Remember Why You Serve
Serving Christ gives leaders a steady purpose when appreciation is scarce, opinions differ, and ministry becomes tiring.
An example Pastor To Pastor conversation: one pastor asks how to share the gospel at a funeral, and another pastor replies with advice.
Nobody trained you for most of this.
You were taught to study the Bible. Nobody showed you how to build a budget, hire a staff or lead a funeral on three days’ notice. Everything on this site is what I’ve built over 20 years of ministry. You’re doing great. Keep going!
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Get feedback instantly on your sermon, budget and website.
The sermon, the budget, the website. The three things nobody checks for you. Pick one and see what it finds.
What it really costs to raise a family where you serve.
Nobody tells you, or your board. So everyone guesses. Pick your town and your family, and get a number you can walk into a board meeting with.
- Owning a home, kids in sports, one family vacation a year
- More than 15,000 towns, each on its own numbers
- Every number shows how it was reached and where it came from
$190,670
The family-size home, with room to breathe
- $183,752
- $213,566
Start now.Start small.Stay faithful.
323 sermons. Every manuscript, free.
Some weeks Sunday comes faster than the sermon does. These are my manuscripts, as I preached them. Use them, borrow from them, make them your own.
- Genesis 1:1, 26-274 Questions - OriginThe evidence of a universe with a beginning points to a Creator God, and Genesis shows we were made in His image for purpose.
- Romans 12:10Honor: is our commitmentWe are going to be relentless in showing and sharing honor, because honor reveals, builds up, and is received through humility.
- Acts 2:40-47Acts of the Apostles: But, the ChurchThe early church's devotion to gathering, giving, and growing together in Acts 2 shows what it means to be the church today.
Step-by-step help for one ministry job.
The week you get the call, you don't need a book. You need the next step. Work through a kit on your own, with your team, or with me.
- Funeral Ministry Starter Kit## Before you use a template Replace every [Name] and [family names] placeholder. Check pronouns, relationships and names against the family's approved details. Choose one faith track, then remove unused alternatives. Only use personal testimony you can honestly give.
- Wedding Ministry Starter Kit## Start here If a couple has just asked you to marry them, work through the kit in this order: 1. **Read Resource 5** to decide your own practices before you say yes. Mine are there as an example, not a rule. 2. **Meet the couple** using Resource 2. 3. **Build the ceremony** from the core order in Resource 4, add the optional sections the couple wants, and pick one sermon approach. 4. **Run the rehearsal and the day** from the checklist in Resource 3. 5. **Read Resource 1 the night before.** Five resources: 1. Wedding Thoughts and Tips 2. Couple Meeting and Premarital Preparation Guide 3. Rehearsal and Wedding Day Checklist 4. Customizable Wedding Ceremony and Sermon Templates 5. My Approach to Officiating and Ongoing Marriage Care
- How We Run a Sunday, and Why## Start here This is one Sunday at Pinewood Church, from the week before to the review after. Every step says what we do, who leads it, and why. The order of service is the easy part to copy. The reasons are the part worth taking. A step your team understands is a step they can run without you. It is one church's way, not the way. Take what helps, change what doesn't, and write your own "why" next to each step. **A few of our words** - **Team Rally:** the short gathering of every volunteer before doors open. - **Stage Huddle:** the last check-in for everyone involved in the platform and production. - **Legends:** the set-up and tear-down team. - **Growth Track:** the newcomer class. - **Connect 4:** four questions for meeting someone new. - **SWOT:** the review every team does after every gathering (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). **The morning at a glance** | When | What | |---|---| | Before set-up | Leaders' huddle and prayer | | Set-up | Legends load in and build the rooms | | After set-up | Soundcheck and rehearsal | | Before the rally | Team huddles, about 5 minutes each | | 45 minutes before | Team Rally | | 30 minutes before | Stage Huddle | | 20 minutes before | Mic check | | On the hour | Service starts, on time | **The service, about 80 minutes** | Part | Minutes | |---|---| | Worship | 25 | | Host moment | 10 | | Message | 35 | | Response | 10 |
- Baptism Kit## Start here This kit is the full Sunday package for baptism: what we believe, the conversation beforehand, the day itself, the words in the water, and what comes after. Work through it in this order: 1. **Read Resource 1** and settle what you believe and will teach. 2. **Have the conversation** with each person using Resource 2. 3. **Plan the day** from the run sheet in Resource 3. It has its own section on spontaneous baptisms. 4. **Write your words for the water** in Resource 4. 5. **Follow up** using Resource 5.
