One night in late December, the plans I’d cooked up for 2023 evaporated before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. With the decks cleared of clutter, one exciting option remained—Vibrant Faith’s 12-week Ministry Leadership Coaching School. The school is led by Vibrant Faith’s Director of Coaching Services, Jim LaDoux, and Dr. Felix Villanueva, a Master …
If you’ve ever been on a whitewater rafting adventure, you’ll remember that rafting guides know how to address unhelpful behavior right away—if they don’t, difficult people can ruin the experience for everyone, or even put their safety at risk. Likewise, when ministry leaders fail to address counterproductive behavior on their ministry teams, they jeopardize the …
In the thick of winter, when it’s nasty outside, it’s hard to resist the lure of Netflix, NFL playoffs, and a new season of shows streaming on TV. We can still hear the vows we made to ourselves at the beginning of the year, our good intentions for diet and fitness, but the couch (and …
(NOTE: We asked Angela Gorrell, author of Always On, to work with churches in our Thriving Congregations project as they sought to expand their online formational practices. Here are Angela’s reflections on what they learned together…) Two hopeful teams from two churches met online with me on Zoom over the course of 12 weeks. The teams …
As ministry leaders, we face a unique challenge—the repetition of programming. It doesn’t matter how inspiring and powerful your worship was this Sunday, for example, because next week you’ll need to create another meaningful experience. Repetition is a significant hurdle for all those involved in planning weekly worship, Bible study, children’s and youth programming, and …
Maybe you’ve already put all the right systems in place for your hospitality ministry—training greeters, a well-staffed Welcome Center, and a follow-up system for communications. You’re playing all the right notes, but there’s something missing in the melody. Maybe that missing melody is relational warmth. Without it, guests and “regulars” at your church experience a subtle …
Every repetitive thing we do in life is in danger of a dulling descent into rote. And our ministry rhythms are not immune. Week after week we plan worship. Year after year we start new ministries and add fuel to existing ones. It can feel like rinse and repeat; wax on/wax off. How do we …
By Denise UtterVibrant Faith Coaching Team As August tails off into September, I often reflect back to my teacher days. I loved the end of August and looked forward to new blank notebooks, clean 16-month calendars, new pens, sharpened pencils, and an array of colored highlighters (oh the color-coding)! It was a fresh start—a chance …
By Rev. Dr. Mark SlaughterVibrant Faith Coaching Team Fall is on our doorstep, and that means we’re already working to reinvent what we do to spur new energy, spiritual vitality, attendance, and contributions. But what if you could produce that same energy without re-tooling the ministry programs you’re already doing? We’ve just launched an experiment …
Transformational growth in your congregation heats up when every stakeholder is invited to make tangible contributions, every month, to the mission. To make meaningful contributions, people need to know the big picture, the plan for moving forward, and the personal contributions they can make in the next 30-90 days to help fulfill the mission. Most …
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