52 Things Pastors Should Do

Here are 52 things pastors should do.

1. Evaluate your meeting schedule.
2. Get intentional with the time of giving in your services. You plan the music and the message…start planning how you set up the offering.
3. Do something that deepens your own faith.
4. Have friends, not just colleagues.
5. Work on the church, not just in the church.
6. Hire people smarter than you.
7. Share the pulpit.
8. Plan ahead.  It saves money.
9. Understand the people in your community.
10. Invest in people.
11. Read the Bible for yourself.
12. Work on your marriage.  You can’t put it on autopilot.
13. Have fun with your team.
14. Get your team out of the office.
15. Evaluate your staff on a regular basis.
16.  Let your staff evaluate you.
17. Follow up with guests.
18. Follow up with donors.
19. Communicate the vision of the church on a regular basis.
20. Ask lots of questions.
21. Write simple and clear job descriptions.
22. Send thank you notes on a regular basis.
23. Communicate to your key volunteers and leaders.
24. Have people over to your home.
25. Listen to sermons.
26. Survey your congregation on an annual basis.
27. Learn from experts.
28. Reinvent tradition.
29. Preach intentionally.
30. Be generous.
31. Respond quickly.
32. Guard your heart.
33. Learn the Bible.
34. Finish your sermons earlier in the week.
35. Welcome guests every week, even if you don’t think any are there.
36. Talk to teenagers in your messages.
37. Set clear expectations for your staff.
38. Lead a start/stop meeting.
39. Ask other people to teach your staff and leaders.
40. Preach on money.
41. Create brand new volunteer positions and make them super-specific.
42. Make sure your church service is good.  If you have to beat people up to get them to invite their friends, then you don’t have a good service.
43. Spend time with your kids. Someone else can lead the meeting; nobody else can lead your family.
44. Counsel someone.  You don’t have to counsel everyone, but your should counsel someone.
45. Fight for your children’s ministry.
46. Involve your spouse.
47. Only work one or two nights per week.
48. Outsource.  Bookkeeping.  Series graphics.
49. Listen to feedback from key leaders.
50. Hire a secret shopper.  Look at things from a guest’s perspective.
51. Write sermons.  Don’t steal them.
52. Get out of debt.