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What kind of small group model should your church use? Some groups are more about fellowship (interest-based groups), some are focused on Bible study (like a Sunday school class), and others are centralized around the Sunday sermon. We think sermon-based groups can be really effective, and we’d love to tell you why. Read the blog post here . Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Church! is power...

How do you feel about public speaking? As a pastor, you’re probably doing a lot of it — and it’s a learned skill, just like any other. Jack Hester, the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Mobile, Alabama, has been preaching nearly every week for twenty-five years. He’s got some tips for how to improve your public speaking skills so that your content delivery can be as effective as possible. Fol...

What does it look like to disciple new leaders in your church? To some of you, it may look like an informal process where you meet with that person every week to check in and coach them. Others of you may see it as a more structured program of teaching and mentoring. Either way, discipling needs to be purposeful — and we have a few ideas for how to intentionally raise up new leaders in your church...

Do you have a favorite biblical commentary set? We’ve made a list of our top five — and we’re going to share them with you today. Commentaries can provide illuminating context on your selected passage. When you dive into commentaries, you’re accessing a treasure trove of pastoral scholarship that can enrich your understanding of the text and how you present it. Read the blog post here. Follow Hell...

What’s the best way to preach through a book of the Bible? At Ministry Pass, we have a sermon series on every book of the Bible. For some, we cover every single verse! So if you’re wondering how to keep your messages fresh when you’re preaching on a book of the Bible for weeks (even months!), we’ve got some great tips for you.   Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Church! is powered by Ministr...

When it comes to preaching the Gospel, isn’t the Scripture sufficient? Of course it is — but in reading commentaries, “we enter into a fellowship of pastors across space and time,” says Pastor Kyle Beshears. Commentaries give us a chance to mine the insights of other Biblical scholars so that we can give our congregations an even richer understanding of the text. So how and when should we use them...

Did you know that our team has created over 1200 sermon series? We’ve learned a few things along the way, and we’d like to share our best practices with you. After all, it can feel like a lot of manual effort to develop a sermon series… OR, it can feel like a productive, streamlined process.  Sermon Series Planner PDF Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Church! is powered by Ministry Pass and...

Want to learn how to build a preaching team? You may already understand why a preaching team is a good idea: It allows your congregation to hear from other voices, you can take breaks, and you can also mentor younger pastors. But how exactly do you build this team, especially if you lead a small church? We’ll give you some tips for getting started. Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Church! i...

How do you get people to really respond to your sermons? And no, I don’t mean in terms of persnickety emails after you preach. I mean seeing people really “get it” because you were able to communicate the Word to them in a powerful way. It’s not necessarily up to us — the Spirit of God is the One providing breakthroughs — but how can we make sure we’re fostering those breakthroughs as best we can?...

What’s the recipe for a successful church staff retreat? You can’t underestimate the power of a great staff retreat. A successful event can help everyone step back and see the big picture — you can reflect on where you’ve been and where you’re headed as a church. We have some suggestions to help you plan your next retreat so that you can make it as impactful and enjoyable as possible. Follow Hello...

What should you preach in the summer? Since summer is a less structured, lower-attended period for the church year, you may gravitate toward preaching lighter content. But this season also tends to be a ripe time for transition. We have some ideas for how you can stay intentional and use the summer to shepherd people through significant changes in their lives. SERIES MENTIONED: Summer Baggage God...

Ever skipped over a list of names in your selected passage? You bet you have. It’s hard to know how to preach through them and squeeze out practical applications for your audience. But what are we missing when we jump over Old Testament genealogies and the listed names of New Testament disciples? More careful study can unearth some valuable gems. Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Church! is...

Misaligned? Miscommunicating? Out of the loop? It’s important for your team to stay in step with each other. Things can unravel pretty quickly when they don’t! But it’s not always easy to find the right solution. Never fear: Today, we’re sharing the apps we use here at Ministry Pass that keep us coordinated and collaborative. Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Church! is powered by Ministry P...

What do you need to know before planting a church? Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” When you’re setting out on a church-planting venture, you may be really excited — or really intimidated (or both!). But there are ways for you to participate wisely in God’s building of the house. We talked to some experienced church planters and gathered their advic...

What do you need to know before you plant a church? It’s a big leap to go out and plant a church — so how can you make sure you’re pursuing your path prayerfully and wisely? Continuing our conversation with author, pastor, and leadership trainer John Stange, we’re talking about the seven things you need to know before you head out on a church-planting venture. Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hel...

Did you know that Mother’s Day is the third highest attended service of the year? Outside of Christmas and Easter, Mother’s Day brings in the most attendees — because moms want their children to go to church with them! So how can you be intentional about this service? We have some ideas that will help you celebrate mothers and make the most of the opportunity to reach those who visit your church f...

Can your small church benefit from strategies that big churches use? As a small church pastor, you may be critical of the “mega church mentality.” But some larger churches have worked out certain principles at an organizational level that may help your church get to the next season of its structure and leadership development. In other words, you can keep your small church experience while tearing...

You preach the Gospel to others — but do you regularly preach it to yourself? Today we’re interviewing John Stange, whose new book Dwell on These Things releases in May. In addition to being an author, podcaster, mentor, and leadership trainer, John Stange is a church planter who has been a full-time pastor for the past 23 years. John knows how important it is for pastors to preach the good news t...

How can you get people to come back to your church after Easter? It can be easy to treat Easter like a destination. You plan a big service, promote it, get people to attend, preach to the crowd… then, PHEW! You take a break afterward, grateful to have pulled it off. But the truth is, Easter is a bridge to your church, a starting point for new attendees. So don’t take a break just yet — focus on en...

Need some fresh illustrations to use in your Easter sermon? We’ve got them for you — seven, in fact! Using new illustrations can really get your audience’s attention, especially since you’re likely preaching to both in-person and online crowds this year (which is NOT an easy thing to do). We’ve also got a giveaway for you today — so don’t wait to tune in! Follow Hello Church! on Instagram Hello Ch...

Do you use commentaries when you write your sermons? If not, should you? The Bible is the foundation for every sermon we write, but secondary resources can be incredibly valuable in helping us understand it. After all, the Bible is thousands of years old. By virtue of the Spirit, it was penned by dozens of authors to a variety of audiences in completely different cultures, not to mention translate...

We have something REALLY special to share with you today.  As a pastor, you aren’t just preaching. You’re speaking at baby dedications, weddings, and funerals; you’re prepping for important seasons like Easter and Christmas; you’re trying to put together a team and wrangle volunteers. You could use resources for your preaching ministry to give you guidance and frameworks to navigate all of these s...

 Do you feel like your preaching doesn’t “work” over video? Preaching to in-person and online audiences at the same time is trickier than it sounds. When you preach to an in-person group, you can improvise based on your momentum and how the audience is responding. But these tactics don’t work as well — and can come off as awkward — when you can’t see the other half of the crowd.  Follow Hello Chur...

When’s the last time you preached on the book of Ezekiel? Maybe never, right? You may have taught from other Old Testament books, but data shows that there’s a “New Testament favoritism” among American churches. We tend to feel like the New Testament is easier to understand and apply than the Old… but neglecting the deep context of God’s Word can put us at risk. Follow Hello Church! on Instagram H...

How can you increase attendance at your Easter service this year? Whether your church is meeting in person or online (or both), Easter presents a unique opportunity to attract people who don’t go to church often — or who don’t go at all. There are plenty of people looking for a service to attend this year, especially due to the isolating effects of the last year. This is your chance to plug them i...