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20. Connect: How To Grow Your Church in 28 Days Guaranteed and more...
20. Connect: How To Grow Your Church in 28 Days Guaranteed 20. Connect: How to Grow Your Church in 28 Days Guaranteed. Don Corder. 2019. 233 pages. [Source: Borrowed] [3 stars, christian nonfiction] First sentence: The vision of every church is the first macro--the Great Commission: to make disciples of all people everywhere: From that macro-vision, churches today more or less adopt a vision that is either attractional or missional. The attractional churches want to build crowds. The missional churches want to make disciples. Premise/plot: Don Corder is "guaranteeing" church growth in 28 days. Do I believe it? Nope. He does offer twenty-eight chapters worth of ideas. But those ideas would take a LOT longer than one month to implement. In fact, I would argue that this "28 day" plan is the work of years--yes YEARS plural. The chapters are meant to build on each other, I believe. But some ideas are more likely to be doable than others. And all of them require not just the work of three or four people but the work of dozens and dozens of people. So if you don't have dozens of vision-filled, inspired, passionate people who want to pour themselves--heart, mind, soul, body--into these projects, well, the guarantee is looking less and less likely. Main points: CONNECTION comes before evangelism and conversion. You have to have connections with people before the other can happen. Assume that people want to come to church to find answers, and want to come to YOUR church to find those answers. Assume that people want to give out their contact information and be communicated with several times a week or at least weekly. People don't like to read -- communicate in very short paragraphs if words are necessary, video messages have more of a likelihood to be watched than a paragraph read. Keep both videos and paragraphs short. Host community outreach events where the goal is to get names, names, and more names. The point of the event is not Christian-related but just something--anything--to get them on your property and the name and contact information provided. Don't assume that people that don't come to your church regularly are gone. Focus on those that just come once a month or less and work on getting those to come back and come regularly. Forget the golden rule and treat others the way they want to be treated. Ask regularly how can I serve YOUR needs and wants. See those coming in the door as customers and your church as a product and brand. My thoughts: It was a quick read. I read the first three days a few months ago. I read the last twenty-five in one sitting. I think the assumption is that the church in question is "only" a few hundred people and wanting to grow. OR maybe five or six hundred people and wanting to grow. At one point he was talking about how to fill your church with 1500 people. I think the book assumes many, many, many things. More than one pastor, for example, and perhaps even more staff that are working full-time throughout the week. There's even a talk of YOUR CHURCH'S BOOKSTORE. The focus is on numbers, numbers, more numbers. The numbers in the pews each week. The numbers in your DATABASE. The number of members. The money. I think my favorite quote was "We can't serve the people we wish we had. We can only serve those [that] actually come; and more importantly, come back. They're the reason we're here." I think the title is misleading. And the ideas are far-fetched for many. That being said, I think the author does challenge readers to think outside of the box. To not assume that everyone thinks like you.     • View comments • Track comments •
Bible Reading #34 Sunday, August 9, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 8-11; 1 Kings 12-13; Proverbs 9-13; Mark 10-11; NASB 1971 Reference Bible Jeremiah 11-15 NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Exodus 1-5 Monday, August 10, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 12-14; 1 Kings 14-16; Proverbs 14-19; Mark 12-16 NASB 1971 Reference Bible Jeremiah 16-23 NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Exodus 6-12 Tuesday, August 11, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 15-17; 1 Kings 17-22; Proverbs 20-23; 1 Peter NASB 1971 Reference Bible Jeremiah 24-30; NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Exodus 13-16 Wednesday, August 12, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 18-23; 2 Kings 1-2; Proverbs 24-27; 2 Peter; Jude; NASB 1971 Reference Bible Jeremiah 31-35; NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Exodus 17-31 Thursday, August 13, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 24-27; 2 Kings 3-4; Proverbs 28-31; 1 Corinthians 1-3 NASB 1971 Reference Bible Jeremiah 36-52 NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Exodus 32-40 Friday, August 14, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Numbers 1-3; 2 Kings 5-10; Job 1-3; 1 Corinthians 4-5 NASB 1971 Reference Bible Lamentations NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Leviticus Saturday, August 15, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Numbers 4-7; 2 Kings 11-17; Job 4-8; 1 Corinthians 6-9; NASB 1971 Reference Bible Ezekiel 1-12 NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible Numbers 1-10   • View comments • Track comments •
