The Church Lobby

Greg Atkinson is one the world’s leading voices in First Impressions for churches. He also wrote "Secrets of a Secret Shopper: Reaching and Keeping Church Guests" as a guide for small churches.In this conversation, Karl Vaters interviews Greg aboutOnline presenceHow everyone in a small church is on the First Impressions "team”Why small churches may need to work harder on First Impressions than our big church friendsA few tips for small churches to increase their first impression with little or no moneyTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

There’s a lot of talk lately about what it will take to recover from what we've all been through over the past two years. And understandably so. It will take years for us to get a grip on what has happened, what’s still happening and how it’s still changing everything.In this two-part series, Karl Vaters shares several lessons about responding, recovering and thriving through a challenging season. This information comes from hundreds of conversations he’s had with small church pastors, denominational leaders and others over the last 18+ months.In this episode (Part 2), Karl covers the four essential principles that have made the differences between1) churches that struggled the most during the pandemic, and will continue to struggle in the future, and2) churches that have stayed healthy, become stronger and are likely to thrive into the future.To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

There’s a lot of talk lately about what it will take to recover from what we've all been through over the past two years. And understandably so. It will take years for us to get a grip on what has happened, what’s still happening and how it’s still changing everything. In this two-part series, Karl Vaters shares several lessons about responding, recovering and thriving through a challenging season. This information comes from hundreds of conversations he’s had with small church pastors, denominational leaders and others over the last 18+ months. In this episode (Part 1), Karl covers:The two dangerous extremes people have found themselves in – and the way path to health againThe two keys for churches to recover and thrive in the coming yearsThe three most important principles for small churches moving forwardTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

An interview with Craig Forrest, who’s spent decades shooting and editing film and video for ministries and network TV.Craig is passionate about helping people communicate the message of Jesus in a compelling way. In this interview, Karl Vaters talks with him about video ideas and tips that can be used in any size of church on a limited/nonexistent budget.CraigForrest.com (https://www.craigforrest.com/)MatchstickMedia.org (https://www.matchstickmedia.org/)Six Ways to Sunday podcast (https://soundcloud.com/craig-d-forrest-813372280)For a Transcript of this episode visit the Pivot Blog Support This Work:Visit the Website (https://karlvaters.com/)Subscribe to weekly Newsletter (https://karlvaters.com/subscribe/)Contribute financially through Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/karlvaters)Visit our Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrcGS0_tkxklJyB7wn9-aZA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recorded in an RV at the Big Little Church conference in Camas WA, Karl talks with four people who host conferences for small church leaders. The conversation covers:Why they started their small church conferencesWhat big church conferences can do to include the needs and voices of small church leadersFirst steps if you want to host a small church conferenceGuests:Carl & Kalani Culley of BigLittleChurch.comDale Sellers of 95Network.orgChris Vitarelli of SmallChurchBigDeal.comLinks from Episode:Big Little Church Conference (http://www.biglittlechurch.com/)Small Church, Big Deal (http://smallchurchbigdeal.com/)95Network (https://www.95network.org/)First 5 app - Devotional tool (https://first5.org/)To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

In my conversation with Ira Antoine we talk about Decision Fatigue. You know, that exhaustion you feel when there are just ... too ... many ... decisions to be made and no one else to make them!Ira has pastored of Minnehulla Baptist Church in Goliad, Texas for 14 years and he is also the Director of Texas Baptists Bivocational Pastors Ministry.Ira offers a lot of practical help for an issue that every leader will face during seasons of challenge including “What is decision fatigue? Why are we facing it? And what can we do about it?”Links From Episode:Streamyard.com (https://streamyard.com)Texas Baptists Convention (https://texasbaptists.org/) Personal e-mail: ira.antoine@texasbaptists.orgTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

A church’s culture is defined as “the unwritten set of rules that governs everything a church does.” In a big church, the pastor and staff set the culture, but in a small church the culture is set by the long-time regular members and attenders - even if they don't know they’re doing it.In this episode, Karl Vaters walks through the three steps that a small church pastor must use to lead the culture. Show them you understand the cultureShow them what you appreciate about the cultureThen you will get limited permission to participate with them to lead and shape the cultureKarl also walks through the key types of church cultures and how to address each one.Links from Episode:Dirt Matters by Jim Powell To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Doug Bursch, author of Posting Peace, discusses the impact of social media on our relationships and how to promote positive dialogues online. Topics include authenticity, reconciliation, humor in literature, adapting to technology in ministry, and making a Christ-centered impact on social media.

Yes, small churches can be strong, healthy and effective. In this opening episode, Karl Vaters looks at the three main issues that must be in place in order for that to happen.1. Realize you can be effective2. Discover how small churches function differently from big churches3. Understand and use the unique DNA of your small church for God’s gloryTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Why would someone create a podcast called "Can This Work In A Small Church?" Because small churches are different.A lot of what we learn from our big church friends needs to be tweaked for the small church environment. And sometimes they need to be done completely differently.In this episode, Karl Vaters introduces you to what this podcast is about, and what's coming up.To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.