On Sunday at West Ridge Church, Brian announced that we’re launching a new campaign to further the ministry impact of our church. It’s not your typical campaign, though. Rather than raising money to build buildings, we’re raising money to expand our outreach.

Over the next several weeks, we’re going to be talking through our vision to move forward with the following initiatives at West Ridge:

• Create community space in our current facility for people to gather outside the weekend services.
• Start our new West Paulding Campus to reach the folks in the western portion of our county.
• Hire young leaders to serve as “campus connectors” in our student ministry to focus on specific schools throughout our region.
• Establish The Launch Network to train and resource new church plants across the country and ultimately in various regions throughout the world.

On top of that, we’re going to be setting aside 10% of everything that comes in to fund ongoing local and global missions efforts. This campaign truly reflects an Acts 1:8 approach to ministry in our community, in our region and throughout the world.

Here’s Brian’s announcement of the new outreach campaign at Sunday’s service:

This may surprise you, but, though we live in the middle of the “Bible Belt”, 66% of my neighbors are not connected to a church. That’s what keeps my mind spinning. That’s what drives me. That’s what causes me to beg God for wisdom and direction as we take our next steps as a church. And, that’s the reason I’m so excited about the potential of this outreach campaign for West Ridge.

We have the opportunity to share “One Story” that will bring life change to people throughout our community and across the globe. I hope you’ll join me in praying for this next step for our church. I’m anticipating God to move in an amazing way.

A couple of weeks ago, I opened applications for two new coaching networks. Here are several updates:

• Half the spots in the Atlanta coaching network have already been claimed.
• I’ve decided to move forward with the Dallas coaching network. My friends at Fellowship Technologies have agreed to host.
• Both networks start in August. We meet six times over six months.
• These networks are for senior pastors, executive pastors and other staff leaders ready to engage ministry strategies with like-minded leaders.
• The deadline for applications is Friday, July 9…and that’s less than two weeks away.

Ready to take a next step?

Here are all the details.

Here is the online application.

If you have additional questions, email me. Please pass this opportunity along to your friends and encourage them to apply before the spots fill up.

Hope to see you in Atlanta or Dallas in August.

On one of my recent trips, I wrapped up the book Derailed by Tim Irwin. Tim is an author, speaker and leading authority on leadership development, organizational effectiveness and executive selection. The book profiles the derailments of Bob Nardelli (Home Depot), Carly Fiorina (Hewlett-Packard), Durk Jager (Procter & Gamble), Steven Heyer (Starwood), Frank Raines (Fannie Mae) and Dick Fuld (Lehman Brothers).

Here are some of the highlights of my reading:

• “No matter how brilliant, charming, strategic, or commanding in presence a leader is, the consequences of a failed character are extraordinarily disabling and will bring down even the strongest among us.”
• “Employees ought to be held accountable — especially executives — but not to the degree that they display a crippling fear of not only the failure but the leader to whom they are obligated to follow.”
• “Because its brands have been so dominant for so long, the company’s culture acquired a pervasive, slavish adherence to precedent.”
• “It is said that adverse circumstances do not make or break you; they reveal you.”
• “We always become who we are. It may take time or stress or illness, but what’s inside us tends to come out. Our character serves as the wellspring from which our behavior emerges.”
• Some leaders “…don’t handle pressure well. They are overly sensitive and take criticism deeply and personally. They’re often critical of others. These individuals are more fragile under stress. They are more emotionally volatile and tend to be suspicious of others’ motives.”
• “Convictions reflect what we are convinced is true and noble. The problem is that some convictions address topics that do not rise to the level of meaningful importance.
• “Courage to do the right thing results from clarity about what we believe.”
• “Lack of courage shows up in many organizations as micromanagement, failure to empower others, risk aversion, overcontrol, and perfectionism.”
• “While we want to know that we are being paid fairly, we will almost always work harder for meaning than we will for money.”

If you’re interested, you can assess your risk to becoming derailed as a leader. Tim offers a free online test on his website to help you determine your risk.

