Church Design

Aspen Group Blog

Knowledge to navigate the intersection of church culture, leadership, ministry, and facilities.

Blog Feature

Leadership | Communication

The 5 Steps of Leadership Development

By: Patrick O'Connell
October 29, 2020

Leadership development may often be perceived as vague, time-consuming, or intimidating. In reality, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Using “Tony” as my fictional example, here is a proven, five-step mentorship/apprenticeship model that can be used to develop new leaders in church ministry.  

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Leadership | Communication | Church Culture

5 Steps for Building New Leaders in Your Church

By: Marian V. Liautaud
October 21, 2019

When you see leadership potential in someone at your church, how do you develop them into leaders, especially when they’re new in the faith? According to Dave Ferguson, lead pastor of Community Christian Church, a multisite church with 12 locations throughout Chicagoland (including 2 within prisons) and cofounder of NewThing Network and Exponential, it takes an intentional strategy of leadership development to grow new leaders.

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Making Space for Millennials Executive Summary

Making Space for Millennials Executive Summary

Discover the impact Millennials' values, allegiances, and assumptions will have on your church.

Blog Feature

Leadership | Communication

When a Hurricane Is Heading Your Church’s Way

By: Pat Kase
September 18, 2019

Those of us living in the Southeast prepare for the worst and hope for the best every hurricane season. For churches, hurricane season can massively disrupt ministry plans, especially in the aftermath of a direct hit. Here are some tips we've curated by experts for what to do when a major storm hits your church.

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Blog Feature

Leadership | Communication | Church Culture

10 Red Flags Your Church Communications May Need Help

By: Leah Norton
May 07, 2019

Before a person ever steps foot in your brick and mortar church for the first time, they likely will have visited your church website to see what you’re all about. Are you communicating who you are and what they can expect in a way that’s clear and inviting so that they’ll want to learn more? Are your overall church communications helping you reach more people and engage your congregation? Or do your communications reveal some underlying problems that may need attention?

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Blog Feature

Church Design | Communication

The Power of “Proxemics”: Creating 4 Zones for Connection at Church

By: Derek DeGroot
June 06, 2018

In 1963, Edward T. Hall coined the term “proxemics” to describe the perception of the physical space around us. When social scientists examine this perception of connecting space, they generally speak of four zones: Intimate (<2’) Personal (2-4’) Social (4-12’) Public (>12’) We need to design for connection across all four zones to foster healthy, dynamic social lives. Let’s take a look at each of these zones.

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Blog Feature

Culture | Multisite | Communication

Could Your Next Multisite Campus Be Online?

By: Dana Byers
January 31, 2018

When I talk with churches about how to launch an online campus, I always share my own story of how I became connected with Church Online. I married an Oklahoman, and we initially settled in his state. We moved into our first little house and lived across the street from this church with very loud music. When I was pregnant with our first child, I felt terribly sick one Sunday morning. We were part of a great local church, but in that church, I had to wear heels and a nice dress to service. I told my husband, "I cannot do that today. I just can't do it, I'm so sick." He said, "Well, I'll just walk across the street to that church where you can wear jeans."

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Blog Feature

Leadership | Communication

Why You Need a Church Communications Team

By: Leah Norton
September 29, 2017

How can your church—especially if you have multiple locations or plants—grow and develop in the critical ministry area of communications? How can you reach multiple generations of people? How can you connect with new people? How can you help people take next steps to learn more about your church, get involved, and grow in their faith? It takes a dedicated communications leader and a team (of staff and/or volunteers and other support) to intentionally and strategically organize the various communications messages that your church has to share with your congregation and community.

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Blog Feature

Multisite | Communication | Church Culture

Addressing Top Communications Challenges for Multisite Churches

By: Jamie Shafer
June 01, 2017

When it comes to multisite church ministry, we find that there are so many approaches, ideas, challenges—and questions! Here are a few of the top questions we hear and tips on how to meet communication challenges.

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Blog Feature

Leadership | Communication

The Number One Way to Make Communications a Priority at Your Church

By: Leah Norton
August 31, 2016

Is worship a significant priority in the life of your church? What about the children's ministry? Or the student ministry? Adult discipleship or small groups? I'm sure you said yes to all (or most) of these.

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Blog Feature

Culture | Millennials | Communication

What Apple Can Teach the Church About Authenticity

By: Aimee Cottle
July 18, 2014

Google "Apple." Go ahead … do it!

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