- Onboarding Elders or a Board## Start here This kit helps you bring a new person onto your elder team or board well: what the group is for, who belongs on it, how you ask, what their first meeting and first 90 days look like, and how the group works with the pastor, handles money and has hard conversations. It does not tell you how your church should be governed. That is yours to settle from Scripture and your own tradition. Work through it in this order: 1. **Read Resource 1** and write down what your group is for. 2. **Use Resource 2** to decide who belongs and to write a one-page charter. 3. **Make the ask** and plan the first 90 days with Resource 3. 4. **Agree how the group and the pastor work together** using Resource 4, before you need it. 5. **Set your money and meeting rhythm** with Resource 5.
- Hiring a Staff Member## Start here A hire is one of the biggest decisions a church makes. It costs money, it shapes your culture, and it is hard to undo. This kit slows you down at the front so you can move with confidence at the end. Work through it in this order: 1. **Decide the role and write it down** using Resource 1. Do this before you think about a person. 2. **Write down what you are hiring into** using Resource 2. A new staff member joins a culture, not just a job. 3. **Find people and interview them** using Resource 3. 4. **Make the offer** using Resource 4. 5. **Plan the first 90 days** using Resource 5, before their first day. Five resources: 1. Decide the Role and Write It Down 2. Know What You Are Hiring Into 3. Finding People and Interviewing 4. The Offer 5. The First 90 Days
- Membership and Next Steps## Start here This kit is about one thing: how a person who walked in as a guest comes to belong. It is a path. Each step has a clear next step after it, and someone there to help a person take it. Work through it in this order: 1. **Read Resource 1** and settle why belonging matters in your church. 2. **Lay out the path** from first visit to membership using Resource 2. It includes what to teach in each step of the class. 3. **Write down what you ask of members** using Resource 3. 4. **Plan the follow-up** using Resource 4, before your first class runs. Four resources: 1. Why Belonging Matters 2. The Path From Guest to Member 3. What We Ask of Members 4. After the Class
- Hospital and Crisis Visits## Start here **If you are on your way right now, open Resource 1.** It fits on one screen. This kit is for the call you did not plan for. Someone is in the hospital, someone is dying, a family has lost someone suddenly, or a person is in crisis. You are the pastor and you are going. On a calm day, work through the rest in this order: 1. **Keep Resource 1** where you can find it fast. 2. **Read Resource 2** before the next call comes. Most of it is decisions you make ahead of time. 3. **Use Resource 3** in the room. 4. **Keep Resource 4** close. It is what to say, what to read and what to pray. 5. **Read Resource 5 now, not later.** It covers the dying, sudden loss, and times when someone may be in danger. 6. **Use Resource 6** the week after, for the family and for yourself. Six resources: 1. When the Call Comes 2. Before You Go 3. In the Room 4. What to Say and Pray 5. The Hardest Visits 6. Afterward, and Caring for Yourself
- Guest Speaker Kit## Before you use a template Replace every bracketed placeholder with your own details. Delete the sections that do not fit your church. Send your guest only Resource 2; the rest is for you and your team.
Everything here is free.
It isn't free to make. Hosting it, building it and keeping it up all cost money, and right now that comes out of my own pocket. I do it because I love pastors, and I want you to have what you need to stay in the game and stay healthy for the long haul.