Following the leader. A merger is always more successful when each church is clear on who leads and who follows. But for the church in the following role, deciding to merge with another ministry raises difficult questions related to governance, what happens to staff leaders and specific ministries, who has decision rights, and more. In this episode, Tony wraps up a two-part series by interviewing Warren Bird, co-author of the book Better-Together: Making Church Mergers Work, to discuss how your church can successfully take the following church role in a healthy merger process—and see greater kingdom impact. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode155. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 155] in your post for reference.

Better together? Over the past decade, we've seen a trend in churches merging together for many different reasons... and it seems likely that this trend will only increase in a post-pandemic world. On the positive side—healthy, mission-focused churches are benefitting: Multisite: Ten years ago 30% of multisite campuses came by way of a merger; today it’s more than 40%. Church Planting: In a recent survey we discovered that 20% of church planters found a permanent facility through a merger. Pastor Succession:We are also seeing mergers as a pastor-succession and a pastor-search strategy. Denominations and Networks: They're proactively encouraging church mergers as a growth strategy for their healthy churches and as a revitalization strategy for their struggling churches. Racial Diversity: A small but growing number of church leaders are seeing mergers as a way of becoming more racially diverse. In this episode, Tony Morgan interviews Jim Tomberlin, co-author of the book Better-Together: Making Church Mergers Work, for the beginning of a two part conversation on the emerging trend of healthy, mission-driven church mergers as an alternative to the old, failure-prone mergers of two declining churches.  For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode154. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 154] in your post for reference.

Exploring the emotional struggles pastors face during rapid changes, from doubt to hidden reenergization. Discussing the six stages of change and the importance of empathy in leadership. Strategies for managing transitions in church leadership and adapting to uncertainty.

The hard truth for outward-focused churches? New people are probably not going to come to our physical locations to try out church—not for a long time. In the last few months, the majority of churches shifted to holding services online, and recently, a lot of energy shifted to re-opening in-person services. But even if we take all the precautions and follow the federal and local guidelines... it's going to be a big challenge to get new people to check out our churches in-person going forward. So, how will churches reach new people in a digital world?  In this episode, Tony and Amy share a simple way to rethink your digital strategy so that it includes a focus on reaching NEW people. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode152. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 152] in your post for reference.

How do we DO this? That's the question we're hearing. The shift from analog to digital ministry is one of the biggest ministry strategy shifts churches are having to make right now.  We reported in our special edition of the Q2 2020 Unstuck Church Report, that 70% of larger churches told us they thinking about how their staffing structure may need to shift permanently to prepare for the new normal. But when we talk to pastors personally, you’re all asking us the same thing: How do we do this? And the hard part is, there aren’t really many examples out there. So as we’ve been helping churches process how to move forward, we’ve come back to a tried-and-true approach to evaluating and implementing any key ministry strategy shift. In this episode, Tony and Amy walk you through 6 steps (and the right sequence of those steps!) to effectively lead your ministry through any major strategy shift, and particularly, from analog to digital. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode151. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 151] in your post for reference.

Annual reviews. Grading on a fuzzy 10-point scale. Infrequent 1-on-1 meetings... we've all be on the receiving end of an ineffective performance management system. Is there a better way? Does performance management even belong on church staff teams? Pastors frequently tell us they weren't taught the skills to lead an organization in seminary. When teams are small, it’s easy to lead the staff and keep everyone on the same page. But as a team gets larger, pastors do need new tools to keep the team aligned, productive and growing in their skills and abilities. In Part 2 of this series on staff leadership issues, Tony and Amy discuss the best system and practices we've seen in churches that effectively manage performance and execute at a high level—and spoiler alert! It's actually very simple. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode150. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 150] in your post for reference.

Frustration, silos, turf wars and inaction... There might just be a fuzzy decison-making process in your organization. The good news? These are all solvable problems with clear decision rights. In moments of crisis, it's wholly appropriate for the leader to make more decisions. But now it's time to start shifting to a more collaborative approach to leadership—or you're going to limit the impact that your organization can have in the months and the years going forward. In Part 1 of a two-part series on staff leadership issues, Tony and Amy discuss this issue of “who gets to make what decisions,” which we find is a challenge with almost every church we coach. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode149. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 149] in your post for reference.

We're back from our brief podcast hiatus! And we've got lots of NEW data and stories to share. We recently partnered with Blackbaud for a special edition of our quarterly research report, The Unstuck Church Report. More than 550 churches shared with us how they're continuing to respond to the coronavirus crisis. There was some good news: Churches seem to be finding themselves in a better financial position than they previously anticipated. Online engagement remains strong compared to pre-pandemic in-person attendance. And, though most churches have not re-opened for in person services, many are planning on reopening their buildings for weekend services soon. But there were also a number of things we found alarming, particularly as we consider the long-term ramifications of what we're experiencing right now. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss the findings of the survey—along with anecdotal findings from our work helping 50+ churches navigate ministry strategy in the last couple of months—and we share our take on what all of it is telling us about what's coming and how we should be preparing. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode148. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 148] in your post for reference.

Learn about the essential components of creating alignment within a church organization, including maintaining clarity on ministry priorities, setting strategic action plans, and aligning organizational goals with ministry objectives for success.

Explore the importance of church direction in strategic alignment to ensure unity and focus. Learn how to clarify directional levels and adjust as seasons change. Understand the significance of aligning goals with the church's vision for success. Evaluate over-programming, alignment with mission, and cost-effectiveness.