Summary

In this episode, Jeff Hoglen addresses the critical issue of declining church attendance and giving. He shares a personal story of a pastor facing these challenges and emphasizes the importance of diagnosing the root causes rather than hastily implementing solutions. Jeff outlines three main reasons for decline: loss of mission clarity, broken systems, and trust issues. He then provides practical steps for church leaders to rebuild mission clarity, fix systems, and restore trust within their congregations. The conversation concludes with encouragement for pastors to engage with former attendees to understand their experiences and improve church leadership.

Takeaways

• When attendance declines, panic often leads to ineffective solutions.
• Churches must have a clear mission to engage their community.
• Broken systems can drive people away from the church.
• Trust issues can significantly impact attendance and giving.
• Radical transparency is essential for rebuilding trust.
• Making giving easy can increase contributions.
• Engaging with former attendees provides valuable insights.
• Church leaders must be willing to make tough changes.
• Faithfulness in leadership is more important than church size.
• Effective communication is key to church growth.