SouthCol Advisors’ Post

FOR PASTORS: Is your church’s generosity falling flat because you’re using outdated categories for givers? Many churches still classify people as either “givers” or “non-givers,” but this binary thinking isn’t helping us grow generous disciples. It’s time to move beyond the basics. Every church has people who: 1. Tip emotionally when asked. 2. Give occasionally without a plan. 3. Invest regularly in the church’s mission. 4. Live a lifestyle of generosity, seeing giving as an act of worship. By understanding these different groups—Non-Givers, Emotional Tippers, Ministry Givers, Missional Investors, and Kingdom Stewards—you can tailor your communication to inspire people to take the next step. Imagine this: instead of blanket statements like, “Thank you to everyone who gives,” what if you spoke directly to each group with language that meets them where they are? You’d offer Non-Givers a clear on-ramp, inspire Ministry Givers to plan their giving, and help Missional Investors move toward sacrificial generosity. Progress is more important than pace. If you can speak to these groups intentionally and consistently, you’ll grow disciples who see generosity as a natural part of their faith. Want to learn more about how to move people along this journey? Visit my blog for strategies, frameworks, and practical tips. #ChurchLeadership #GenerosityJourney #Stewardship Link in comments

United for a Purpose... "Only a church united can bring healing and hope to nation divided." - Doug Stringer - The task is greater than we can accomplish alone. - Together we can have a greater Kingdom impact. I believe that our nation's 4.6 million first responders, and their families, is the greatest UNSEEN mission field in our country today. The problems we see across the country: 1️⃣ Isolation - among all who have a heart to reach them for Christ. 2️⃣ Discouragement – from little to no support, fruit, or examples to follow. 3️⃣ Lack of Awareness – for the first responder culture and the need to reach them for Christ, for what other ministries, chaplains, and churches are doing well, and for how first responders and their families can live out their faith. We believe a national networking conference and this alliance, has the opportunity to do what has never been done before, and begin to address these gaps within the body of Christ.  September 20-21, 2024 in Chattanooga, TN. Don't miss this opportunity. Learn more and register online today: https://lnkd.in/eFGF58Xu #firstresponder #realhope #missionfirstalliance

THE TWO THINGS YOUNG GROWING CHURCHES GET RIGHT 👏 Young churches that grow the fastest often share two key traits. And both of them have to do with being bold and open to change. 👉First, these churches are outward-focused. They put a huge emphasis on reaching new people beyond the church walls. It’s not that they ignore discipleship. They know new believers need growth and support. But they’re biased toward bringing people in because when you’re starting out, you need a foundation, a community, and even the practical aspect of funding the ministry. 👉Second, newer churches are more willing to take risks. They’re ready to change, try new things, fail, and try again. When you’re small and just starting, there’s an urgency that pushes innovation. As churches grow and mature, they might lose some of that willingness. It’s not necessarily about becoming comfortable. It’s just that the push to innovate may no longer feel as pressing as it did in the beginning. But the healthy, lasting churches? They keep asking, "What’s our next bold move?" They don’t rely only on past successes. They keep looking for something new to try, even if it might fail. Every church, no matter its size or age, needs one bold move ahead of it. For young churches, it’s getting established and reaching new people. But for older churches, it’s about not letting familiarity get in the way of future growth. #churchleadership #churchlife #pastors

Wespath is proud to highlight the impact that The National Association of United Methodist Foundations is generating for neurodivergent individuals and their families. Our partners at NAUMF recently granted a record $31,000 to @ Boulder City UMC for their work creating inclusive worship spaces for autistic children. Read more about how NAUMF is living out their mission of enhancing church ministries: https://ow.ly/Kc7y50Uaq7T

If you serve in the average church, you will notice an imbalance of one age group over another. The mark of a healthy church is an intergenerational fellowship where people of all ages, (cradle to the grave) serve together to expand the kingdom. Most churches already struggling with providing intergenerational connections have unintentionally created silos by collecting people together in certain age groups for Sunday School or other gatherings. Tear down the silos and replace them with intergenerational classes and fellowship. #ChurchRevitalization

As some have said this is great news! I would offer to take the conversation in another direction. What if the USCCB hired a digital team like "Spirit Juice" and sent them to several of these successful teams and digitally capture their success story, action plan and digital measurements of their work. Then the digital content team built a training video (best practice template) and pushed it out to every parish, RICA/OICA team, youth minister etc. so that everyone would know how to duplicate these success stories. As some have stated, there is much work to do to reach those not in the pews. I would offer that it is critical that we break down the silos that parishes, dioceses and ministry teams work in and share the best programs across a digital Catholic enterprise. We need to get these "young priests who he says are “faithful,” “energetic” and “willing to do anything,” working with the young people to take over and have control over these efforts to evangelize. The young people are tech centric and think digital first, different then the baby boomers. We need to envision our Church 5 years out and let the young people take over and build our Church for their future. https://lnkd.in/eUdk-Uxa

