Posts by Mark Howell
Life’s Healing Choices
Have you heard about Life’s Healing Choices, Saddleback’s newest campaign? Looks like a great new resource on a topic that’s been a home run for many churches and is clearly on the easy end of the easy/hard continuum. An 8 week church-wide study based on The Beatitudes, Life’s Healing Choices features DVD-driven small group curriculum…
Read MoreTake a Small Group Vacation!
You heard me right. Encourage your small groups to take a small group vacation! What’s it mean? Probably not what you think! I’m asked all the time what I think about the idea of apprenticing. And honestly, I don’t think about it very much anymore. Why? Because the truth is, there are easier ways to…
Read MoreNew from Simply Youth Ministry: Live Online
What do you do for student small group curriculum? Anyone? Anyone? If you’re like a lot of us, you don’t have a comprehensive plan. In fact, most of us are a little stumped when it comes to how to pull off group ministry for students! That makes what’s coming out of Simply Youth Ministry pretty…
Read MoreCommunity, Cause and Corporation
Ever tried to figure out why it’s so hard to keep everyone focused on the mission, get along, and stay within the budget…all at the same time? One of the most helpful talks I ever heard at Willow was one that Jim Dethmer did on the concept of Community, Cause and Corporation…his way of describing…
Read MoreCustomer Friendly Web Design
Have you ever looked at your website from the vantage point of a customer? I know that may sound strange, but it is very important that you see it this way. Until you begin to look at your website from the customer vantage point you’ll miss out on some critical connecting opportunities. Before we get…
Read MoreMirror Image
If you’re looking for a DVD-driven study that is provocative, easy to use, and generates great discussion, you’ll love Mirror Image. From the Liquid series, this is a study of five of Jesus’ best known parables (including The Prodigal Son and The Good Samaritan) and it is a must-have in our suggested curriculum list. What…
Read MoreThe Role of the Senior Pastor – Part 4
In addition to coordinating the themes for the year, the Senior Pastor has the unique opportunity to spike the weekend message with a call to action. What am I getting at? Easy. Every message has the potential of taking on a group life angle. The insertion of illustrations and stories offers the chance to comment…
Read MoreBuild Crowd to Core Flow in Advance
Many effective strategies are multi-component strategies. That is, there are multiple essential components to the strategy and effectiveness and impact are a result of these components working together. HOST, often used in conjunction with launching a church-wide campaign, is an example of a multi-component strategy. Remember that in the HOST strategy, the “T” stands for…
Read MoreTop 10 Reasons Church-Wide Campaigns Miss the Mark
While there are some key steps to launching a church-wide campaign that lead to greater participation, higher follow-through, broader community interaction, and deeper values integration…there are also some devastating missteps that cause campaigns to miss the mark. Here are my top 10: Selecting a topic that doesn’t engage the crowd, from the hard end of…
Read MoreJoin Randy Alcorn Live
You’re invited to join Randy Alcorn to hear about the new Heaven church-wide campaign and outreach program based on his best-selling book. [quote] Developed by the award-winning Lifetogether team, this program provides tools for your congregation to share their faith and invite people to attend a special video presentation with Randy Alcorn answering the difficult…
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