Thom S. Rainer

Op-ed Contributor

Latest

Dec 12, 2015
7 Situations Where Your Church Should Not Have Greeters
I am an advocate for churches having greeters. Most of the time.
Dec 9, 2015
Two Major but Under the Radar Changes in American Churches
The two major changes have a similar theme: decentralization. The first is a decentralization of facilities. The second is a decentralization of leadership. Let's look at each of these major shifts
Dec 6, 2015
5 Reasons Millennial Pastors Are Not Moving to Larger Churches
They are the largest generation in America's history. At 78 million persons, they surpassed the Boomer generation by two million. Born between 1980 and 2000, they are shaping our businesses, our government, and our culture.
Dec 3, 2015
5 Ways to Lead in Times of Fear
"I'm not sure there is a safe place in the world today." The comment was from a friend, a strong Christian and an active church member.
Dec 1, 2015
3 Reasons Most Church Christmas Events Are Ineffective
Tens of thousands of churches will have events to celebrate the Christmas season. The events will range from simple Christmas Eve candlelight services to major musical productions.
Nov 28, 2015
25 Silly Things Church Members Fight Over
It began as an innocuous Twitter survey. But then it blew up.
Nov 25, 2015
5 Problems With Church Programs
Writing this post may be one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I am the president of the world's largest Christian resource company, and I'm talking about the problems with church programs.
Nov 22, 2015
Why Some Churches Choose to Die
The conversation surprised me. I was recently meeting with about a dozen members of a church that was on the precipice of closing. During their perceived "good old days," the average worship attendance was in the 40s and 50s. Now the church attendance was in the teens. The church was on metaphorical life support.
Nov 17, 2015
4 Ways Church Revitalization Is Changing the World
I want to ask you a question that may seem silly and rhetorical: Do you want to be a part of something that is changing the world?
Nov 15, 2015
Four Major Ways Pastors Hinder Church Revitalization
Nine out of ten churches in North America are declining, or they are growing slower than the community in which they are located.