by Tracee Swank | Sep 10, 2026 | change, leadership, renewal
New idea. Full launch. Whole budget. Pastor’s credibility riding on it all. That’s how most churches try something new, and it’s exactly backward. When the idea falls short—and plenty of good ideas do at first—the cost isn’t just the idea....
by Tracee Swank | Sep 3, 2026 | change, growth, renewal
Notice a problem. Launch a program. Watch attendance shrink over a year. Quietly retire it. Repeat next fall. If that pattern sounds familiar, your church isn’t failing at innovation. It’s starting in the wrong place. The Great Commission isn’t a...
by Tracee Swank | Aug 27, 2026 | change, growth, renewal
Ask 10 longtime members what makes your church distinct. You’ll get 10 different answers. The building. The hymnal. A beloved pastor from 30 years ago. The chili supper before the Lenten service. Somewhere in that list is the real core culture of who you are....
by Tracee Swank | Aug 20, 2026 | change, growth, renewal
You read the book. Listened to the podcast interview twice. Drove two hours to sit in the back row of the church everyone’s talking about and came home with a folder of notes and a plan to run it back at your own congregation. Six months later, still...
by Tracee Swank | Jul 29, 2026 | change, church health, community, growth, renewal
Every leader keeps score. The only question that matters is whether your scoreboard is telling you the truth. For most of us, the scoreboard is attendance. Count the seats, measure against last year, let the number decide the mood. But if people now belong before they...
by Tracee Swank | Jul 28, 2026 | church health, growth, renewal
Every pastor wants people to hear the Gospel clearly. But before visitors hear your sermon, they experience your church through the parking lot, the front door, your coffee station, children’s check-in, and conversations in the hallway. Long before someone...
