Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
On The Rise: Should you launch that 3rd service? + 1000 True fans updated
Published 15 days ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.
Today, lots of church leaders I talk to are experiencing rapid growth, but how do you know when to add a third service? We’ll cover that.
Plus, Seth Godin talks about which ‘fans’ to pay attention to, Andy Stanley casts a clear vision, and some laws you’ve never heard of that make total sense of life.
Why Launching a Third Service Isn’t Always a Great Idea
The problem with non-optimal times.
So many church leaders I talk to this year are experiencing rapid growth. I love it! But what do you do when you run out of room? Add a third service? A fourth?
I also appreciate contrarian viewpoints, and Rich Birch offers a helpful checklist to consider before you move beyond two services.
Rich isn’t saying never launch a third service, but he does offer a checklist of things to run through and things to take into consideration before you do.
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Seth Godin revisits Kevin Kelly’s 1000 true fans argument.
Kevin Kelly disrupted the internet 15 years ago with his legendary article, 1000 True Fans, which stated that in the digital era, all you needed was 1000 true fans of your work to pay you $100 a year, and suddenly you were making a living as a creative. Not a bad argument, and many people discovered you could do this (and much more).
As Seth put it, choose your fans, choose your future.
He also mentioned that there’s a big difference between serving your audience and trying to ‘cash in’ on them.
This is an excellent reminder for all of us who lead people.
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I get a ton of questions from leaders about finding vision, casting vision, and keeping vision alive. This classic from Andy Stanley turns twenty this year, and it’s well worth adding to your library. Few people are better at clarity than Andy, and clarity is key to effective vision casting.
I’ve always been interested in eponymous laws like Parkinson’s Law that work expands to the time available to complete it. It’s just true. Give me an hour, I’ll get it done in an hour. Give me a day, and well…
I stumbled on this Encyclopedia of Laws, I’ve never heard of. Warning, some language, not in the quotes below but on the click-through. Still, enjoy these insights:
Munroe’s Law: “You will never change anyone's opinion on anything by making a post on the Internet. Knowing this will not stop you from trying.”
Time Cube Law: “As the length of a webpage grows linearly, the likelihood of the author being a lunatic increases exponentially.”
Wadsworth Constant: “The first 30% of any video can be skipped because it contains no worthwhile or interesting information.”
Badger’s Law: “Any website with the word ‘Truth’ in the URL has none in the posted content.” (see also: Haig’s Law)
Cheering for you,
Weekend Watching
Max Lucado
Max Lucado talks about his new role at Gateway Church, how to carry the trauma and disappointment of a congregation after the senior pastor has breached trust, how to know if and when you've crossed a moral line that requires resignation, and how to tame your thought life.
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Carey Nieuwhof
Where 100,000+ leaders get top insights to thrive in life and leadership.
Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
