Center for Healthy Churches

🌟 New Blog Post by Kyle Reese, CHC|PMX Consultant 🌟

In his latest reflection, "Experiencing Grace: Reflections on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard," Kyle dives into one of his favorite parables, drawing parallels to the concept of a missional church. He shares a poignant story about a "spiritual but not religious" friend who found unexpected comfort and community in a Baptist church during a time of grief. This post is a beautiful reminder of what it means to truly look like and serve our community, bearing each other's burdens with grace. Don't miss this insightful and heartfelt read!

👉 Read the full blog post here: https://chchurches.org/experiencing-grace/

📣 Exciting News! 🎉 The Center for Healthy Churches | PneuMatrix is thrilled to announce that Old Town Community Church (OTCC) in Alexandria, Virginia, has received a $1,243,648 grant from the Lilly Endowment for their innovative initiative, Building for Hope (B4H)! 🌟

Building for Hope aims to help churches repurpose underutilized facilities, fostering flourishing congregations and communities. We're partnering with Rooted Good, OTCC, and a team of experienced practitioners and faculty to bring fresh thinking and support to churches facing this challenge.

CHC|PMX is dedicated to guiding congregations through growth, transitions, and challenges. We offer collaborative, forward-thinking strategies rooted in God's wisdom and our extensive experience.

If your church has underutilized spaces and wants to make a positive community impact, consider applying for this two-year, fully-funded program. Accepted congregations will receive expert training, support, and coaching at no cost, thanks to the Lilly Endowment's generosity.

The first B4H cohort starts in early 2025, including three in-person gatherings in the first year and ongoing consultation and coaching in the second year. Food and lodging are covered for participating congregations.

Learn more and apply at oldtown.cc/buildingforhope. Let's create a movement of revitalization together! 💒🌍✨

For questions or referrals, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

CENTER FOR HEALTHY CHURCHES
PNEUMATRIX

We believe local churches can be beacons of light and life in their communities. Let's work together to make it happen! 🙏💡

🌟 Transform Your Church's Outreach! 🌟

Tired of jumping from one program to the next? It's time to cultivate a sustainable outreach culture that truly fits your church and community! 🙌

With the INGRAINED program, you'll discover proven strategies to engage people from their first visit to your website and parking lot to their experience in the sanctuary and beyond. 🌐🚗⛪

Let's build a welcoming and lasting outreach culture together! Learn more and get started today. ⬇️
https://chchurches.org/services/ingrained-outreach/

We are excited to announce Dr. Larry Dickens has joined the Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix consulting and coaching team. Larry brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion to his work. We are thrilled to have him on board to help congregations navigate challenges and embrace new opportunities for the future. Welcome, Larry Dickens!

Read More about Dr. Dickens...
https://mailchi.mp/chchurches.org/pandemic202-754808

Barry Howard is the pastor of the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta. He is also a leadership coach and columnist with the Center for Healthy Churches-PneuMatrix. Barry's latest writing is a wonderful reminder that "We are either building bridges or driving wedges in our attitudes and actions."

Building Bridges in a Divided World: Steps for Cultivating Unity - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Building Bridges in a Divided World. We are either building bridges or driving wedges in our attitudes and actions

June Newsletter | Insights, resources, and celebrations in our latest newsletter. - https://mailchi.mp/chchurches.org/discover-whats-new-check-out-our-latest-features-754792

-Authentic Kindness
-Welcoming New Consultants
-Answering God's Call- Congratulations
-Developing an Outreach Culture
-Healthy Transitions & Searches
-R12- A Church’s Answer to Polarization-Resist Idolatry
-Navigating Church Property Transitions with Grace..and Much More

Welcome, Dr. Reginald Wells!

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Reginald Wells, a nationally recognized leader with a diverse, decades-long career, is joining us as a consultant and coach for the Center for Healthy Churches and PneuMatrix. Known for his progressive, philanthropic, and Christ-centered approach, Dr. Wells is a forward-thinking strategic leader who creates safe spaces for conflict resolution, consensus building, and collaborative dialogue.