Bible reading #33Sunday, August 2, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 27-28; 2 Samuel 4-6; Psalms 110-115; 1 Thessalonians NASB 71 Reference Bible Isaiah 6-9; NASB 95 Inductive Study Bible 1 Corinthians 7-10 Monday, August 3, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 29-31; 2 Samuel 7-10; Psalms 116-119; 2 Thessalonians NASB 71 Reference Bible Isaiah 10-16; NASB 95 Inductive Study Bible 1 Corinthians 11-16; 2 Corinthians; Galatians Tuesday, August 4, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 32-34; 2 Samuel 11-14; Psalms 120-130; Galatians NASB 71 Reference Bible Isaiah 17-23 NASB 95 Inductive Study Bible Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation Wednesday, August 5, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 35-40; 2 Samuel 15-24; Psalms 131-144; Mark 1-2 NASB 71 Reference Bible Isaiah 24-39; NASB 77 Inductive Study Bible Genesis 1-11 Thursday, August 6, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 1-2; 1 Kings 1-2; Psalms 145-150; Mark 3-4 NASB 71 Reference Bible Isaiah 40-52 NASB 77 Inductive Study Bible Genesis 12-20 Friday, August 7, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 3-4; 1 Kings 3-8; Proverbs 1-4; Mark 5-7; NASB 71 Reference Bible Isaiah 53-66 NASB 77 Inductive Study Bible Genesis 21-31 Saturday, August 8, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Leviticus 5-7; 1 Kings 9-11; Proverbs 5-8; Mark 8-9 NASB 71 Reference Bible Jeremiah 1-10 NASB 77 Inductive Study Bible Genesis 32-50   • View comments • Track comments •
6. NASB 95 Inductive Study Bible 6. New American Standard Bible 1995, New Inductive Study Bible. GOD. 1995. 2296 pages. [Source: Bought] [Bible, bible review, 5 stars] First sentence: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Start date: March 3, 2026 End date: August 4, 2026 The New American Standard Bible is one of my all-time favorite, favorite translations. Particularly the 1977 and 1995. This is the 1995 update. I have also read the New Inductive Study Bible in the NASB 1977. So I've now read this particular 'study' Bible in two translations. This Bible is a study Bible if and only if you put in the work to make it so. The Bible includes detailed instructions on how to do inductive Bible study, how to mark up your Bible, how to write in your Bible, how to interpret and understand what you're reading, what you're marking, etc. It does include some maps, charts, illustrations, etc. that you could benefit from regardless of if you are doing the inductive part. Because this is a Bible that's meant to be marked, written in, etc, there's plenty of space to do so. Perhaps not as much as a wide margin or journaling Bible, but more than your regular Bible. This is a SINGLE COLUMN, black-letter Bible. The font size is decent, perhaps more than decent. It is not large print or giant print. But it isn't tiny print either. This Bible is HEAVY. That's the trade-off for all the extra space for writing. I believe it is also verse by verse (and not paragraphed). There are no headings, sub-headings, etc. There are lines for YOU to fill in the headings. This is an older edition of the New Inductive Study Bible. I believe it has been reprinted several times.   • View comments • Track comments •
Bible reading #31Sunday, July 26, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 5-6, 1 Samuel 5-6; Psalms 73-75; Hebrews 1-2 NASB 1971 Reference Psalms 128-140 NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible John 1-5 Monday, July 27, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 7-9; 1 Samuel 7-8; Psalms 76-79; Hebrews 3-5 NASB 1971 Reference Palms 141-150 NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible John 6-21 Tuesday, July 28, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 10-15; 1 Samuel 9-15; Psalms 80-89; Hebrews 6-7 NASB 1971 Reference Proverbs 1-10 NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible Acts 1-10 Wednesday, July 29, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 16-18; 1 Samuel 16-17; Psalms 90-96; Hebrews 8-9; NASB 1971 Reference Proverbs 11-20; NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible Acts 11-19 Thursday, July 30, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 19-20; 1 Samuel 18-21; Psalms 97-102; Hebrews 10-11; NASB 1971 Reference Proverbs 21-31 NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible Acts 20-28; Romans 1-5 Friday, July 31, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 21-24; 1 Samuel 22-31; Psalms 103-106; Hebrews 12-13 NASB 1971 Reference Ecclesiastes; Song of Songs NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible Romans 6-16 Saturday, August 1, 2026 KJV New Marked Reference Bible Exodus 25-26; Psalms 107-109; 2 Samuel 1-3; James NASB 1971 Reference Bible Isaiah 1-5 NASB 1995 Inductive Study Bible 1 Corinthians 1-6   • View comments • Track comments •
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