Practical Church

Summers don't have to be a dead period in the life of your church. Welcome to welcome to episode 103 of Practical Church Planting.  Summers can lead to less engagement (and people) for many churches. But does it  have  to be that way? We don't think so. While people may travel more in the summer, it doesn't mean churches have to suffer. Here are five ways churches can create engagement over the su...

Here are some books to help take your ministry to the next level. Welcome to welcome to episode 102 of Practical Church Planting. Check out these non-ministry specific books (except #4) to help improve your ministry: Atomic Habits by James Clear Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt Do You Talk Funny by David Nihill Sticky Series by Larry Osborne Ted Talks by Chris Anderson Talk Like Ted by Carmine Gallo...

Here's what you should think about when starting a student ministry. Welcome to welcome to episode 101 of Practical Church Planting. When starting a student ministry (middle and high school) there are a lot of things to consider? Do you wait until you have enough students, or do you start one in the hopes that it attracts students? What should the beginning phases look like? In this episode we dis...

The story of New City Church. Welcome to welcome to episode 100 of Practical Church Planting. Interested in Dylan's story of church planting? In this special episode, we share how New City came to be, and what Dylan has learned on the journey. Connect and never miss an episode. Did you know that you can watch the Practical Church Planting podcast? Connect with us on our  Facebook page  or our  You...

Want a connect card people will actually fill out? Welcome to welcome to episode 99 of Practical Church Planting. Most churches have a connect card for new guests to fill out, but there is a difference between having a good connect card and a bad one. In this episode, we share six characteristics of an effective connect card and how to get more guests to fill them out. Here is what we share: Have...

How can we welcome first time guests in a way that isn't awkward or forced? Welcome to welcome to episode 98 of Practical Church Planting.  How can we welcome first time guests in a way that isn't intrusive and also isn't too stand-offish? The balance can be tricky, but in this episode we share these 7 tips: Volunteers in the parking lot Acknowledge they are present from stage Connect card Give a...

Church lobbies can sometimes feel awkward. They don't have to be. Welcome to welcome to episode 97 of Practical Church Planting.  Church lobbies can sometimes feel awkward. They can feel cold, unwelcoming, and even lonely. But they don't have to. Today we share these 5 tips on how to make them feel less awkward: Make it smaller Create spaces where people can naturally congregate Music, please Don'...

Why do people join church planting launch teams? Welcome to welcome to episode 96 of Practical Church Planting. When it comes to building a launch team it can be easy to think of all the reasons why people won't join you on the journey of planting a church. However, there a quite a few reasons why they will. Here are 7 we discuss in this episode: Community People want to make a difference Their re...

Some tips on telling better stories. Welcome to welcome to episode 95 of Practical Church Planting. Good communicators not only use stories but know how to tell good ones. Stories help people connect better with the communicator and makes the content more applicable. In this episode, we share these 10 tips for telling better stories: Personal stories are always best The more removed you are from t...

How can we talk about generosity in a way that doesn't feel forced? Welcome to welcome to episode 94 of Practical Church Planting. Talking about giving and generosity is important, but how can we do it in a way that doesn't feel forced or weird? In this episode, we give these 5 tips: Talk about giving often Always explain why Encourage people to take steps Celebrate what their generosity has done...

Some thoughts and tips on preaching. Welcome to welcome to episode 93 of Practical Church Planting. Dylan is no expert, but has learned a few things from preaching every week. Here are the last four (the first for were in our previous episode) of the eight lessons we discuss in this episode: People laugh and connect with things you often don't expect Less information is more You have more time tha...

Some thoughts and tips on preaching. Welcome to welcome to episode 92 of Practical Church Planting. You can watch the episode below, or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. Dylan is no expert but has learned a few things from preaching every week. Here are four of the eight lessons we discuss in this episode: Experience isn't the only thing you need to get better Nervousness does go...