With a wealth of personal and professional experience in cross-sectional spaces, Dr. Wells specializes in leading and developing small to mid-size churches and has also served and led large congregations. His deep understanding of how to help churches adapt, grow, and solve problems makes him an invaluable asset to our team.

Dr. Matt Cook, Director of CHC, shares our excitement: "I’m thrilled to work with and learn from Dr. Wells. He brings tremendous experience working with various churches and organizations to our shared work at CHC/PneuMatrix. He arrives with a deep understanding of how to help churches adapt, grow, and solve problems. Every church that seeks his expertise will truly benefit from his guidance."

We are excited for the impactful work and transformative growth that lies ahead with him on board. 🙌
https://mailchi.mp/chchurches.org/pandemic202-754788

Authentic Kindness… a blog post by Dr. David Hull, CHC-PMX Consultant
“A loving father tucked his young daughter into bed and quoted the same words from the Bible every night. “And be ye kind one to another . . .” (Ephesians 4:32, KJV) Day by day, and night by night, the little girl learned the way of kindness. Did you learn that simple Bible verse as a child?
Somehow, we have forgotten about kindness. In our divided, fractured, polarized, gone-crazy world, we left kindness behind some time ago. This is even true in church, where the concept should never be forgotten. The Apostle Paul wanted to make sure that we knew how followers of Jesus are to behave in the world.
Kindness is not some human virtue that comes from our basic goodness but is a spiritual quality that comes from the love of God revealed in Jesus.”

Keep Reading

Authentic Kindness - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Kindness is not some human virtue that comes from our basic goodness but is a spiritual quality that comes from the love of God revealed in Jesus

We are honored to have worked with Mt Hermon Baptist Church in Richmond, VA, in calling Rev. Jay Lynn as Senior Pastor.

"Our pastor search team and Mount Hermon Baptist Church are extremely excited about our church’s future with the calling of Rev. Jay Lynn as our next Senior Pastor. God has definitely been at work in Moseley, first with the placing of Jay as our interim pastor and now 18 months later with God leading our team and Jay to make and accept the call as Senior Pastor. Following the process as defined by the CHC along with prayerfully seeking God’s guidance lead us to this important decision. Jay brings leadership, energy and a heart for serving and we are looking forward to the future and all that God has planned for our church and our community.

Through out the transition and working with the Pastor Search Committee, our experience with the CHC has been nothing but exceptional. The CHC and Dr. Bill Wilson led us through a well-designed and extremely effective process in guiding us through what is often a very difficult task of calling a new pastor. Dr. Wilson was always extremely responsive to our many questions, and his professional and spiritual guidance was invaluable. I highly recommend the CHC and its process."
Sylvia Green- Chair
Pastor Search Committee, Mt Hermon Baptist Church

How do we truly love those who think radically differently than we do? If we can avoid the temptations of fight or flight, the Church has a powerful alternative to political and cultural division.

Seeking Ten Churches to Participate in Beta Testing:
Whether your congregation is deeply divided on political and cultural issues or you want to proactively address potential divisions, R12 offers tailored resources to assist you. Our resources are designed to help congregations comprehend, evaluate, and effectively address polarization, regardless of where you currently stand. With R12, you can navigate these challenging dynamics with understanding, empathy, and constructive dialogue, fostering unity and harmony within your congregation and community.

We offer the R12 Congregational Polarization Assessment, valued at $485, to the initial ten churches that respond. Act fast—this offer is available to the first ten churches to respond.

Click the link to learn more:
https://mailchi.mp/chchurches.org/political-polarization-and-the-church

In this blog post, Mike Hunter delves into the multifaceted concept of growth, drawing parallels between personal experiences on a cotton farm and Jesus's teachings on bearing fruit. With a blend of personal anecdotes and spiritual insights, Mike challenges readers to evaluate their own growth, both spiritually and numerically, emphasizing the importance of yielding tangible results in their endeavors.