Finally, if these highlights have grabbed your attention and your interested in picking up the book, feel free to follow my Amazon link to add Derailed to your reading list.

Despite the doom and gloom reported by daily media economists, the Blackbaud Index reports that charitable giving has increased from 2009. For the entire nonprofit sector, which includes colleges, universities, churches, and all other nonprofit organizations, giving increased 12.1% in April 2010.

I wondered if this trend was happening specifically in church giving, so I contacted my friend Jim Sheppard, CEO of Generis. Jim and his team of strategists consult faith-based nonprofits and religious organizations to connect them with people who want to financially support their mission and vision. Here’s what Jim had to say about church giving:

TONY: The Blackbaud Index says giving is up. Is the index a reliable measurement?

JIM: The index is probably a good overall indicator. The limitation of the Blackbaud, like most of these type surveys is that they do not take into account very much, if any, church giving.

TONY: So churches should expect lower-than-average giving?

JIM: About one-third of churches have giving that is down. Of the churches I know whose giving is down, there is typically another story with factors other than the economy. Many of them are churches with little or no vision. The prosperous economy concealed the fact that they were not in good shape. The lean economy reveals it.

TONY: Are you saying church giving is less about the economy than the media would have us believe?

JIM: Scarcity clarifies—the lean economy has revealed, in general, which churches are healthy and which are not. Yes, there are a few spots that have been hammered by the economy (Detroit, Las Vegas, etc.) but that is not the main problem for many of the churches that are down. Having said that, It appears most of our clients and prospective clients have seen an uptick in giving. Plus, the confidence level of church leaders seems to be much better than it was at the end of 2009. They are now talking about taking on projects like mortgage reduction, buildings, property acquisition and ministry venture capital.

How about you? Is giving up in your church? Is it down? Do you think Jim’s comment, “scarcity brings clarity,” changes the way we need to approach giving?

Our family has enjoyed visiting ballparks through the years. Here’s my current list ballparks I’ve visited including ballparks from the pre-Emily and pre-kids era.

• Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians - This was my first ballgame, and I’m pretty sure they played the Twins that game.
• Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Reds – This is the stadium I visited most as a kid…usually with free tickets for good grades.
• Tiger Stadium, Detroit Tigers – I snuck away while at college to watch them play the Indians.
• Rogers Centre, Toronto Blue Jays – Emily and I took in a game while we were on our honeymoon.
• Jacobs Field, Cleveland Indians – It’s called something else now, but to our family it’ll always be Jacobs Field.
• Metrodome, Minnesota Twins – Our family still considers this the worst ballpark we’ve experienced…and the most boring game ever.
• Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati Reds – Our family, and only our family, had a tour of the entire ballpark the day before the game.
• Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers – Brooke was still in her car seat and slept through the entire game.
• Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers – Brooke made up for the Brewers game, by crying through the entire game in Detroit.
• Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs – Kayla, Jacob and I got a tour on one visit, and then we went back for a game the night before school started.
• US Cellular Field, Chicago White Sox – I drove over with Kayla and Jacob to catch a game against the Indians.
• Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles – We visited Morgan State University before the game.
• Ballpark in Arlington, Texas Rangers – Loved the ballpark, but it was by far the hottest game with over 100-degree heat.
• Sun Life Stadium, Florida Marlins – There had to be less than 500 people in the stadium, and then it rained…so we left.
• Turner Field, Atlanta Braves – It’s our new home field, and we really enjoy watching games here.
• PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates – On the same visit to Pittsburgh we saw Fourth of July fireworks down by the river next to the ballpark.
• AT&T Park, San Fransisco Giants – The smell of the garlic fries and the bizarre mix of music between innings made this one of the most surreal baseball experiences.
• Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox – Jacob and I flew into Boston to celebrate his 13th birthday with a walk along the Freedom Trail and a game at Fenway.
• Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees – The next day, Jacob and I took a train to NYC and then grabbed a subway to the Bronx to watch the Yankees.

What’s the ballpark that I haven’t visited that I’m going to enjoy the most?

