The metrics that matter most in ministry are true conversions, maturing disciples, and selfless acts that advance the gospel message. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to truly measure this in just one church let alone tens of thousands of churches.

Instead those who study churches rely on metrics like weekly attendance, growth rates, subjective opinions, scope of influence, and church planting efforts as hints to gauge if a church is successful. The underlying flaw with this is sometimes exceptional churches have humble results in terms of size, growth, and influence while sometimes unhealthy churches know all the right formulas to give the appearance of spiritual success.

It is an imperfect way to measure churches. And no church is perfect. Regardless, these metrics are our most reliable, efficient, and accurate way to gauge churches in research studies.

One of the wisest things a pastor can do outside of studying God’s Word is learn from other churches. Ministry is a busy vocation, so it is important to use your limited time wisely when looking for churches to study.

Click here to continue reading and see the top churches in America to watch in 2012.

Church Relevance’s list of 2012 church conference recommendations has been updated to almost 40 ministry conferences. There’s no way it includes all of the conferences worth considering.

So check out the list, and please leave a comment letting us know which conferences we forgot and which ones you’ll be attending.

I love books. From the Bible to theologians to business experts, books are a quick way to get wisdom which in the long run helps you make better choices and avoid dangerous pitfalls.

Over time my library has grown to about 1,500 books I haven’t read yet, but over time, my responsibilities have also grown to the point that I have to be very strategic about what I read and how long I read it.

In 2012, I have purposed to read more by using book summaries from Leaders Book Summaries. I’ve avoided book summaries in the past because I liked the sense of accomplishment from reading a book in its entirety, but few books pack insights into every page, so I was just wasting time and adding needless clutter to my mind.

5 Reasons I Chose Leaders Book Summaries

1. Book summaries are cheaper than full books.
   With Leaders Book Summaries, I can get 10 book summaries for the cost of 1 full price book.
2. Book summaries save time and consequently money.
   The average reader takes 5-6 hours to read a whole book and only 15-20 minutes to read a book summary. In other words, you can read 20 book summaries in the time it takes you to read one whole book. Time is the scarcest and costliest thing I have, so the savings with Leaders Book Summaries is huge.
3. Book summaries are more effective teachers (research proven).
   According to research by Carnegie-Mellon University,  people who read good summaries of books actually learn and retain more information than those who read the whole book.
4. Book summaries ensure I am growing as a leader.
   Harry Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Without a plan, it is easy to keep saying I’ll read some books but keep procrastinating. Leaders Book Summaries guarantees I’ll cover at least  30 books each year.
5. Book summaries ensure my team is growing.
   At Open Church, I have signed my core team up to be getting Leaders Book Summaries each month. They offer a Church Subscription option that allows all of your leaders to receive the monthly book summaries. Many pastors find it easier to train busy lay leaders with 12-15 page book summaries rather than a whole book.

Leaders Book Summaries is also a great way to screen my book buying. If a summary is particularly good, I can better determine if reading the whole book is worth my time and money.

For more details, check out StudyLeadership.com.

Special thanks to Leaders Book Summaries for supporting Church Relevance by sponsoring this post.

Skylark Audio Video is cleaning out their warehouse and offering some great deals on church audio, video, and lighting equipment.

The sale only lasts 48 hours (through December 29th) and while supplies last, so be quick to call 888-365-7770 or email info@skylarkav.com to get the special deals on this gear.

Year End Sale Special Deals

Aviom A-16II Personal Mixer
only $500

Aviom 16/o-Y1 A-Net Card for Yamaha Consoles
only $700

Aviom AN-16/o v.4 16-Channel Output Module
only $900

Sennheiser EW300 Series Wireless Microphone System
only $800

Sennheiser EW300 Series Wireless In-Ear Monitor System
only $800

Chauvet LED Par56 56-24B Lighting Fixture
only $150

Chauvet LED COLORado Batten 72 TOUR Lighting Fixture
only $700

Chauvet LED COLORado 2 Lighting Fixture
only $950

Crossway Publishing offers a premium ESV Study Bible that rivals the quality of the world’s top Bible publishers while offering one of the most sophisticated study Bibles I have seen.

It is big. And it is beautiful.

The English Standard Version (ESV) is a 2001 revision of the Revised Standard Version. Its goal is to be a highly accurate translation that is more easily read than the King James Version.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

The type is set in a very generous 9 point black text making readability easy for almost anyone. However, if you are not interested in reading the Bible study footnotes, the sheer volume of commentary will actually hurt the reading experience since it can at times take up to 75% of a page’s content.

The hand-fashioned premium calfskin leather cover is among the softest Bible covers I have ever touched. I almost feels like it melts into your fingertips. While its craftmanship is not quite as polished and impressive and an RL Allan or Cambridge Bible, it is incredibly close and may quite possibly be the finest study Bible available.

