Church leaders are bombarded by so many resources in our current digital age. Sometimes it is hard to know which ones are relevant, needed, or even worth the time. And there are resources out there that most church leaders don’t even know they need. These “unfelt needs” resources can be crucial to growth and scaling in the local church.
Here are 17 resources every church leader probably didn’t know they needed but could be revolutionary.
1. The UnSeminary Podcast
Rich Birch is the founder and host of the UnSeminary Podcast. His tagline is: “Things you wish they taught you in seminary.” Seminaries have a super beneficial place in creating scholarly, deep-thinking church leaders. However, they weren’t created to teach us everything, so there is so much any church leader who has or hasn’t been to a seminary will need to lead their department or church. UnSeminary talks about how to engage volunteers, properly approaching announcements, tithe/giving talks, communications, and even best practices with multi-site congregations. You can find out more about Rich Birch and UnSeminary at
2. SEO Optimization Company and Search Engine Ads
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” The new yellow and white pages are search engines. The most popular are Google, Yahoo, and Bing. When someone searches for “a church near me,” there are several that pop up first. A church will pop up on a search engine because of an organic ranking created internally by the search engine or because of a paid ad on that search engine. So, no matter how great a church is, if someone doesn’t find them online, then it won’t exist. The best way is for a church to contract a company to do the search engine optimization. There are many to choose from online. Our church has used Boostability for years. They can show us the top searches in our area and where we rank. They can then optimize our site to get to the top of those searches. The other method is to pay for ads through one of the search engines. This will give you a daily boost in rankings, but the moment you stop paying for ads, you won’t be one of the top results.
3. Resources to Become a Better Communicator
Every church leader takes pride in their way and ability to communicate. However, the congregation has some of the best communicators in the world at their fingertips with podcasts, YouTube, etc. Rich Birch from UnSeminary states that statistics show us that close to 80% of people site the sermon as the number one reason they choose to stay at a church. It is a hard pill to swallow for a church leader in regards to their communication techniques, content creation, and delivery. However, if a church wants to reach unchurched people, then the communicators, from hosting to closing, need to sharpen their most powerful tool; communication. There are plenty of great books, online courses, resources, and videos. Andy Stanley wrote a terrific book called “Communicating for a Change.” Carey Nieuwhof recently released the Art of Leadership Courses with one on how to preach to reach unchurched people. You can find Carey’s resources at www.CareyNieuwhof.com. And there is the Rocket Company that has courses called “Preaching Rocket.”
4. Dropbox
Dropbox is just one of many tools that help staff save files to an online server where everyone with permission can access it. You can access it easily from a phone, tablet, or computer. It is also compatible with Mac or PC.
5. The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
Andy Stanley is one of the founders of NorthPoint Community Church. Andy has been sharing leadership principles for years. His podcast makes it easy to access hundreds of leadership teachings that apply to churches or businesses.
6. Church Staffing Online Resources
Websites like ChurchStaffing.com are great for finding applicants, posting job listings, or looking for the next ministry position. There are also articles and other resources to help church leaders navigate the HR/Business side of leading the church.
7. The Emotionally and Spiritually Healthy Leader Resources by Pete Scazzero
Pete Scazzero has a series of books to help church leaders with spiritual and emotional health. Pete’s resources are birthed out of his pastoral journey and battles with emotional health. These resources are essential for church leaders to maintain good emotional health and enjoy ministry while lasting a long time with a fruitful legacy.
8. First Impressions Facebook Group and Secrets of the Secret Shopper book by Greg Atkinson
Greg Atkinson is known as the “First Impressions Guy.” He consults churches on first impressions, their environments, and especially how a guest would view the church. He even wrote a book on this called “Secrets of the Secret Shopper.” Greg also has Facebook Groups dedicated to this as well.
9. The Unstuck Group and Their Quarterly Metrics
The Unstuck Group has coaches and consultants who help churches that are plateaued or declining. They also compile metrics each quarter on the major statistics of churches, such as giving, attendance, groups, and serving. They release the reports to let churches know how they may be doing in the big scheme of the church world.
10. Planning Center Online (PCO)
Most churches already use this tool, but it is a game-changer for scheduling volunteers, setting up the order of service, and even small groups. The app allows congregants to accept or decline when they are available as well. This app has so much more to offer than what time allows in this article.
11. The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast
Carey was mentioned in the above resources in regards to the Art of Leadership and preaching. His podcast is an interview-style with some of the most brilliant minds in church leadership and the business world. It is almost like you are sitting at lunch with the person he is interviewing. Carey deals with practical ministry needs and even growing trends for the future.
12. MyFitnessPal App
This may sound strange to church leaders. “A fitness app,” you ask? Yes. It is vitally important for church leaders to be healthy physically. It is easy to use food to comfort the soul. However, this mode of self-medication causes obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and a lack of energy. Food addiction is a real addiction among church leaders. This app helps you track your food intake each day so you can see “how much you are spending” in the area of calories.
13. Sermon Series Branding Online Resources
Some companies help churches by creating and selling sermon series graphics, video bumpers, and social media graphics. There are companies such as Shift Worship.com, MinistryPass.com, and ProMediaFire.com, to name a few. This will help a church that doesn’t have a creative arts person who can create videos, graphics, etc. LifeChurch.TV also has Open. Church where they have these resources and more for church leaders.
14. Canva
Canva is an online “studio” that will help a church leader create graphics for invite cards, postcards, and other printed material for churches.
15. Lift Curriculum
With Lift Curriculum, you get everything you need to plan your Kids Church lessons for PreK through 5th grade. Lift Curriculum is a Christ-centered children’s Ministry curriculum where Jesus is central to every lesson. Whether you’re focusing on an Old Testament story, a New Testament passage, or a lesson based on a topic, all paths lead to Jesus. Each story is told, and each lesson is delivered, to promote and glorify Christ in the minds and hearts of students.
16. Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
Craig Groeschel is the founding pastor of Life.Church in Oklahoma City, OK. They have over 40 campuses and impact worldwide. Craig has a monthly podcast that helps church leaders grow in their personal leadership development.
17. Google Phone Numbers
This seems weird…. But it is very important. This helps the church leader create a phone number that goes to an app instead of always ringing their main number. This is a screening tool that helps church leaders create boundaries, so they are not on call 24/7.
Each of these resources will help you and your team in various ways. So, next time you need something, consult one or many of these. There are many easy and available solutions for the challenges and needs you will face. Your needs don’t have to go unmet!
