Rainer on Leadership

Podcast Episode #202 We answer the single most asked question we get: how can we grow groups in our church? Groups are vital to the evangelistic outreach and internal discipleship of a church, and it's essential that you multiply groups to grow your groups. Some highlights from today's episode include: * One of the primary purposes of a small group should be to multiply itself. * Childcare is typi...

Podcast Episode #201 We discuss missions and how churches should be involved both local and globally. We also cover some common mistakes and misconceptions churches suffer from as they look to mobilize their people for missions. Some highlights from today's episode include: * You should both give to and be involved in missions. * The answer for missions in too many churches is to pay, pray, and ge...

Podcast Episode #200 We discuss a recent post on pastor and church staff compensation based on data from the 2016-2017 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff. This resource is valuable to any church and I encourage you to get a copy. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Church budget size is a greater influencer on church staff compensation than church attendance size. * Many traditiona...

Podcast Episode #199 We discuss the etiquette and principles related to hosting a guest preacher or speaker at a church. Be sure to listen for the story about the boa constrictor. Needless to say, Jonathan isn't a fan of snakes. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Host churches should cover the cost of travel and meals for guest preachers. * Lodging for guest speakers/preachers should...

Podcast Episode #198 Will Mancini joins us to discuss his latest book, God Dreams, and talk about how church leaders can effectively cast vision. Some highlights from today's episode include: * We shouldn't relegate the idea of being visionary to "superstar" pastors and leaders. * Visionary leadership is accessible to all church leaders. Vision is for everyone. Vision is for every day. * Visionary...

Podcast Episode #197 We cover eight simple tips your church can use to prepare for Easter in an effort to get more people to your worship service so that they may hear the message of the gospel through clearly communicated through the resurrection story. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Easter is the best time of the year to reach those who seldom attend church. * Easter is a time t...

Podcast Episode #196 Discussion about a recent blogpost that focused on the hurt ministry spouses often experience. Some highlights from today's episode include: * If you look at any relationship, things get said unintentionally but they often still hurt. * When you come up to a ministry spouse, encourage them. Don't complain about their spouse. * It is unreasonable to think you are getting a 2-fo...

Podcast Episode #195 We discuss nine specific ways churches might be wasting money. As tight as finances are in many churches, these nine points of evaluation might be helpful for many churches to free up more funds for ministry. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Churches often waste money by doing things the way they've always done them. * We often staff our churches the way it's al...

Podcast Episode #194 We explain why mentoring is so important for your continued growth as a pastor or church leader. We also discuss some of our favorite questions and moments from my speaking engagements. Some highlights from today's episode include: * The question I get the most from pastors and church leaders is "how do I keep growing personally and professionally?" * The most effective church...

Podcast Episode #193 We discuss a recent post on a new trend regarding pastors. Many pastors are choosing to continue to serve in secular vocations even when a church can afford to pay them for full-time work. These marketplace pastors are a growing trend worth a further look. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Marketplace pastors serve for part-time pay because they chose to, not bec...

Podcast Episode #192 We cover six early indicators that someone might be on the verge of dropping out. These reasons are common in any size church, but many are reversible with the implementation of a monitoring system. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Simply put, church growth equals more people coming into the church than leaving the church. * Taking roll in small groups helps kee...

Podcast Episode #191 We cover seven points regarding prayer in the local church including how best to incorporate prayer into worship services, how to pray, and the use of catalytic prayer events. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Somewhere in the midst of all of the activities of the Western Church, we have lost sight of prayer and its place in the church. * Simply put, the state of...

Podcast Episode #190 Pastor and author Robby Gallaty joins us to talk discipleship in the local church. Robby has several resources available to believers and churches to help with making disciples who make disciples. He also tells us a story about John Wesley that neither Jonathan nor I had ever heard. It's quite fascinating. Some highlights from today's episode include: * How different would oth...

Podcast Episode #189 We cover seven worship service trends to watch for in the future. These are taken from the recent megachurch report from Leadership Network; you can find the entire megachurch report at LeadNet.org/megachurch. Some highlights from today's episode include: * One major positive of multi-site churches is that these churches can have a presence in multiple communities. * Churches...

Podcast Episode #188 We examine the second half of my 16 trends to watch for in 2016. We covered the first half of the trends in podcast #187. Some highlights from today's episode include: * In the future denominations will need to partner along side churches to resource them instead of pushing resources down to them. * Churches are having difficulty finding staff that they need. The old systems d...

Podcast Episode #187 We examine the first half of my 16 trends to watch for in 2016. We will cover the second half of the trends in podcast #188. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Some churches say they can't afford security measures. You can't afford not to have appropriate security measures. * Sometimes I think church worship centers are second only to college football stadiums in...

Podcast Episode #186 We take a look back at some healthy church trend predictions mentioned in a 2012 post to see how things have progressed over the past four years. Surprisingly, we see all 12 present in healthy churches today as we enter into 2016. Some highlights from today's episode include: * If you read the Bible daily, you are more likely to become a more devoted follower of Christ. * If y...

Podcast Episode #185 We discuss some new research from Leadership Network on the state of megachurches in North America. This research summary, Recent Shifts in America’s Largest Protestant Churches: Megachurches 2015 Report, is available to download at the Leadership Network website. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Just like churches of any size, there are good megachurches and th...

Podcast Episode #184 We discuss a recent post on the decentralization of facilities and leadership. At the core of these changes is a desire to move away from centralization. And this trend may be one of the most significant trends of the American church in a century. So today, we share seven profound implications of this trend. Some highlights from today's episode include: * We have to be trainin...

Podcast Episode #183 We discuss a recent post by Chuck Lawless on why we don't evangelize as well as ways to encourage evangelism in your church. Some highlights from today's episode include: * We have an evangelism tragedy that is taking place in our churches. * Continue to do ministry and missions, but let it be explicitly about the gospel—not just meeting physical needs. * Many mission trips ha...

Podcast Episode #182 Discuss a few reason why pastors—Millennials in particular—may not be moving from church to church as often as in the past. Some highlights from today's episode include: * We are moving toward more church names based on the community in which they reside and away from denominational names. * Millennial pastors seem to place more thought in how their families will handle moving...

Podcast Episode #181 John C. Maxwell joins us to discuss his latest book, Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters. We also cover a few leadership topics related to the local church like pastoral tenure, the need for leadership training, and how to make a difference that outlasts your life. Check out Start7Day.com for more free resources from John C. Maxwell on living intentionally. Some h...

Podcast Episode #180 We discuss the connection between pastoral tenure and church health. We continue to see a pattern of healthy churches led by long-term pastors. While we have no statistical correlation, it simply makes sense that a pastor who sticks with a church through thick and thin will see that church become healthier over time. Some highlights from today's episode include: * Pastoral ten...

Podcast Episode #179 With the Christmas season quickly approaching, we take time to discuss how to make the best use of holiday events and services. You will likely have more unchurched people in your services during the Christmas season that any other time of the year. These six tips will help you maximize your effectiveness during the holiday season. Some highlights from today's episode include:...

Podcast Episode #178 We discuss how churches—intentionally or not—choose to die. Whether it be elevating negotiables to the status of non-negotiables or just refusing to face reality, churches often choose to die rather than choosing to change. Some highlights from today's episode include: * When a church has an attitude that the pastor works for them to meet their needs, it's already dying. * Man...