The Church Lobby

Greg Atkinson is one the world’s leading voices in First Impressions for churches. He also wrote "Secrets of a Secret Shopper: Reaching and Keeping Church Guests" as a guide for small churches. In this conversation, Karl Vaters interviews Greg about Online presence How everyone in a small church is on the First Impressions "team” Why small churches may need to work harder on First Impressions than...

There’s a lot of talk lately about what it will take to recover from what we've all been through over the past two years. And understandably so. It will take years for us to get a grip on what has happened, what’s still happening and how it’s still changing everything. In this two-part series, Karl Vaters shares several lessons about responding, recovering and thriving through a challenging season...

There’s a lot of talk lately about what it will take to recover from what we've all been through over the past two years. And understandably so. It will take years for us to get a grip on what has happened, what’s still happening and how it’s still changing everything.   In this two-part series, Karl Vaters shares several lessons about responding, recovering and thriving t...

An interview with Craig Forrest, who’s spent decades shooting and editing film and video for ministries and network TV. Craig is passionate about helping people communicate the message of Jesus in a compelling way. In this interview, Karl Vaters talks with him about video ideas and tips that can be used in any size of church on a limited/nonexistent budget. CraigForrest.com ( https://www.craigforr...

Recorded in an RV at the Big Little Church conference in Camas WA, Karl talks with four people who host conferences for small church leaders. The conversation covers: Why they started their small church conferences What big church conferences can do to include the needs and voices of small church leaders First steps if you want to host a small church conference Guests: Carl & Kalani Culley of...

In my conversation with Ira Antoine we talk about Decision Fatigue. You know, that exhaustion you feel when there are just ... too ... many ... decisions to be made and no one else to make them! Ira has pastored of Minnehulla Baptist Church in Goliad, Texas for 14 years and he is also the Director of Texas Baptists Bivocational Pastors Ministry. Ira offers a lot of practical help for an issue that...

A church’s culture is defined as “the unwritten set of rules that governs everything a church does.” In a big church, the pastor and staff set the culture, but in a small church the culture is set by the long-time regular members and attenders - even if they don't know they’re doing it. In this episode, Karl Vaters walks through the three steps that a small church pastor must use to lead the cultu...

Karl Vaters interviews Doug Bursch about his new book, Posting Peace . It's all about how social media is impacting us so much that it even changes how we see ourselves and relate to each other. But Doug also offers hope for how we can be peacemakers and reconcilers in our online behavior. As the first interview of this podcast, Karl introduces the Lightning Round questions, with questions and ans...

Yes, small churches can be strong, healthy and effective. In this opening episode, Karl Vaters looks at the three main issues that must be in place in order for that to happen. 1. Realize you can be effective 2. Discover how small churches function differently from big churches 3. Understand and use the unique DNA of your small church for God’s glory To get Bonus Content every week, click here to...

Why would someone create a podcast called "Can This Work In A Small Church?" Because small churches are different. A lot of what we learn from our big church friends needs to be tweaked for the small church environment. And sometimes they need to be done completely differently. In this episode, Karl Vaters introduces you to what this podcast is about, and what's coming up. To get Bonus Content eve...