Please take a moment to complete the quick questionnaire by clicking here.

The survey has already received about 25,000 responses from atheists and is in great need of more Christian participants to balance out the dataset. I’ll publish the results on Church Relevance when available.

Instead those who study churches rely on metrics like weekly attendance, growth rates, subjective opinions, scope of influence, and church planting efforts as hints to gauge if a church is successful. The underlying flaw with this is sometimes exceptional churches have humble results in terms of size, growth, and influence while sometimes unhealthy churches know all the right formulas to give the appearance of spiritual success.

It is an imperfect way to measure churches. And no church is perfect. Regardless, these metrics are our most reliable, efficient, and accurate way to gauge churches in research studies.

One of the wisest things a pastor can do outside of studying God’s Word is learn from other churches. Ministry is a busy vocation, so it is important to use your limited time wisely when looking for churches to study.

Click here to continue reading and see the top churches in America to watch in 2012.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Developing the site wasn’t as easy as our developer expected. After previous delays, we pruned off features to make a mid-January launch possible, but those pruned benchmarks were not hit either. Unfortunately, what is left is unstable and missing most of what we hoped for. It is clear we need to go a different route. The developer has moved on.

I apologize for this.

Any payment the developer received was underwritten by my company or came from my personal donations to Open Church. In other words, no one’s money was spent other than my own.

WHAT IS NEXT?

We are going to leverage customized high-end WordPress platforms to serve as Open Church’s phase 1 backbone. While this sacrifices some of our original vision for the site, it is more stable and cost-effective than trying to salvage what we currently have.

We need to launch something. Once we have a stable platform, we can better build and implement volunteer teams as well as better gather content and free resources for Open Church.

We will go ahead and create the wireframes and roadmap for phase 2 of Open Church, so that a more suitable platform for our vision can be built whenever the funding is available.

HOW DO I FEEL?

2011 was a year of challenges, providence, humility, and faith building.

God showed up in big ways for the areas we expected to be challenging if not impossible. Open Church received more enthusiasm than expected and more volunteers and interested resource contributors than we could initially manage.

At the same time, we were overconfident and then humbled in the areas of fundraising and web development. Those challenges forced us to think creatively, more efficiently, and with agility. However, the greatest gain was those challenges were crucial in growing our faith, increasing our prayer, and learning to give God credit in all things.

Twice we needed specific funds to continue, and twice God provided the funds through side projects within days of our deadline.

God is good. He gets the credit.

So check out the list, and please leave a comment letting us know which conferences we forgot and which ones you’ll be attending.

I love books. From the Bible to theologians to business experts, books are a quick way to get wisdom which in the long run helps you make better choices and avoid dangerous pitfalls.

Over time my library has grown to about 1,500 books I haven’t read yet, but over time, my responsibilities have also grown to the point that I have to be very strategic about what I read and how long I read it.

In 2012, I have purposed to read more by using book summaries from Leaders Book Summaries. I’ve avoided book summaries in the past because I liked the sense of accomplishment from reading a book in its entirety, but few books pack insights into every page, so I was just wasting time and adding needless clutter to my mind.

5 Reasons I Chose Leaders Book Summaries

1. Book summaries are cheaper than full books.
   With Leaders Book Summaries, I can get 10 book summaries for the cost of 1 full price book.
2. Book summaries save time and consequently money.
   The average reader takes 5-6 hours to read a whole book and only 15-20 minutes to read a book summary. In other words, you can read 20 book summaries in the time it takes you to read one whole book. Time is the scarcest and costliest thing I have, so the savings with Leaders Book Summaries is huge.
3. Book summaries are more effective teachers (research proven).
   According to research by Carnegie-Mellon University,  people who read good summaries of books actually learn and retain more information than those who read the whole book.
4. Book summaries ensure I am growing as a leader.
   Harry Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Without a plan, it is easy to keep saying I’ll read some books but keep procrastinating. Leaders Book Summaries guarantees I’ll cover at least  30 books each year.
5. Book summaries ensure my team is growing.
   At Open Church, I have signed my core team up to be getting Leaders Book Summaries each month. They offer a Church Subscription option that allows all of your leaders to receive the monthly book summaries. Many pastors find it easier to train busy lay leaders with 12-15 page book summaries rather than a whole book.

Leaders Book Summaries is also a great way to screen my book buying. If a summary is particularly good, I can better determine if reading the whole book is worth my time and money.

For more details, check out StudyLeadership.com.

Special thanks to Leaders Book Summaries for supporting Church Relevance by sponsoring this post.

While I love my ministry job and my church, I am becoming increasingly “burned out” and depressed with what I do. Currently our church is having some pretty major financial difficulties, which makes this a good opportunity for me to resign.

