Refresh: Quick Tips for Christian Ministry

Dr. Lyndon Wall of Refresh Ministries points out that burn-out is often predicated by a loss of hope.   He prescribes six remedies to recover your hope and prevent burn-out.   The QT4CM podcast is a peer knowledge sharing initiative for personal and professional development of Christian ministry workers.   Quick Tips for Christian Ministry is produced with the support of T...

Anna Burns has a recommendation: Reach out to your donors in a personal way by sending them a Christmas card.  This is a simple way to say, "Hey, I'm thinking of you and wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas." Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.  

Dr. Joel Thiessen continues his synopsis on the reasons people go "post-church". The thesis he advances is that most of the reasons for why people diminish their involvement in church attendance has virtually nothing to do with what churches do or don't do. Most of these things have to do with broad cultural changes within society. Dr. Thiessen identifies these eight reasons:   Reje...

Anna Burns answers this week's question — "It's so hard to get donors on board and then keep them interested in supporting my project. I seem to be losing supporters. How can I keep them donating?" Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.  

Dr. Joel Thiessen talks about people who claim to be Christian... but only show up in church for religious holidays and rites of  passage. Between 40 and 50% of those who identify as Christian attend religious services mainly for religious holidays and rites of passage. They show up every Christmas. They show up every Easter. They baptize their children. They want to get married in...

Organizational Coach Dr. Ken Thiessen responds to a ministry worker in Southern Africa about team conflict. She asks: We have some communication and conflict problems on our ministry team. I feel very isolated and don’t know how to deal with this. Please… could you have your podcast give some regular tips for team conflict resolution. And how to deal with a team leader who doesn’t bring out t...

Dr. Joel Thiessen shares his insights about people in Canada who claim to have no religious affiliation.   Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary. Follow Dr. Joel Thiessen on Twitter , his website , or The Flourishing Congregations Institute .   And read his intriguing book: " The Meaning of Sunday "    The QT4CM podcast...

Anna Burns answers this week's question — "What works best when asking for donations, sending out a fundraising letter or meeting with the potential donor face-to-face?" Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.  

Dr. Joel Thiessen again shares insights on the dominant trends of religion in North America. Europe and North America are moving in a progressive and increasingly secular direction. Secularization is a dominant narrative.  The rise of people who say they have no religion represents one in three teenagers, one in four  adults. It's the fastest growing "religious" group in the modern weste...

In this special episode you will learn some YouTube worship music video creation tips. David Wesley of Basement Praise and YouTube fame shares with us the story of how he got started making his music videos and his process for creating his multi harmony praise and worship music tracks. From time to time we will be bringing you these special episodes with Christian Creatives, such as musicians...

  In this fourth episode we hear insights on Short Term Missions. Are they worth the cost and effort? Mark Crocker is Executive Director of STMleader.com     Mark shares with us his insights on Short Term Missions, having trained tens of thousands of volunteers to head overseas and make a difference. Mark served as the chair for short term missions at the Evangelical Fello...

Dr. Joel Thiessen shares his insights about what makes congregations thrive.   Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary. In this episode Dr. Joel Thiessen points to five things that are emerging as starting points for entering this study of "flourishing congregations". Congregations that have a clear self-identity. They know who the...

In this second QT4CM episode we are benefiting from the insights shared by Anna Burns on how to get your newsletters and emails read by supporters. Jenny, a ministry worker in Québec, sent us this voicemail: My question is: “how do I get people to read my ministry reporting emails and requests for donations?   It seems that my donors don’t often open my emails. What do I do?"  Anna...

This first episode describes the background and intent of the Quick Tips for Christian Ministry podcast . The QT4CM podcast is a peer knowledge sharing initiative for personal and professional development of Christian ministry workers.   Quick Tips for Christian Ministry is produced with the support of The Great Commission Foundation… to benefit those who serve in the Name of Christ. Are...