Rescuing Churches with Stan Givens

Why is it so imperative that we take time to pause a corporate worship service and allow believers to share what God has done or is doing in their lives? How is the Local Church negatively affected when we fail to include personal testimonies? Why are so many pastors afraid to let people stand and speak?  You might be surprised that Stan had to learn some of these lessons the hard way in his early...

Stan and Josh are joined by Birmingham, AL-based radio personality and speaker Rick Burgess of the nationally syndicated "Rick and Bubba Show" which airs to over 1.2 million people weekly. Rick has coauthored multiple New York Times bestselling books that are autobiographical in nature, but his latest release is a 40-day devotional designed to disciple men, a personal passion and calling...

This week Stan & Josh discuss Josh's recent blog post titled "Hey, Pastor: Here Are Ten Easy Ways To Demolish Your Reputation On Facebook."  Portraying yourself and/or your life as flawless.  Failing to monitor and manage photos, statuses, and content in which you've been tagged. Ignoring messages and comments. Blasting another local church or fellow pastor.  Assuming the r...

Stan & Josh discuss five introspective questions every local church should ask in regards to the lost world:  Does your church serve or shun the lost? Does your church huddle together and speak badly of the lost? Does your church fear the lost and broken? Does your church grieve and weep for the lost? — Psalm 119:36  Does your church seek to understand and reach out to the lost? Other points o...

Stan and Josh discuss effective and practical ways that your church can impact its local community and be authentic and relational in a culture full of pointless noise and phoniness: Build connections with the local schools and teachers.  Minister to and feed the homeless in your community.  If you see an ambulance in your neighborhood, check on that family. Stand outside hospitals and pray for pa...

Stan and Josh discuss Josh's recent Church Comms blog post centering on four ways to make your church website more welcoming: Have some sort of welcome message on the homepage.  New Here page Use real photos over stock photos whenever possible. Make the staff page easy to find. Links mentioned in this episode:  "Four Ways To Make Your Church Website More Welcoming"  Support the show...

Stan & Josh discuss six essential elements of what it means to be a strong church as per Paul's letter to the Church at Ephesus in 1st Timothy. Discussion topics include:  Strong churches guard the content and spread the Gospel.  Strong churches have men who pray passionately for the lost.  Strong churches have leadership pursuing godly lifestyles.  Strong churches discern cultural stumbl...

Managing pressures, stresses, and strains is a normal part of every leadership position and can often feel overwhelming. If you've been in Church Communications Ministry for any length of time, then you've likely encountered some pressures and you've learned how to navigate in, around, or through them. This week on the show, Josh shares five common pressures from his 15-plus years i...

Stan and Josh speak with Interim Youth Pastor Caleb Howell of Rocky Creek Baptist Church in Mississippi about the effects of the pandemic on teens, current statistics on adolescent depression, how to reboot and re-strategize student ministry, and much more. Resources mentioned in this episode: "Experiencing God" by Henry & Richard Blackaby Support the show Be sure to follow 6:14 Mini...

Due to some ministry work in Georgia, Josh & Stan were unable to meet for a recording session, so we wanted to take this opportunity to relaunch one of our old episodes in the hopes that you will continue to benefit from the insight and discussion.  Support the show Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries: facebook.com/614rebuild Instagram: @614rebuild Twitter: @614rebuild Learn more at 614ministrie...

In this episode, Josh discusses his recent blog post What To Consider When Designing Sermon Series Graphics . Major highlights include a few warnings for Church Comms folks to consider before jumping into their design work, particularly making sure they discuss the theme with the pastor first. Three things to consider:  Contemplate your ultimate goal.  Brainstorming sessions are your friend.  Don&...

Stan & Josh discuss the phraseology of "having church" and "being the church" and why we should be more focused on the latter.  Examples of being the Church in your community:  Feeding the homeless  Taking flowers to single moms, widows or shut-ins  Sharing your testimony with people at work or school  Discipleship  Where and how to find people to disciple: Ask your pastor....