I have always felt a unique calling on my life to serve with some sort of humanitarian organization. I see ministries like Feed the Children, Samaritans Purse, Hope for Haiti, Hello Somebody, and Sevenly and I have such a strong desire to do what they are doing. I know that you have very unique ministry, so I am hoping that you could offer me a little bit of advice about how I could begin a new career with an organization like those that I have mentioned.

-  Anonymous

ANSWER:

There are really two questions here:

1. Should I resign from my current church?
2. How do I begin a new career with a humanitarian organization?

I answered the first question yesterday. Click here to read it.

#2 :: How do I begin a new career with a humanitarian organization?

First, determine what you want to do and if you need to get paid.
Second, pray about if there is a specific organization you should work for.

The challenge with step 2 is sometimes God gives us a passion and calling to a general area of ministry, but then we add some of our own extra details and assume our ideas are part of God’s calling. For example, a leader of popular nonprofit told me an average job listings might have 100 applicants but 96 of those 100 will say that God called them to work there.

So pray and be pragmatic, too. Here are a few scenarios for landing a job at a great nonprofit.

5 Routes to Get Your Dream Job

1. Any Task / Volunteer (Easy)
   If you don’t care what you do and can volunteer while bivocationally work elsewhere, then it can be pretty easy to find a role to fit at a progressive humanitarian organization. Contact them and say you’ll do anything - done. If there is a specific organization you’d love to serve, sometimes this is the only route to go in order to get your foot in the door. Be prepared for it not to be glamorous.
   >> I’ve done this before. I shredded a lot of documents.
2. Any Task / Paid (Moderate)
   If you are willing to do anything but also require a paycheck, things get more challenging. The global economy is hurting and fundraising is down for many nonprofits. The causes that are thriving and/or doing cool things may have over 100 people apply for each job position. It helps if you have friends who work there, a well-known reputation, or some remarkably impressive skill.
   >> I’ve done this before. I did a lot of manual labor.
3. Specific Role / Volunteer (Moderate)
   What’s your dream job? If you have the skills and competency to do it and can work bivocationally, then approaching an organization by offering to do a specific role for free might just be your ticket to living your dream. When working for free, you can actually sometimes craft a role that never existed before and the organization didn’t even realize they needed. It can be incredibly liberating to be a high level volunteer rather than paid staff - more of what you love, less grunt work, less bureaucracy. It does have its limitations though. Few organizations can successfully assimilate volunteer team members into their organizational rhythm like a paid team member.
   >> I’ve gone this route with several organizations. It is the format I used while at LifeChurch.tv for a couple of years, which gave me a tremendous amount of flexibility to float around and work with 7 different departments.
4. Specific Role / Paid (Tough)
   Almost always timing is everything with this. To be available to take a dream role exactly when an organization wants that role filled and has the money to pay you is elusive.
   >> I’ve approached organizations and organizations have approached me numerous times, but seldom has the timing been right for both sides.
5. Start You Own Humanitarian Organization (Tough)
   Successful organizations almost always seem cooler from a distance. The closer your get to the core of an organization, the easier it is to see all of their ugly flaws, blemishes, and failures. Your romanticized ideals of a career in humanitarian work probably doesn’t really exist. It could be impossible, but your best chance for getting close to those ideals may actually be starting your own humanitarian organization. If God calls you to start something, one of the sweetest feelings in the world is being in his will regardless of how challenging that may be. However, if you aren’t called, starting something could be one of the worst chapters of your life. Pray about it.
   >> I have experienced no greater vocational joy or challenge than to pursue God’s leading to start a nonprofit. However, if you do not feel called, there is a good chance you should stay away from such an undertaking.

3 Keys to Starting a New Career

1. Have the skills that pay the bills.
   Hopefully you started a decade ago reading the books, learning the skills, and getting the experience you’ll need to competively serve a new career. If you don’t have them, start today and go from there.
2. Cut through the clutter.
   Currently, the U.S. unemployment rate is at 8.5%. Nobody wants the mundane jobs. Causes are cool and among some of the first places people dream about working for. If you seem remotely like everyone else you, are replaceable and boring. How will you impress me? How are you the linchpin I didn’t realize I needed until I met you? Why should I care? Do everything you can to set yourself apart from the other 100 applicants that are boring the HR department.
3. Follow the Holy Spirit.
   Pray, listen, and follow. Doing otherwise could make you miserable.

Questions to Gauge Your Seriousness

• How badly do you want a career like this?
• Would you sacrifice and sell most of your belongings to make it happen?
• Would you sacrifice your other dreams to have the chance to pursue this one?
• Do you want to work at one of the organizations you listed because of what they do (and how they do it) or because they are famous?
  Fame is the wrong reason. There are hundreds of nonprofits (often copycats) doing what they do. But the rarity is finding a group that does the “how” well.

