By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith
As I walk down the aisle at the grocery store each month I become more and more amazed at the way the ‘heat and serve’ section grows. Just a few moments in the microwave and ‘presto’ your ‘meal’ is ready. Yummy! Or at least that is what the company wants you [...]

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Mission: its what the church is all about. As we said in the last article, “Motion without direction is delusion.” In this article we will talk about how ‘the purpose of the church’ guides our philosophy of ministry. God longs to provide the direction necessary for your church to accomplish it’s God-given mission. How does [...]

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Knowing where you’re going is more important than going. If there is no specific goal or place where one is headed, it really doesn’t matter if you are going anywhere or doing anything. Motion without direction is delusion. As we seek to bring life to our ministry, being on the same page is vital. Two [...]

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Resurrecting a dying church is much like working in an ER. The dying patient may have many medical problems, but in order to keep them alive, priorities are made on those wounds and injuries that are most life threatening. As we seek to rescue the congregation we love, we can’t fix everything at once; therefore, [...]

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When churches seek to regain their health and vitality, tensions can rise inside the local church. Turning around a sick and dying church often reveals things that were previously hidden. As they come to the light, these revelations can be unnerving, to say the least.
In times of transition …

Things do not stay the same. While [...]

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There are a growing number of American Churches that have discovered the keys to health and are enjoying the benefits thereof. Again, we know why this is and we know what to do to bring health to a local church. When local churches take the steps necessary to bring about health, the natural result is [...]

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Win Arn has said, that 80-85% of all American Churches are in decline! We know why this is and we know what to do. Often however, local churches refuse to take the steps necessary to bring about health and, as a natural result, growth.
Sick Churches …
• Are guided by griping. Like termites in softwood, the complaining [...]

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Perry Noble recently wrote, “I am seeing more young men rise up and plant churches…men with vision, passion and courage, men who refuse to accept the status quo, men with a genuine passion to see people far from God come to know Christ, men who refuse to become people pleasing pastors and who also refuse [...]

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Several years ago I can remember reading the following: “75% of American churches are dying, 23% are plateaued (by taking people from the dying churches), and only 2% of American churches are growing.”
Having worked for three decades in the American church, mostly in attempting to rescue dying churches, I have found four common attitudes in [...]

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by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith
As the new calendars go up, we all feel something refreshing about ‘being done with’ the last year. Whether it was a year of incredible accomplishment or terrible hardships, a fresh calendar can breath new hope and life into our lives. What will God do this year? How will I be [...]

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