Bearing Kingdom Fruit: Reflections on Growth - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Growth. A complex word, growth. It’s found everywhere. Personal growth plans. Business growth strategies. Income growth. Spiritual growth. Investment growth. Everywhere you look the word “growth” creeps in. Jesus spoke of growth in terms of bearing fruit.  A field full of stalks, Jesus had li...

This is the first stop on the Jesus Worldview/Romans 12 World Tour! We thank Larry Hovis, Scott Hagaman, and the people of FBC, Marion, for hosting us. There was a great turnout and great conversation.

John Pierce started us off by introducing The Jesus Worldview Initiative and I followed up by talking about R12 and how to equip your church to respond to political polarization.

These are strange times so we invited Bigfoot to weigh in. It turns out he’s non-denominational and a committed member of the Green Party.

Next Stop - Atlanta, Georgia on May 7th

We celebrate with Taylorsville Baptist Church in Doswell, Virginia in calling Rev. Kyle Dobyns as Senior Pastor.

"Kyle has a desire and calling to serve in pastoral ministry and to share the love of Christ with others. He is passionate about sharing God's love. He has great energy, an engaging personal style, and the ability to communicate with a wide variety of ages. He is a relationship builder, collaborative, is very approachable for all age groups, has a great sense of humor, is kind and humble, is consistent and authentic, and is an excellent role model for others." -Pastor Search Team, Taylorsville Baptist Church.

The Center for Healthy Churches-PneuMatrix is honored to partner with Taylorsville Baptist Church to help with the discernment and process of calling their next senior pastor. "yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22-42
https://chchurches.org/

We rejoice alongside First Baptist Church of Shelby, North Carolina, as they welcome Rev. Asher Panton as their new Senior Pastor.

“We are excited for Asher‘s decision, heart for people, and how he will strengthen First Baptist Church and our community through Christ.” Lead Pastor Search Committee Chair- FBC Shelby

Guy Sayles provides words of hope this Holy Week in our latest blog post, "Saved and Called". "On an early spring Sunday afternoon when I was eight years old, I walked the short distance from my family’s home to the home of our pastor, Ken Haag. I was often there to see my friend, Tony, but I wanted to talk with Brother Ken that day. To use the common language
of my Baptist boyhood: I wanted to make a profession of faith—to be saved.

Saved and Called - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix We are being called and will continue to be called.

"This week, while engaging in a Samurai Sudoku puzzle, I came to the realization that there are lessons we can glean about church systems from these puzzles."

Consultant and Coach Tracy Hartman shares this week's insightful blog. Read more...

Insights from Samurai Sudoku: Lessons for Church Systems - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix There are lessons we can glean about church systems from Samurai sudoku puzzles.

Irish singer and songwriter Bono of the band U2 confesses, “I believe Jesus is the Son of God; if we could be more like him, the world would be transformed.” It’s one thing to confess, “I believe in Jesus.” It’s another thing to learn and live by a Jesus worldview. Cultivating a Jesus worldview is the heart of discipleship. Read More from Dr. Barry Howard's new blog post '10 Practices to Help Us Cultivate a Jesus Worldview".

10 Practices to Help Us Cultivate a Jesus Worldview - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Cultivating a Jesus worldview is the heart of discipleship. Ten key practices to help you foster and deepen a Jesus worldview:

Check out the latest blog entry by consultant Steve Lindsley. Discover why our perspective, as the church, holds immense significance for both our own growth and the community we aim to impact. By embracing the same optimism as Jesus, focusing on the green pastures He envisions, we confront scarcity with our abundance.

WHAT DOES YOUR CHURCH SEE? - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Instead of being held captive by struggles, what if we lean on the Spirit to help us see opportunities we might otherwise miss.

NEW! Dr. Kyle Reese shares wonderful insights for churches facing the challenges of empty rooms and buildings.