All materials and the Smyth-sewn binding come with a lifetime guarantee, so you do not need to be concerned about the massive weight of its pages falling out because of their heft. It is built to last but having the lifetime warranty is a nice peace of mind.

In its newness, Crossway’s premium ESV Study Bible opens a bit stiff as it lays flat. However, after breaking it in, I expect it to become as fluid yet durable as its cover.

These study Bible features are astounding. In addition to 200 full-color maps, 40 illustrations, 200+ charts, 80,000 cross-references, and a concordance, you receive 20,000 notes and 50 articles from 95 scholars and teachers from 9 countries, nearly 20 denominations, and 50 seminaries and universities.

In total, it is 1.1 million words of insight in addition to Scripture. Simply put, it is stunning.

While premium Bibles seem expensive, they are well worth the money and are often cheaper in the long run because of their durable longevity. If you like the convenience of a study Bible, this you may not find better quality content or craftmanship than Crossway’s premium ESV Study Bible.

Translation: English Standard Version
Publisher: Crossway Publishing (2008)
ISBN: 9781433502439
Language: English
Cost: $239.99

Cover: premium calfskin leather (black)
Binding: lifetime guarantee Smyth-sewn with 2 black ribbon markers
Pages: 2,752 pages of the finest quality European paper with gold gilded edges
Type: 9 point black text
Dimensions: 9.25? x 6.5? x 2.25?
Special Features: 1.1 million words of commentary by 95 scholars plus full-color maps, illustrations, charts, and timelines

This post features a complimentary review copy and Amazon links.

A typical church website costs $3,000. For $149 per year, Sharefaith gives you a church website and access to a worship media library of 40,000+ graphics. That’s an equivalent of 95% off the standard price for a church website.

Its affordability is quite stunning compared to other church website solutions. And the hosting is also quite affordable at $7.99 per month.

Five years ago, budget-friendly template solutions often meant giving up power and versatility, but today, Sharefaith’s church websites offer a solid content management system backed by convenient phone support. It fits nicely with the design and budget needs of most churches.

Every church has unique needs. However, as cost decreases and quality increases, Sharefaith is becoming an increasingly popular choice. In fact, nearly 1,000 new churches have signed up for Sharefaith’s church websites since June.

SHAREFAITH CHURCH WEBSITES
Here is what you get:

• 6GB hosting
• podcasting
• online tithing
• calendar integration
• 2,000 email addresses
• video & radio archives
• live, real-time phone support
• tutorials
• as many site collaborators as you want
• numerous pre-designed templates
• unlimited pages & subpages
• template changes at the click of a button
• thousands of banners and sidebars customized for the templates
• free updates

SHAREFAITH WORSHIP MEDIA LIBRARY
The 40,000+ church graphics give you:

• sermon videos
• worship videos
• PowerPoint sermons
• worship backgrounds
• bulletin templates
• flyer templates
• newsletter templates
• countdown timers
• seasonal designs
• 240+ new designs every month

So for 67 cents per day, Sharefaith gives you both a church website and access to what is said to be the world’s largest worship media library.

Within the past couple months, Sharefaith has already added numerous features to their church websites. It will be interesting to watch over the next few years how much more this value grows.

Special thanks to Sharefaith for supporting Church Relevance by sponsoring this post.

Compassion International is helping solve the water crisis with a new water filtration system called Water of Life.

A gift of $55 will provide a child and their family safe drinking water for life. More specifically, it gives:

• Compassion’s Water of Life system (provides over 1 million gallons of clean, safe water)
• Education on improving hygiene and sanitation
• Support for improving community water and sanitation sources where needed

The investment is something well worth considering. You can make it happen at Compassion.com.

It’s amazing to watch church website and media costs drop while quality goes up. It is a competitive market that keeps churning out sweeter and sweeter deals for churches.

Earlier this year, Sharefaith released one of the best deals I have seen on church websites for budget-minded churches. Sharefaith now offers free church websites with any Sharefaith church media subscription (only $129 per year). And website hosting is only $7.99 per month.

In other words, for less than $19 per month you receive:

1. a church website with WordPress CMS
2. website hosting
3. access and unlimited downloads of over 38,000 church media designs

Sharefaith’s goal is to help churches communicate better without draining their budgets. And they back that up with a price that is 30%-80% more affordable than other low-cost church website solutions.

There is no perfect church website solution, but for churches wanting a low-cost, easy-to-use yet versatile church website, Sharefaith is worth considering. Here are the features you get with Sharefaith church websites:

• church website templates with simple yet pleasing aesthetics
• WordPress content management system
  >> allows multiple users, unlimited pages, audio, video, code editing (HTML & CSS), thousands of WordPress plugins, and more
• website graphics library for banners and sidebars
• access to 38,000+ additional church media designs
• church website tutorials
• customer service by phone

For more on Sharefaith’s church website solutions and worship graphics, visit Sharefaith.com.

Special thanks to Sharefaith for supporting Church Relevance by sponsoring this post.