If someone came to me offering to work for free, had remarkable skills, took initiative, respected boundaries, and got results, I’d do everything I could to keep that person with my nonprofit. Bringing value along with sincere personal sacrifice is one of the quickest ways to win the heartstrings of a nonprofit founder.

How would you answer Anonymous’ second question? Leave a comment to help him out.

While I love my ministry job and my church, I am becoming increasingly “burned out” and depressed with what I do. Currently our church is having some pretty major financial difficulties, which makes this a good opportunity for me to resign.

I have always felt a unique calling on my life to serve with some sort of humanitarian organization. I see ministries like Feed the Children, Samaritans Purse, Hope for Haiti, Hello Somebody, and Sevenly and I have such a strong desire to do what they are doing. I know that you have very unique ministry, so I am hoping that you could offer me a little bit of advice about how I could begin a new career with an organization like those that I have mentioned.

-  Anonymous

ANSWER:

There are really two questions here:

1. Should I resign from my current church?
2. How do I begin a new career with a humanitarian organization?

I will answer the 1st now and the 2nd tomorrow (click to read it).

#1 :: Should I resign from my current church?

Pray. Pray hard.

Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This requires a delicate answer, and no one can truly answer it except for you and the Holy Spirit. Understand that you are not alone. Many ministers feel burned out. Many ministers are depressed. Many nonprofits are having major financial difficulties.

Don’t leave because it is tough (unless God tells you to go).
The pursuit of the Great Commission when done right is never easy. There will be many trials, but we are to be joyful about these challenges because they test our faith and mature us (James 1:2-4).

Don’t leave if the burnout is because of you doing too much (unless God tells you to go).
However, realize that the pursuit of the Great Commission when done right will not produce burn out and depression. Burn out is what happens when you give of yourself more than you fill yourself with the spiritual refreshment of a relationship with God (i.e., personal prayer, Bible study, and worship - not work related). This burnout may be from trying to do too much in your own strength rather than trusting God to show up. This burn out may be caused by you overcomplicating God’s calling for you by adding too many details, tasks, and requirements. If this is the case, cut programs and any of the fluff that is not Biblically essential to your mission, do you best, and trust God to show up.

Leave if the source of the burnout is out of your control (unless God tells you to stay)
Unfortunately, burn out sometimes is caused from abusive relationships from church leadership or from self-destructive management systems. If this is the case and you have tried to mend the relationships or repair the systems to no avail, your effectiveness in ministry may be quenched by leadership above you. Ideally, you leave as soon as possible. However, sometimes God calls people to challenging circumstances like this for a variety of reasons. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit amidst the frustrations.

Leave if the burnout is because you are called elsewhere
You mention feeling called to serve a humanitarian organization. Is it a passion, a romanticized dream, or a calling? If a calling, is the timing now or in the future? If now, then your burnout may be because you are not supposed to be working at the church. Pray hard about this. If you have to, cut distractions out of your life to heighten your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

There are many more possibilities that could be written, but I do not want to distract from the most important thing - pray and follow Gods leading.

You should also check out Anne Jackson’s book Mad Church Disease (ebook).

I will answer the second question tomorrow.

How would you answer this first question? Leave a comment to help Anonymous out.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

ANSWER
It really depends on each church’s resources and the cultures of the church leadership, the congregation, and the people they are called to reach.

Personally, I think bulletins are a waste of money, so I recommend trying to get rid of them altogether or condensing them to 3.5″x7″ cardstock with announcements on one side and contact info/prayer card/visitor card on the other side.

However, for a variety of reasons that is not an option for most churches. Here are some ideas for you to mix and match:

