There are various ways to approach creating ministry strategy. Here is one approach that has been helpful to me over the years: Goals, Content, and Environments. Goals Before embarking on a trip, you need to know the destination, and the same is true when developing strategy. Therefore, the first step is to look ahead to…
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2024. Doesn’t saying that just sound unusual? For some, there may be dread associated with this coming year — you guessed it — another political season! The U.S. Presidential election will be Tuesday, November 5th — and the two weeks following as one friend of mine said recently! My guess is we’re going to experience a lot of spin! Things…
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Eighty years ago this New Year’s Eve, Henry Deutschendorf Jr was born in Roswell, NM. His dad, Henry Deutshcndorf Sr, was a military man so young Henry lived in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona California, and Texas before Henry Jr. grew up and moved to Colorado. Young Henry began using his middle name and changed his…
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If you have ever been through a Church Planter Boot Camp or Prepare to Plant Training you know that part of that training focuses on the mission of the church and how to implement that mission. Among the important components that are discussed, three are of particular importance: Mission: why the church exists. Strategies: how the…
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Year-end giving can have a big impact on annual budgets. Between the joyous spirit of the holiday season and the December 31st deadline for tax-deductible contributions, this time of year is the most popular time for giving to the church. I have heard it said that churches may receive an average of 30% of their annual donations in…
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For Lori and I, November is the month with a number of birthdays. Lori’s late father and her youngest brother have the same date of birth in November. Lori has two cousins that have a birthday in November and I have one whose birthday is in November. Finally, our two daughter’s oldest children were each…
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Ha! I know it is October, and yet I am writing a column entitled Thankfulness! Shouldn’t that wait till November, when we actually celebrate Thanksgiving??? Well, actually, we can be thankful anytime, can’t we? I have been reading through the Psalms lately and this past weekend the words of a Psalm I have read over many, many times,…
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Recently I saw a headline that came from a U.S. Department of Labor report that said the average man in America will hold 12.7 jobs in his lifetime. The average woman will have about 12.1. Diving into the report a bit, you find things like the statistics drawn from later-era baby boomers born from 1957-1964.…
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I love to collect sayings! That’s not a misprint, I literally meant, sayings. This goes back about 35 years, to when I first heard John Maxwell speak at a Stewardship Seminar in Sioux Falls, SD. I was a young 25-year-old newly minted lead pastor of a small 60-person rural Minnesota church in a town of 300.…
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Settle down folks, this is not a politically based column! Actually, this is a column reminding you about our pastor and wife retreat called IGNITE which is held each fall. (Yes, we even met in 2020 in Cody, WY!). Ignite provides a more relaxed atmosphere in which to learn from some great preachers, teachers, and skilled professionals. Last year we had Ken…
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