Have you ever thought about how the church we know today came to be? The Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism really shaped the way we do church—more than we might realize. Churches started to run like businesses, focusing on efficiency, growth, and keeping people happy like customers. Services got structured, programs multiplied, and suddenly, we were more about the “production” of church than the experience of sacred community. But here’s the thing—this shift has come with some real downsides. We’re seeing: •Declining attendance: People aren’t showing up like they used to. •Less tithing: Financial support is dwindling. •Youth disengagement: Our younger generations are feeling more disconnected than ever. We’ve optimized everything, but in the process, we’ve lost something essential. Many of us are overworked, burnt out, and missing the deeper connection that church used to offer. So, what if we reimagined church? What if we: •Slowed down the cadence: Create space for rest and reflection. •Focused on authentic connection: Build communities that feel like home. •Restored the sacred: Make church a place of true belonging, especially for our youth. The world is different now, post Covid and our approach to church needs to evolve with it. Let’s start a conversation about how we can create a church experience that truly speaks to the heart of who we are and what we need today.

👀 Reimagining Church: The Sending Spectrum ✓ Did you know the average person knows about 611 people? In our hyper-connected world, this presents an unprecedented opportunity for churches to expand their reach and impact. The Current Model vs. The Potential Many churches prioritize Sunday services and in-house programs. While these are valuable, they're only half of the missional equation. What if we could leverage the vast networks of our congregation members? 🔥Let's consider the "Sending Spectrum"🔥 The sending spectrum is a paradigm shift in church outreach. It's based on the idea that every believer is sent to their unique spheres of influence - neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, gyms, and even digital platforms. The incarnational and influential reach of regular church attenders' connections is exponentially greater than we have captured in our imaginations. Practical Application 1️⃣ Recognize everyday spaces as mission fields 2️⃣ Equip congregation members as "everyday missionaries" 3️⃣ Shift focus from "church attendance" to "being the church" in daily life The Power of This Approach By embracing the sending spectrum, churches can: →Extend their impact far beyond Sunday services →Empower members to live out their faith authentically →Reach people who might never step into a church building Let's start a conversation about how your church can embrace the sending spectrum and equip your congregation for everyday mission. #ChurchLeadership #MoveTheFinishLine #MissionalPractitioners #runfree_co

How do you reach out to your city with the Love of Christ? YOU NEED A STAIR STEP APPROACH TO SHOWING AND SHARING THE GOSPEL: Overview: The challenges that cities face… racial tension, economic inequities, food disparities, transportation challenges, drug abuse, health problems, increasing crime rates, gangs, etc… Can only be solved by churches, not for profits, and students working together to SHOW and SHARE the good news of Jesus. Because only the Gospel changes hearts and minds! The Gospel is the only way to transform a person, a family, a community, a town, a city, a nation. John Stott put it this way- “Evangelism is the major instrument of social change. For the gospel changes people and changed people can change society.” True lasting transformation will only occur when the Gospel is prioritized and connected to the work. THREE STEP STRATEGY: o  Hand Out: Necessities of life… food, clothing, shelter o  Hand Up: Change the thinking through education and life skills training o  Handshake: Long term life mentoring and guidance through faith-based partners Goals: • No child goes home on the weekend “food insecure” • 50 churches working together to show and share the Gospel • 250 classes taught throughout the city (relational bridges) • Thousands of students being trained in the class and in real world experience to show and share the Good News • Every school is adopted by several churches • Every school has reading mentors & lunch buddies • 20 Red Trucks going to food deserts every weekend • 500 Inner City Kids going to camp each summer https://lnkd.in/eefUKJuS

It's been awesome to see the rollout of the Mother's Day experiments beginning this weekend at various churches across the country! When we get asked about the process for these, here are some of the design processes we use: Some churches in our network at Gloo are doing excellent work building excitement and momentum in the lead-up to Mother's Day rather than just waiting for the day itself. We've found that people naturally engage more when there is a sense of anticipation and build-up towards an event. Also, our work shows that more people without faith attend on Mother's Day weekend compared to Easter weekend. It's been great to see these churches embracing this opportunity by equipping people to intentionally care for and honor the moms in their lives. To develop these innovative pre-Mother's Day initiatives, many churches employed our "ideation" process to unleash creative thinking: Ideation opens up an expansive, open-minded space to "go wide" and explore a breadth of concepts without prematurely narrowing the focus. The goal is to generate an abundance of ideas from diverse perspectives. This fertile ground of possibilities can then be prototyped and tested with the ministry community. Effective ideation separates the creative ideation phase from the evaluation phase. This allows innovative thinking to flourish uninhibited before analysis begins on which concepts show real promise. The churches leveraged various techniques like brainstorming, mind-mapping, and creative matrixing to: - Move beyond obvious Mother's Day approaches to increase the impact - Tap the collective ideas across different ministry teams - Uncover unexpected new outreach/service areas - Create a ton of options spanning from small gestures to major initiatives - Voice conventional ideas but then intentionally push thinking further The willingness to ideate openly has allowed these churches to develop fresh, meaningful ways to honor moms while sharing the love of Christ leading into this special weekend. #gloo #ministry #church #innovation