10 Ways to Improve Marketing without Spending Any Money

Have you used any of these strategies? What was the outcome? And do you have any other free marketing ideas that you’d like to share?

Register today for the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, taking place October 6-8, 2010. The Catalyst Conference, of course, is a time where over 13,000 church leaders gather for speakers, worship and innovative programming. Catalyst brings leaders together from across the globe to address and support the unique vision and needs of the next generation of church leaders. The best description of Catalyst: Pure Leadership Adrenaline!

This year’s speakers include Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, TD Jakes, Craig Groeschel, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Perry Noble and Christine Caine. The conference features strategists, practitioners and authors such as Daniel Pink, Scott Harrison, Gabe Lyons, Tad Agoglia, and Rani Hong, winner of the United Nations Human Rights Award. If that’s not enough, ground-breaking thinkers Mark Batterson, Michael Hyatt, Pete Wilson, Anne Jackson, John Ortenberg, Mike Foster, Judd Wilhite, Reggie Joiner, Alan Hirsch and others will appear.

This video gives you the flavor of Catalyst:

Early registration ends today, Thursday, June 24, and Catalyst will sell out–so make sure you get signed up! You can call Catalyst Concierge at 888.334.6569 or register online. One more thing, use the discount code “FOB”  online or on the phone to save some serious coin.

I hope to see you there!

Next month, West Ridge Church will be canceling Sunday services to take part in Community Makeover, a weekend of churches coming together to serve in their community.  The makeover takes place July 23-25 all over Metro Atlanta. Each church communicates with local organizations to fund and develop service projects in their area. Last year 35 churches and over 4,000 volunteers teamed up to clean, landscape, plant, weed, repair and rebuild. It’s an incredible opportunity to be the church outside of the walls of the church.

Community Makeover is an event hosted by Engage Atlanta, an organization dedicated to introducing people to the love of Christ through community transformation.  West Ridge helped launch Engage Atlanta to create alliances between churches whose denominations and differences have long kept them apart. This allows volunteers to experience the unity of the Church by serving together and engaging the community.

To be a part of any of the service projects during Community Makeover go to their website to find a complete list of projects and registration information.

This year 77 churches are participating in Community Makeover. Here’s a sample list:

1st Baptist Church Lithia Springs, Lithia Springs

A Fresh Hope, Dallas

Bethany Christian Church, Dallas

Beulahland Baptist Church, Rockmart

Bright Star UMC, Douglasville

Burnt Hickory Baptist Church, Powder Springs

Cedarcrest Church, Acworth

Central Baptist Church, Douglasville

Christ Central, Dallas

Church at Chapel Hill, Douglasville

Church at the Ridge, Douglasville

Crossroads United Methodist Church, Marietta

Crossview Church, Rockmart

Dorsett Shoals Baptist Church, Douglasville

Douglasville Vineyard, Douglasville

Eagle Pointe Church, Acworth

Ephesus Baptist Church, Villa Rica

Fellowship Methodist Church, Hiram

First Presbyterian Church ,Douglasville

First United Methodist Church, Douglasville

Fortified Hills Baptist Church, Dallas

Gracepointe Church, Dallas

Hurt Road Baptist Church, Smyrna

Impact Church, Atlanta

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Marietta

King Spring Baptist Church, Smyrna

Life’s Hope Baptist Church, Marietta

Lost Mountain Baptist Church, Powder Springs

New Genesis Community Church, Decatur

New Salem Baptist Church, Kennesaw

New Victory Family Life Church, Lithia Springs

Noonday Baptist Church, Kennesaw

North Metro Church, Marietta

North View Baptist Church, Dallas

Northwest Christian Church, Acworth

Oasis Family Life Church, Dallas

Olive Springs Baptist Church, Marietta

Orange Hill Baptist Church, Austell

Piedmont Church, Marietta

Pilgrim Baptist Church, Marietta

Providence Community Baptist Church, Marietta

Providence Presbyterian Church, Dallas

Roswell Street Baptist Church, Marietta

Shallowford Falls, Marietta

St Julian’s Episcopal Church, Douglasville

Trinity Anglican Church, Douglasville

Trinity Chapel, Powder Springs

West Ridge Church, Dallas

Don’t see your church’s name on the list? There’s still time to register! Just contact Paul, the pastor on our team that facilitates partnerships with other churches and organizations.

