Posts by Mark Howell
Rick Warren’s Newest Church-Wide Campaign: Transformed: How God Changes Us
I had an opportunity over the weekend to preview the newest church-wide campaign from Rick Warren and Saddleback Church. If I told you I look forward every year to the next campaign from Saddleback…you’d know I was telling you the truth, right? Listen, Transformed: How God Changes Us is brand new, hot off the presses, and might…
Read More5 Powerful Ideas That Could Reshape Your Ministry Approach
From the mundane and everyday to the extraordinary and once-in-a-lifetime, all of us have puzzles we are trying to solve. Sometimes a single new perspective is all that’s needed to solve a difficult puzzle. I love Alan Kay’s wisdom that “perspective is worth 80 IQ points.” The thing is, I don’t know what your puzzle…
Read MoreDon’t Miss This New Resource: Forge Guides for Missional Conversation
Had time this week to work my way through a new series from Intervarsity Press. Created in partnership with Forge (an organization that cultivates missional community across the United States by identifying, developing, and nurturing missional leaders), this is pretty interesting stuff! The Forge Guides for Missional Conversation is a 5 book series and while each of…
Read MoreUse a Year-End Review to Help Your Small Group Members Grow
If you’ve ever gone on a long hike through rugged terrain you probably know how important it is to periodically check where you are against where you’re going. I’ll never forget an 8 day experience I had as a twelve year old Boy Scout, hiking through a section of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. I learned…
Read MoreTop 10 Signs Your Small Group Ministry Is Schizophrenic
Schizophrenia is no laughing matter. It’s serious business. Still…it’s a perfect way to think about ministry that needs therapy or medication. Here are the top 10 signs your small group ministry is schizophrenic: 1. You do the same thing year after year and expect different results. You remember what Albert Einstein said. “The definition of…
Read MoreThe Engel Scale and the Need for Customized Next Steps
I get questions. A lot of questions. Here’s an email I got in response to a post last week about the importance of developing empathy for our customers’ needs. “Mark, I get what you are talking about in designing systems and processes that work but the language of customer and consumer is problematic. I have…
Read More10 Powerful Benefits of a Thriving Small Group Ministry
Have you figured this out already? Still arm wrestling with the usual suspects over whether the return on investment is worth the cost? Here are 10 killer benefits of a thriving small group ministry: 1. Life-change happens best in small groups. You might have a killer weekend worship service with powerful teaching and inspiring worship,…
Read MoreTop 10 Posts of November, 2013
Here are my top 10 posts of November, 2013. I had folks stop in from 80 countries around the world. That’s amazing to me. Thanks for stopping by! Pretty cool, too, 836 of my almost 1300 posts was viewed at least once. Thanks for reading! Did you miss a day? Here are my top posts…
Read MoreLearn to Empathize with Your End User
What does it take to design something that actually matters to your customer? To your end user? It may not be what you think. It turns out that what makes a great designer is empathy. “Be empathetic,” Kelley tells Charlie Rose in a January, 2013 episode of 60 Minutes. “Try to understand what people really…
Read More4 Steps to Extending Your Reach into the Crowd and Community
Ever said anything that remotely sounds like this: Our student ministry isn’t reaching new teens. We’re just not reaching young adults anymore. We’re not reaching young couples. We’re seeing plenty of first time visitors, but they’re not coming back. Our congregation doesn’t reflect the community. We’re older. We lack diversity. We drive the wrong cars…
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