I am so darn excited to share today’s episode. Back in 2020, the conversation I first had with Craig Rees was my most inspiring and helpful conversation of the entire year.

So when he was open to being on the podcast, I was incredibly grateful.

In recent days, smaller churches have gotten some more intentional focus. And larger churches have continued to get press. But mid-size churches are kind of left in no man’s land.

Craig is the Lead Pastor of Central Wesleyan Church in Holland, MI and CEO of Water’s Edge. Today we talk about the leadership shift that takes place when a church goes from being small (under 150) to mid-size (over 150), key systems mid-size churches need to start thinking about, how to be committed to a vision, reaching the next generation, and the list goes on.

Craig is an incredible leader and I hope today’s conversation is a blessing to you!

 

Key Takeaways

1) There is a shift that happens when a church becomes a mid-size church. Systems change. Leadership styles have to change. Relationships are shifted. If we don’t acknowledge this shift, we become frustrated and start to feel overwhelmed.

2) We can’t expect our congregation to reach tons of people for Jesus if all their time is spent putting on programs within our church building. There is a difficult balance we all have to understand and navigate. The people in our church can’t be everywhere at once.

3) Every church is one generation away from extinction if the next generation isn’t reached. It doesn’t get clearer than this. Ineffectiveness in reaching the next generation is not a passive issue, it’s something we need to focus on every single day.

Links to Resources Mentioned or Related

• Craig’s Website
• Water’s Edge: A Kingdom-Focused Family of Churches
• Read Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There By Now

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