Church growth can sometimes be a taboo subject. Here is why it shouldn't be. Welcome to welcome to episode 90 of Practical Church Planting. You're involved in ministry because you want to see people take steps closer to and with Jesus. Ideally, the more people that do that, the better. But yet it seems like wanting to have a growing church is sometimes seen as a bad thing. In this episode, we shar...

What can we do to help create a culture of singing at our churches? Welcome to welcome to episode 90 of Practical Church Planting. You can watch the episode below, or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. If you are a church or ministry leader, you undoubtedly would love to see your church full of people who are engaging in worship. The good news is that there are things we can do to...

What should you think about when buying a camera for your church? Welcome to welcome to episode 89 of Practical Church Planting. You can watch the episode below, or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. If you're a church plant or a smaller church with a small budget, how do you go about finding a camera you can use for pictures and/or videos? In this episode, we talk about four thin...

How can we preach in a way that connects with people who aren't sure what they believe about God? Welcome to welcome to episode 88 of Practical Church Planting. How can we preach in a way that engages and invites seekers and those who are not Christians to listen and follow along? In this episode, we give 7 tips for doing just that. We discuss: Always qualify Biblical context and characters Explai...

What should you do to make sure a first time guest doesn't return? Welcome to welcome to episode 87 of Practical Church Planting. We all want first time guests to return. We know that when a new person returns and gets connected, that is when life change can really happen. We also know that not every new guest will return. However, sometimes people don't return for reasons we can control. So in th...

How can you make the transitions in your service go smoother? Welcome to welcome to episode 86 of Practical Church Planting.  Every service has transitions. Transitions between songs, announcements, the sermon, videos, etc. The good news is that they don't have to be awkward. In this episode, we discuss these five tips to help your service transitions go smoother: Talk through your service and you...

Easter is one of the largest attended Sundays of the year for churches. What are you going to do to invite new guests back? Welcome to welcome to episode 85 of Practical Church Planting.  Many people who don't normally attend or take part in a church will do so on Easter, so what is your church going to do to invite them to return for more than just one Sunday. In this episode, we discuss these si...

Anniversary services should be celebrated. Here are a few ways you can do it. Welcome to welcome to episode 84 of Practical Church Planting. You can watch the episode below, or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. Whether it's your first anniversary as a church or your 100th, anniversary services are worth celebrating! They are also a great way to add special elements to make the se...

What are some pitfalls that stop churches from launching well? Welcome to welcome to episode 83 of Practical Church Planting. You can watch the episode below, or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. In the past 3-4 years since I (Dylan) began the journey of launching New City Church, I've connected with a lot of hopeful church planters. Some that are leading churches that eventually...

Want more people to show up on time for your services? Here are some things you can do. Welcome to welcome to episode 82 of Practical Church Planting. It can be hard and discouraging to begin a service with few people in the room. While there will always be latecomers, in this episode we want to share five tips on how you decrease the number of late arrives at your church. Connect and never miss a...

Sometimes we need to hear what we don't want to hear. Welcome to welcome to episode 81 of Practical Church Planting. In this episode, we share some thoughts on things we see churches do that aren't a fan of. To be sure, these are simply our opinions and there aren't wrong, we just think it would be better to not do them. See if you agree or disagree with our eight opinions in this episode.   Conne...

    What we learned from Exponential. Welcome to welcome to episode 80 of Practical Church Planting.  Here are six things we learned from the Exponential church planting conference. Connect and never miss an episode. Did you know that you can watch the Practical Church Planting podcast? Connect with us on our  Facebook page  or our  YouTube Channel . Have questions or want encouragement from other...

Adding a service for Easter could be a great idea. Welcome to welcome to episode 79 of Practical Church Planting. For most churches, Easter is one of the largest attended Sundays of the year. But what should you do if you are worried you might run out of space? Or maybe you are looking forward to a packed out service, but that might not be a good thing either. So in this episode, we share five rea...