In this episode, we’re joined by the vlogging pastor of Passion Creek Church, Arizona, Trey Van Camp. Nils and Trey talk about Trey’s humble beginnings, the creative process he uses…
In this episode, we’re joined by long time friend of the SMC Podcast and the Online Pastor of Saddleback Church, Jay Kranda. Jay and Nils discuss online church communities, the…
In this episode, we’re joined by a long-time online friend and the new Online Campus Pastor of CCV SoCal, Aaron Magnuson. Aaron shares with us the ministry opportunities made available…
As 2018 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to highlight the resources that you and thousands of leaders like you found most valuable for your ministries….
In this episode, we’re once again joined by my good friend, media producer, consultant and author, Phil Cooke. Phil shares with us significant steps that are key to getting the…
In this episode, Nick Runyon and Nils Smith talk about three of the biggest leaders in the technology space today–Facebook, Google and Apple, and look into whether they are “friends”…
As you probably know, only 20% of churches exceed 200 in average attendance. And likewise, a large percentage of staff-led and lay-led ministries within a church hit a growth cap….
In this episode, analytics consultant and creator of Viz.Bible Robert Rouse joins Nick Runyon as they talk about how the concepts of data visualization and business intelligence play huge roles…
In our most recent FREE report “Seven Vital Benchmarks in Church Compensation” (available at this link), the second finding deals with the percentage of church budget that goes to staffing….
In this episode, innovation marketing consultant James Poulter joins Nils Smith as they take the discussion of Alexa further into the roles, opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence in…
The question came from one of our clients: What policies do churches put in place for staff wanting to take on “extra jobs?” Brent Dolfo on our team began to…
In this episode, Kenny Jahng joins Nils Smith and shares his takeaways from the recent Grow with Video Live Conference with our friend Sean Cannell in Las Vegas. Learn about…
(Recently featured in Leadership Network Advance.) We were all stunned by the death of Lead Pastor Andrew Stoecklein from California. Pastor Stocklein’s wife wrote an incredible tribute to her husband…
This is the final post in this series on creating a culture of radical generosity in your church. If you missed the first two posts in this series, click or…
For those of you that have already read our Free Compensation Survey Summary Report, 7 Vital Benchmarks in Church Compensation, you noticed the findings about Per Capita Giving embedded in…
In this episode, Social Media Church legends DJ Chuang and Kenny Jahng join Nils Smith as they revisit what online churches were five years ago, and what they are today….
I was recently with a church staff in an affluent, well-educated East Coast suburb. They were trying to shift their church model from “hired staff” with volunteers to a model…
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In continuation to the podcast on Learning from Facebook, Nick Runyon shares the remaining ten out of the 20 learnings he gained from his recent visits to Facebook’s California and…
Last month, Leadership Network released our latest editions of the Large Church Compensation Reports. On our updated salary page you will see LOTS of choices. Those aren’t meant to confuse you,…
If you missed the first post in this series on radical generosity in large churches, click or tap on this link to read: How Do You Create a Culture of…
Join Nick Runyon as he shares the first ten out of the 20 learnings he gained from his recent visits to Facebook’s California and Texas offices. Learn what these insights…
If I were to ask you for an example of the most generous person you’ve ever encountered, no doubt somebody immediately comes to mind who has modeled for you generosity…
Larry’s original interview appeared on the Harper Collins blog: Lead Like A Shepherd: The Secret to Leading Well. We are reposting with permission. What makes leading like a shepherd so…
In partnership with gloo. After months of surveying, collecting data, crunching numbers, and careful analysis, the latest, most comprehensive large church compensation research project has concluded and is ready for…
Dr. Warren Bird recently announced that he has some big news, Warren, what’s your news? After a great 13-year run with Leadership Network, I’ve become Vice President of Research and Equipping…
By Eric Swanson and Matt Engel “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” John Wanamaker Jesus, Big Data and the Church…
While Facebook continues to grow globally, younger generations are spending more time on other platforms. Join Nils and Nick in this podcast as they share opinions, trends and tips on…
If you are looking to learn about multisite, why not learn from the largest multisite corporation in the world? That’s exactly what 10 churches did in May 2018, as we…
Instagram has made some noise this week with its unexpected launch of IG TV. Join Nils and Nick in this podcast as they talk about what opportunities IG TV provides…
For Autumn Miles, social media is home. In this episode of the podcast, Nils and Nick are joined by Autumn Miles in a conversation about how social media can be…
Church boards have been much in the news of late. For example, we see more churches with external boards these days, especially prominent churches – why is that? What are…
Being in this world, but not of it – this is what well known Hollywood actor Stephen Baldwin is driven towards. Listen to Nils Smith and Nick Runyon as they…
In this episode of the podcast, Nils and Nick are joined by Nona Jones of Facebook’s faith-based projects and Bishop Joseph Walker of Mt. Zion Church in Nashville. Listen as…
The recently-concluded F8 Conference has given us a look into Facebook’s incredible innovation, improvement and features to look forward to. In this podcast, Nils Smith and Nick Runyon, together with…
In Lead Like A Shepherd, The Secret of Leading Well, pastor, author and leadership consultant, Larry Osborne unpacks instruction for church leaders found in 1 Peter where…
A few weeks ago, we informed you that Bob Buford had died. The response from you was overwhelming. Every message you sent meant a great deal to us. For those…
Another edition of THE STIR – our podcast with host Dave Travis and featuring Greg Ligon Notes from this episode: Notes on our Accelerators Rethink partnerships – one of the…
Last week we shared the news that Bob Buford had died and now is safe in the arms of Jesus. That content and the accompanying blog article were written by Dr….
by Warren Bird, Ph.D. Bob Buford, age 78, died April 18, 2018 after a lengthy illness near his home in Dallas, Texas. Through philanthropy and personal engagement, Buford significantly contributed to…
In this episode of The Stir, Greg Ligon, one of the pioneers of multisite, explains the first of the movemental shifts happening across the field. He shares some of the…
This article was a feature in a recent edition of Leadership Network Advance. If you’re not already a subscriber, click or tap here to be among the first to learn…
Phil Cooke, co-author of “The Way Back: How Christians Blew Our Credibility and How We Get It Back”, joins Nils, Nick and Chad in a conversation about his newly launched…
Every multisite church has dreamed about a new reality. Let’s face it – the culture is changing so rapidly that our strategies need adjustment sooner. Recently, I was listening to…
From creating a website that featured local photography in a small town in North Carolina to now being a top innovator in social media and digital marketing, Casey Helmick reveals…
We have 168 hours each week with an average of one hour spent at a church service on Sunday, but how do we seize the remaining 167 hours for our…
Who mentored you or believed in you before you believed in yourself? That person is your Hero Maker! If you pick a recent day from your calendar, and review the…
Host Dave Travis interviews Brent Dolfo in this 16 minute show about church leadership development. Notes from this interview: It’s time to rethink the process in churches. How Leadership Development…
Katie Allred shares the story of how she started the Church Communications facebook group and how she gained nearly 16,000 members just two years into it. Nils Smith and Nick…
Our 2018 Survey of Large Church Salary, Staffing and Benefits is now LIVE and ready for participants! Widely known as our “salary survey,” this research identifies benchmarks, ratios and salary…