Are you satisfied with the results you’re currently seeing in your church? I haven’t been. For several years our church has grown in almost every category, but last year I feel like we may have taken a step back. That means something has to change. I’m not going to let my church settle for good enough, and neither should you. So, I’m asking our leaders to do these five things more this year.

1. Give Financially –  The financial struggle in small town churches is real. This year we’ve felt it more than any other. Our desire is to launch more campuses around us, but there’s no way we can do that at our current giving levels. We have to teach our leaders how to manage their money better in order for them to be generous. Some of our leaders need to begin giving this year, and others need to begin giving more.
2. Lead a Group –  Even though I have a love/hate relationship with small groups, I’m becoming more and more convinced that they are an absolute necessity for a church’s future success. The only way we’re going to see small groups become a big part of our church is through our leaders. They have to be willing to open up their homes and their hearts to better connect with others.
3. Engage with the Church on Social Media – Our church pages have over 2,500 followers on social media, and yet when the church posts and no one engages. Only a handful of people ever see it. Social media is an incredible tool for our church to get our message heard, but our leaders have to be intentional about commenting and sharing. We can help them out by making sure when we post something of importance, like a new sermon series or family event, we let them know.
4. Care for Their Volunteer Team –  It’s easy to get frustrated at volunteers who show up late, or don’t show up at all. But I’m more frustrated at leaders who don’t take the time to follow up with their volunteers and find out why they’re having a hard time showing up. When we care for our teams, they’ll start to care about showing up. Leaders would do themselves a huge favor if they just initiated a conversation with their volunteers each week.
5. Expand Their Circle of Influence – People have a tendency to engage with the same people week after week. Christians are no different. We find a group of people we like, and we rarely have a conversation with someone outside of them. My leaders have to do better than that. They have to be intentional about meeting new people inside and outside of the church. For those outside, we want to invite them in.  For those inside, we want to invite them to get connected.

There are so many things I could probably add to this list. I want our leaders to pray more, read more, the list could go on and on. But, I’d love to know what’s on your list for this year. What are you asking your leaders to do more of? Let us know by leaving a comment below, and don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church growth, leadership, and more delivered to your inbox each week.