is important to create a positive attitude and culture among your people.
We are confident that God is not surprised by our circumstances-and we’re trusting him to provide and lead.
Define Reality and provide hope, and understand the thing that brings hope is the Gospel.
Q: Is there a correct order regarding Elder or Deacons? Which should you have first in a Replant?
“Delders” leaders in a local church who are actually Deacons but lead like Elders. (h/t Mike Hubbard, Pastor, Genesis Church)
Baptist Faith and Message side by side comparison 1925, 1963, 2000 (search the terms Elders, Deacons, Pastor)
Which came first in the emerging church? A case can be made for Deacons from Acts chapter 6.
In most cases, even in dying or declining churches, you likely have men who are serving as Deacons. If they are serving well, meet the qualifications of Elders and desire the office this group can become a primary source from which to develop potential Elders.
One of the keys in preparing your church for Elders is to teach about them from the scriptures.
In some instances a campus church or mission church can lean on the processes of their sponsoring/sending church to vet, train and install deacons and elders.
You may want to begin your potential selection of Deacons and Elders by inviting them into an informal before formal process.
Be patient and wise, take your time, don’t get in a rush choosing Deacons and Elders.
Make note, Elders need to desire to the office. Pressuring, pursuing and encouraging a man who doesn’t aspire to the office will not go well.
Ask the community: “If our church was to be an asset to this community what could we do?”
Consider your church’s history: repent and make reconciliation where possible.
Own and repent of past sins.
Process with your people the findings of your community assessments about your church’s reputation.
A name change is not a strategy to jettison your church’s bad reputation.
Keeping the name is at times, a more powerful picture of the Gospel and the power of forgiveness and redemption Jesus brings to us and the church.
Salvation doesn’t erase our past, it changes it.
Changing a church’s reputation involves changing the church’s culture.
The Pastor’s leadership is key in helping to change the church’s reputation.
Pastoral involvement in the community along with some church members is key. As your people engage in the community people get a new image and experience with your church.
Utilize your church’s facilities to bless the community.
Changing the image or reputation of your church takes a long time.
At times, you may need to help correct mis-information about your church in the community proactively.
Let God be your defender, it’s His church.
You will rarely win over the critics who will not engage with you. You can win over the folks who will interact with you as you patiently help them see what God is doing in your church.
