Home	Resourcing	Consulting	Networking	Training
About NLM	Where to Find What	Products	Contact Us	Subscribe

FAQs - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Starting a new worship service
Small town opportunities
Church revitalization resources
"Pioneers" vs. "Homesteaders" - welcoming new people to the church
Top Ten Ways to Increase Giving to Your Church

Add your question

Would you like to be notified when we add new content to our Online Resources database? Sign up for our e-mail updates. We'll contact you no more than once a week with information about this site in particular and New Life Ministries in general.

1. What should we know about starting multiple worship services?

	Multiple Worship Services: Evaluation of Fifteen Congregations - a study by G. Edwin Bontrager
	Is an Additional Worship Service in Your Future? - by Ronald W. Waters from New Beginnings
	Starting a New Service - a People Spots article by Jim Moss
	Starting a Third Worship Service and Second Sunday School - questions and answers about the experience of Park Street Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio
	Dealing with Change in Worship - a People Spots article by Jim Moss
	Ten Keys to Starting a Saturday Night Service - NetFax #29
	The River: A Blog in Starting a New Worship Service by Ronald W. Waters about the experience of Hammond Avenue Brethren Church, Waterloo, Iowa

Also check out these books:

How to Start a New Service

Alternative Worship Primer

Click here to order any of these titles.

Top of Page

2. What is the status of Americans moving to small towns?

	Check out the Smaller Churches Network Report #971217
	Smaller Churches Network
	Resources for leaders of smaller churches

Top of Page

3. What are some resources on revitalizing the local church?

Transforming the Local Church - an article by Dave Loughery of 21^st Century Strategies

Transforming the Local Church - an outline by Dave Loughery

Ashland Theological Seminary has developed a year-long approach to revitalization called Renewing Pastor and People. Read the online information or send an e-mail and ask for a brochure.

Top of Page

4. Our established church members have said they want to see our church grow. But when we start to reach new people, the established folks seem to become threatened, leading to conflict with the new people or "driving them away." What's going on?

Sounds like the classic conflict between "pioneers" and "homesteaders." See this article by Tom Wymore: Growing Pains: Handling a "Pioneer-Homesteader" Crisis

Top of Page

5. What are the top ten ways to increase giving to our church?

Our friends at Christian Community conducted a study of 1,157 congregations from 30 different denominations. They designed Dessert First stewardship materials based on that research.

Follow this link to a printable list of the top ten ways to increase giving to your church.

Top of Page

Ask Your Question: Eventually, we hope to offer answers to more frequently asked questions about evangelism, congregational vitality and growth, and church planting. Send us your questions.