What is in Kelvin's Head?

25 More Questions for people who want to make their churches grow

31/05/2015
A lot of people seem to have been sharing my 25 Questions for people who want to make their churches grow on social media.

So, here’s 25 more…
1. If you didn’t have to go to your church on Sunday would you still go?
2. Are the clergy happy?
3. Are the musicians happy?
4. Does the congregation have a stronger ethos than that of its denomination?
5. What one thing could you change this week to make the worship better?
6. Why didn’t you make that change last week?
7. What steps are you taking to make the phrase “All are Welcome” come true?
8. Do you do church business on a Sunday after church or is there a better time for that?
9. In the next month are you more likely to spend time on ecumenical activities or church growth activities?
10. Do people who leave become ex-members who have disappeared or do they still contribute to the life and ministry of the place?
11. What is the noticeboard like?
12. What is the first thing you see when you come through the door?
13. Did you implement the recommendations of the last “mystery worshipper” you asked to give you a candid assessment?
14. Which church events in the next six months will be newsworthy locally?
15. Which church events in the next six months will be reported in the local media?
16. Do you have enough staff and who decides this?
17. What would your clergy really like to do that they can’t because of the laity?
18. What would your laity really like to do that they can’t because of the clergy?
19. Which would attract young families more – a bible-based week long summer activity for children or letting it be known that gay people are welcome in your church?
20. Can you email those members of your congregation who want to receive regular updates?
21. Do you email those members of your congregatio who want to receve regular updates?
22. Has someone done the work required to make sure emails sent to large numbers of people don’t end up in spam boxes?
23. Who in the congregation has gifts that could be better used doing a different job in the congregation than what they are currently doing?
24. Who is your volunteer co-ordinator and is it obvious how to contact them?
25. Can you volunteer without being a member of the church?
church growth

8 responses to “The End of Civilization As We Know It”

Kimberly

13/12/2009

This is disaster. What will I do on my day off??

I may have to consider returning to America after all.

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marion

13/12/2009

I worked for Border Books for 10 months Kelvin. Helped clean and stock those now empty shelves. To see the store like that is awful. I love the feel and smell of a new book, and the idea of using an electronic book fills me with horror. To browse slowly, and then to make my choice of reading material is so much better and satisfying than ordering on line, and quicker.

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kelvin

13/12/2009

I suspect we must cherish our public libraries far more than we have done hitherto if we wish to retain the browsing experience.

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kimberly

14/12/2009

I have tried to cherish my public library, but it is so full of computers, and the only place to read/write/ think is a round table by the door, so I had to retreat to the Beanscene instead.

For those of us who don’t live near the Mitchell, where are the good ‘local’ libraries?

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Kelvin

14/12/2009

Well, I know I am spoilt by having the largest public reference library in Europe on my doorstep.

What I meant by cherishing local libraries was probably that we need to tell those who fund them what we want from them.

There is a consultation going on in England about it, and Rachel Cooke writes about it in a recent Observer.

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Justin

14/12/2009

The closure of the Glasgow branch is sad news indeed. The Fort Kinnaird branch in Edinburgh has been declining for a while, but even a year or so ago Borders in Glasgow was a great bookstore.

Apparently Borders has been starved of funds over the past few years, forced to promote potboilers to make up for lack of investment. There’s some hope for good high street book stores if you look at Blackwells in Edinburgh, which I think has got even better in the last couple of years. And, further afield, Foyles in London: they refurbished recently and it’s just fantastic. Models for the future, hopefully.

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kelvin

14/12/2009

I agree that Foyles’s refurbishment is a triumph. Howevrer, I still think that the idea of the big bookshop is probably going to be so rare that it will be like Wembley Stadium or Edinburgh Zoo. Of national note rather than local significance.

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Rosemary Hannah

14/12/2009

The noise level in my local library is such that I cannot think at all – and I’m used to a noisy family around me. In Borders today – incredibly depressing. It was so so much better than Waterstones. But Waterstones is better than nothing. But then again, I use Glasgow University Library more than anything else.

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