Stan & Josh discuss a few of the elements of sermon preparation that pastors must go through, including:  The nature and heart of the preacher/individual  Amount of hours put into study time Selecting commentaries  Inductive Bible Study methodology  Incorporating illustrations into the sermon  Sermon delivery Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode: Matthew Henry Commentary Matthew Hen...

Stan & Josh discuss Josh's recent blog post which takes a look at one of the major trends that has emerged during and post-COVID: The reality that well-designed, spotless, and professionally-managed content is no longer what brings people to or through the doors of a local church.  Much of what was once successful is no longer successful. Why is this? What happened? What do we need to emp...

Stan & Josh discuss the Local Church's tendency to slack off of ministry during and because of the COVID pandemic. This episode includes practical ideas and suggestions on how to reengage your community and avoid the "Do Nothing" mindset:  Find a few of the shut-ins, widows, and single moms in your neighborhoods and local communities and care for them. Bring them groceries, make...

Last year was certainly one of the most difficult, stressful, and exhausting for many pastors and their churches. COVID forced them to move into the digital sphere like never before and find new and innovative ways to engage with their communities while juggling state guidelines and regulations.  Whether you're leading a megachurch in a large city or a small flock in a rural town, you were pr...

Josh & Stan launch a new season of Rescuing Churches with return guest Karl Vaters. Karl is the Teaching Pastor at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California and the author of several phenomenal books on small church ministry.  This episode will tackle everything from COVID's impact on the Local Church to essentials for church health, leadership, and much more. Topics...

Many people talk about starting the New Year off right and making New Year's resolutions. This year might be harder than ever for some of us to keep those resolutions, but when it comes to church life, we should strive to start the year with some fundamental, core values.  Today we'll look at six of them:  Accurate, useful, practical teaching of the Word of God.  Seeking, searching, and...

As pastors, we all long for God to do mighty works. In fact we love the idea more than almost anything. In our simple minds we think of crowds coming to our church as a work of God. We imagine great spiritual moves and spiritual growth, evangelism and discipleship happening at exponential rates. And when we imagine all this, it is a simple work of God that just happens while we go about our normal...

Stan and Josh discuss five of the worst things pastors can do when their church is in crisis mode or decline:  Whining and grumbling.  Vent on social media.  Doubt  Despair  Quit  Scripture references mentioned in this episode:  Matthew 11:28-29  2 Corinthians 4:8-9  John 21  Ephesians 4:29  Philippians 2:14  James 5:9  Support the show Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries: facebook.com/614rebuild In...

Today on the show, Stan and Josh discuss four common misconceptions that people — including pastors, elders, and ministry volunteers — often have about "the church."  People don't want to come. The church is a building or location.  The church is a weekly or bi-weekly meeting.  The millennial and younger generations are more into entertainment than biblical truth. Links mentioned in...

Josh discusses his latest blog post, outlining five attributes that make up effective church communication ministers:  An unparalleled ability to multitask, meet tight deadlines, and work well under pressure.  An innate understanding of the church's brand.  No concern for the spotlight or recognition.  A talent and love for the art of storytelling. A willingness to coach when necessary. Artic...

If you're a pastor longing for your church to have a healthy foundation, there are five things that you can do as you work toward this goal. Stan and Josh will expand upon all of these in today's episode:   Prioritize your personal walk with God.  Practice and teach grace. Practice love for one another.  Preach cross-centered and Christ-exalting messages. Prevent core church members from...

As recent as May 2020, Barna Research found that:  3/10 pastors (31%) say they’re struggling w/ their emotional wellbeing.  26% admit to struggling w/ their relational wellbeing. Over half admit to being tired. (51%) 2 in 5 admit to feeling primarily exhausted (41%) Sad (41%)  We discussed these statistics in our episode  On Why Rest Matters For Pastors .  In this episode, Stan & Josh take a l...

Stan and Josh chat with Pastor Brian Marchant of Poplar Arbor Church in Doerun, Georgia about the dynamics of shepherding a small church in a rural community.  Support the show Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries: facebook.com/614rebuild Instagram: @614rebuild Twitter: @614rebuild Learn more at 614ministries.org