"It’s been 18 years since I’ve lived in my home state of Texas. I’ve had wonderful experiences serving a church in Florida, leading a non-profit, and serving a historic congregation in Georgia. Yet you know what they say…you can take the boy out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the boy. So, in honor of my roots, I’ve been honing my abilities and practicing the Texas two-step. Thankfully, the practice is not happening on the dance floor but in church leadership.

As we continue changing congregational life, many churches find themselves with property that is too large and expensive for the current congregation."

Two Steps Forward: Navigating Church Property Transitions with Grace and Hope - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix The first step is to be honest about our situation. How many rooms or buildings sit empty for most, if not all, days and weeks?

NEWS RELEASE 2024: Welcoming New Consultants - https://mailchi.mp/00f20f04b820/the-changing-church-new-consultants-754783

NEWS RELEASE 2024: Welcoming New Consultants Dr. George Mason and Rev. Sarah Shelton - https://mailchi.mp/chchurches.org/the-changing-church-new-consultants-754779

We invite you to explore our digital magazine of services.

Church and Minister Consulting and Coaching We specialize in consulting and coaching for ministers and churches navigating growth, decline, and transitions.

This NEW article from consultant Greg Rogers is heartfelt and honest about the power of sharing our stories as a part of healing. https://chchurches.org/healing-through-story-telling/

"In 2018, what began as a routine surgical procedure marked the onset of a transformative journey. Despite initial expectations, my introduction to surgery was anything but ordinary. Following a six-hour robotic colon resection to address a decade-long struggle with diverticulitis, I found myself navigating a challenging path to recovery."

Healing Through Storytelling: A Journey of Recovery - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix I've witnessed firsthand the therapeutic effect of storytelling in facilitating healing and resilience within communities facing adversity.

Introducing INGRAINED, a specialized consultation and coaching process designed to help develop an outreach culture in the life of your church. What if you could learn a new way of thinking?
https://chchurches.org/services/ingrained-outreach/

INGRAINED consultations include a written summary of the consultant’s observations on-site, a leadership workshop, and five follow-up coaching phone calls or Zoom events to guide and troubleshoot as you begin your journey.

Outreach Strategy - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Church outreach consultation and coaching process designed to help develop an ingrained outreach culture in the life of your church.

Jan-Feb Newsletter | Insights, resources, and celebrations in our latest newsletter. - https://mailchi.mp/chchurches.org/discover-whats-new-check-out-our-latest-features-754767
-What a Difference a Year Makes
-Welcome New Consultants
-Answering Gods Call- Congratulations
-Developing an Outreach Culture
-Introducing the Healthy Transitions Group
-R12- A Church’s Answer to Polarization
-12 Ways to Enrich and Energize Your Congregation..and Much More

CHC Director, Dr. Matt Cook offers a timely and essential word to loving others despite our differences.

The Long, Slow, Complex Work of Loving Each Other - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix As we gear up for all the upcoming political toxicity, we hope to contribute to a different model for responding to polarization.

NEW Blog Post - The Long, Slow, Complex Work of Loving Each Other
"As a kid, I realized that exciting things would happen every four years: an Olympic year (which I love) and an election year, which I didn’t fully understand but was momentous and thus fascinating. Later in life, when I became a pastor, however, I’d wake up early in one of those years and think to myself, “God give me strength.”
Keep Reading... https://chchurches.org/the-long-slow-complex-work-of-loving-each-other/

Church Consulting and Coaching We offer thoughtful and wise consulting and coaching for churches and clergy navigating today's opportunities and challenges.

This NEW Blog Post is from Joel Snider, CHC-PMX Consultant.

Many of us tell our pastors we’ll pray for them: how many of our prayers go beyond a generic “bless them”? Your pastor faces unique challenges and needs your targeted prayers. Use this guide of prayers for your pastor for wisdom, patience, family, and preaching.

Specific Prayers for Your Pastor - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix Specific Prayers for Your Pastor Find specific prayers for your pastor for wisdom, patience, family, and preaching, and go beyond generic blessings.