• Custom Everything Bulletin per Series ($$$$)
  Some churches have gorgeous tri-fold or quad-fold church bulletins designed weekly by designers who win ADDYs. The front cover features a custom graphic that changes with each series. The bulletin layout and dimensions change every few months. Special event graphics inside are custom designed. And each week’s announcements are carefully limited in length and placed to create a look as seamless as a brochure. The cardstock is premium and that value is noticeable to the touch. The visitor card is on an inside perforated flap, and there is a place for notes. Sometimes the church splurges to get a special embossing, spot varnish, or foil stamping on the cover. The printer is the best local shop. This approach while aesthetically marvelous costs about $1 per bulletin printing if ordering gigachurch quantities, and that does not include the cost for the graphic designers and copywriters.
• Custom Bulletin Template per Series ($$$)
  A more affordable custom approach is to custom design the church bulletin cover for each sermon series and then print the weekly announcements on the inside. The frequency of a designing and printing a new cover design with every sermon series will still be costly, but the bulk printing of the bulletin template will help cut costs. Be aware, however, that bulletin templates can often make the announcements look more awkwardly pieced in than seamlessly stitched.
• Premade Free Bulletin Template per Series ($$)
  A handful of websites offer free downloadable sermon series graphics. Sometimes these design packages come with bulletin templates. Either way you may very well still have to rework the file to make it work for your church’s needs. This is a great solution for cutting graphic design and printing costs, but the value is really in how you approach it.
• Pre-printed Paid Bulletin Template ($$)
  While not versatile in customization, pre-printed bulletin templates have been a popular choice among small churches. They streamline production costs and are easy to use. However, be careful; there are a lot of ugly preprinted bulletin templates that do more harm than good.
• Custom Bulletin Template per Season ($)
  Custom design the church bulletin to reflect your church brand rather than a sermon series, and you can bulk print a year’s worth of bulletin shells at a great rate. Use the money you saved to build a well.
• Custom Card per Series ($$)
  Most bulletins quickly end up in the garbage, so consider streamlining your announcements into a simple sheet of cardstock front and back. The front can feature the sermon series graphics or a sermon outline, and the back can have the announcements. With a high quality printer and a good paper cutter, you can print these in-house with three 3.5″x7″ bulletins to each page.
• Custom Card per Year ($)
  Ditch the tri-fold and the sermon series graphics, and use a single sheet of cardstock to list announcements on one side. Use the other side to feature church information, a prayer request card, or a visitor card. You can professionally bulk print a year’s worth of the church information side.
• Projection Screen Videos ($$)
  Videos take time to create but can be a fast and fun way to make announcements. These can get pricey if too many paid staff members get involved. However, it will still likely be cheaper than most printed solutions. Don’t be boring, cheesy, awkward, or embarrassing. There is an art to good videos. Check out Whitney George and Gary Hornstein’s insights if you want to do church announcement videos well. 
• Projection Screen Slides ($)
  Photoshop. JPEG. Done.
• Church Website & Blog (-)
  If you have a good website content management system, this is incredibly fast, easy, effective (for reaching core members), and low cost.
• Facebook & Twitter (-)
  The best place to reach people is where they spend their time. 1 in every 7 minutes spent online is spent on Facebook. Use social media. 
• Lobby Chalkboard Easel (-)
  Find a good calligrapher or fine arts illustrator in your church, and you can have some of the coolest and low cost church announcements around. 
• Lobby Interchangeable Poster ($)
  Design a large poster for each week’s announcements, print it at Kinko’s, and then place it in a prominent place like where people enter the auditorium.

These are just a few ideas. Mix and match them.

How would you answer this question? Leave a comment to help Mark out.

Now 19 months later, many churches are still using their 700 MHz wireless mics and risk the FCC confiscating their equipment and fines of $10,000-$112,500 or imprisonment.

While I haven’t heard of a single church being punished yet, don’t assume these are empty threats. I expect the grace period to run out sometime soon, and the FCC to gradually make examples of select violators.

Why 700 Mhz Microphones are Prohibited

Radio frequencies are limited, and the world is beginning to run out of space for all of the tech devices we want to stream across the airwaves. All frequencies between 698-806 MHz are now reserved for public emergency services, such as police and fire departments. Unfortunately, that means that thousands of 700 MHz church wireless microphones are now illegal.

To see the FCC’s list of illegal microphones, click here.

The Solution

Obviously, you need to buy new microphones, but you need ones that work in your geography. The FCC has designated select TV frequencies to be used, and the frequencies that will work for you depend on your local TV station coverage. And for churches that max out their designated TV frequencies, they can register for temporary exclusion during their services.

Free Consulting

Rather than trying to figure this all out on your own, Skylark Audio Video is offering free consulting to guide you through what steps to take and what gear you need. They can even help you save some money by purchasing your upgraded microphones direct from the manufacturers.

Call 888-365-7770 or email info@skylarkav.com to get started.

The sale only lasts 48 hours (through December 29th) and while supplies last, so be quick to call 888-365-7770 or email info@skylarkav.com to get the special deals on this gear.

Year End Sale Special Deals

Aviom A-16II Personal Mixer
only $500

Aviom 16/o-Y1 A-Net Card for Yamaha Consoles
only $700

Aviom AN-16/o v.4 16-Channel Output Module
only $900

Sennheiser EW300 Series Wireless Microphone System
only $800

Sennheiser EW300 Series Wireless In-Ear Monitor System
only $800

Chauvet LED Par56 56-24B Lighting Fixture
only $150

Chauvet LED COLORado Batten 72 TOUR Lighting Fixture
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Chauvet LED COLORado 2 Lighting Fixture
only $950