I am sometimes asked by the church pastor for my opinion on how his church is going. It is an absurd question to ask of someone who does not know what is happening on the ground. However, here are some questions for pastors to ask of themselves if they want to measure their own church.

Has the Archbishop’s call to Prayer for Connect09 got you thinking as well as praying?

A fellow approached me at the end of a seminar that I'd conducted in the Diocese of Wellington and said that he had just planted a Cathedral. He had my attention - immediately!

How often have you heard the saying “Preach the gospel always, and if necessary use words”? This oft-repeated quote from St Francis of Assisi is often bandied around as a reminder that our actions speak louder than words. Yet, this motivation to live good lives can easily turn into an excuse not to speak at all.

There is a movement afoot among Christians (unlikely to be those reading this column, I'll grant you) who want to take us back to simpler times.

Demographic statistics are a great resource for understanding the communities we are seeking to serve and confront with the gospel. But be aware of the dangers inherent in masses of data.

The United Kingdom's Back to Church Sunday program is based on a solid statistical insights into why people lose contact with church. It's positive results suggest it may be a welcome tool in the shed for congregations keen to connect in '09.

There are two basic models to church growth, and they both risk truncating the task God has committed to us and diminishing the gift He has given us in each other.

Every church is cultural to some extent. Unwittingly, unknowingly perhaps, all churches run the danger of baptising their particular cultural values in the font of Christianity.

One of the greatest challenges in youth ministry is making connections - between younger people and older leaders, school students and local churches, and most of all, between believers and unbelievers. Camps are a venue that can achieve all three.

Who would have thought that a fishing group could become the key to cracking open the hearts of Aussies hardened to the idea of attending church? Well, Tim Scheuer, for one...

We all know we should be reading more Christian books, but often time is either the enemy or the excuse. But what if you could use technology to turn wasted time into reading time?

Why does walk up evangelism work well in one place and not in another? It all comes down to time and place. There are some circumstances that make our efforts conducive to success and some that do not.

Generation Y is the so-called ‘options’ generation. They are renowned for their lack of long-term commitment and last-minute attitude to life. So how do you recruit and manage volunteers from people whose every commitment is flexible?