The Greatest Compliment Your Church Could Get

What do you think is the greatest compliment your church could get?

One of these would be great, right?

“The worship band should be nominated for a grammy!”“The preacher was so good… He should go on tour with Oprah!”“Chuck E. Cheese has nothing on that kids ministry!”“I’ve been to a lot of great movies lately, they are nothing compared to that show!”

This past week our team had the privilege of attending and teaching a workshop at Refuel Conference 2015 hosted by Jonathan Falwell and Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA.Thomas Road is an influential church with a history of Christ-centered teaching, church planting, and sending missionaries around the world. They also started Liberty University, the world’s largest Christian university.For decades, Thomas Road has trained and prepared pastors for ministry. The Refuel Conference is the continuation of this heritage and designed to equip and resource church leaders for increased Kingdom impact.It was an honor to be asked to be a part of Refuel. Serving pastors and churches is our passion.Dave Stone from Southeast Christian Church joined us for an interview during our workshop. He was willing to share some of his wisdom and even participate in a live Q&A.Dave’s interview was fun and full of wisdom. He’s a humble leader with years of wisdom from serving at one of America’s largest churches.We asked Dave about Southeast and why it has continued to grow over the years. His response on point and challenging. He said the number one reason a church grows is because of the blessing and Spirit of God. And then he revealed the number one compliment your church could ever get. It did not include anything about the worship band, the message, the kids ministry space or the excellence of the weekend production.

“The greatest compliment your church could ever get is that someone felt the presence of the Lord.”

Dave then broke down the reasons why someone would say this:

• The Gospel is being preached.
• The Bible is being taught.
• AND Jesus Christ is front and center.

Amen, Dave!!We talk often about the total weekend experience and how vital it is to create a church that is built for an unbeliever. Dave reminds us that while this is important, the primary thing is leading people into the presence of Jesus.We thought you might want to see Dave’s interview. If so, click here to watch the video.