I’m really excited to share this opportunity with you today. I’ve been working with the this team over the last couple of months, and this is going to be a great position for the right person.

LifePoint Church in Tampa, FL is looking for someone to fill the role of Executive Pastor. LifePoint was established ten years ago by Senior Pastor Brad White. Currently, LifePoint is running about 2,300 in weekly attendance, and they are anticipating huge growth in the next ten years.

LifePoint’s mission is to reach the unchurched population in Tampa. Due to their rapid growth, they are considering moving to a larger venue or going multi-site.  The executive pastor will be the point person for continuing to implement the vision of reaching the unchurched. If you’re interested, send your resume here.

By the way, I partner with The Vanderbloemen Search Group, a retained executive search firm, to help churches find their key staff. I’m frequently helping large, fast-growing churches with a focus on reaching the unchurched. If your church needs assistance in this sort of search, feel free to contact me.

I’ve been peppered in recent weeks with questions about how to address the summer slump in attendance. Folks have been asking about service times, numbers of services, series planning, etc. Let me share some thoughts, but I’d love to have your input as well.

Should we consider reducing the number of services during the summer?

If you have multiple services where your attendance is dropping below 50% of your seating capacity, I think that’s an option you should strongly consider. The risk of losing critical mass and having empty services with little energy is far worse than the challenge of adding back services in the fall when attendance rebounds.

Should we consider changing service times?

If you’re trying to hold services anytime before 9, I’d encourage you to use the summer to test-drive new service times. You’ll likely find more success moving closer to noon rather than starting before 9…unless you’re reaching older folks. If that’s your focus, ignore this advice.

By the way, we get really hung up on changing service times. It’s not that hard. Take a week to let your leaders know. Have your leaders communicate with the volunteers. Then tell your church. It should only take a couple of weeks to shift services. For those that don’t get the word, it’ll only take one visit for them to learn the new time. It’s not that big a deal. And, changing service times is actually a healthy way for your church to remain open to the changes needed to reach people outside the faith and outside the church.

Should we shut down for a portion of the summer?

Believe it or not, I was working with a church recently that has made it a tradition to shut down for the month of July. You heard me right. There are no services and no ministry gatherings during the month. Folks are encouraged to embrace family time and connect in the community. I’m not ready to try that one, but, since someone else has done it, you now have permission to try something outside the box.

By the way, one side benefit is that some folks go visit other churches. That means only the folks that really love your mission, vision and values will be back in August. Honestly, if someone finds a church that’s a better fit for who they are, I think that’s a win for everyone.

Should we adjust our seating?

If your attendance begins to drop well below 80% of your seating capacity and you have flexible seating, I’d encourage you to remove seats during the summer. A couple of things might happen. First, if your normal summer crowd shows up, folks will be sitting closer together and closer to the front and that will encourage more engagement in the worship and teaching. That’s a good thing. Secondly, more people might show up than you expected. If so, you can pull out extra chairs at the last second. If that happens, it’ll help build excitement because folks will recognize the larger crowd was unexpected. That’s also a good thing.

Should we resign ourselves to low attendance in the summer and wait to promote a series until fall?

Absolutely not. Think about it. Most churches are slowing down in the summer. If you do a big series in the summer, you’ll be doing the unexpected. You’ll be differentiating yourselves from the rest of the crowd. It’s a great opportunity to catch people’s attention. LifeChurch is the perfect example of this. They’ve established traction with a couple of big series each summer. First, they offer their One Prayer series. Then they follow that up with their “At the Movies” series.

Don’t assume people won’t show up in the summer. They will if you’re intentional about how you approach what you offer.

Those are my thoughts based on my experiences. What would you add?