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Helping Churches Thrive

A Ministry of Church Health Consulting

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Eight Important Facts About YOUR CHURCH’S CULTURE

September 20, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

“The single greatest advantage any company can achieve is organizational health. Yet it is ignored by most leaders even though it is simple, free and available to anyone who wants it.” Patrick Lencioni, from page one of his book, The Advantage  “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Peter Drucker Culture is the climate, the atmosphere, the…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Strategic Planning

A New Day Of Small Things

August 9, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

We have a saying in America: “Go Big Or Go Home!” We like big stores, big stadiums, big stadium events and big churches. Unfortunately for those of us who are disciples of Jesus, this is a new day of small things, not a new day of big things. You’ve probably read the same stats that…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making

The Forgotten Fruit

August 2, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

This is going to be a different sort of Helping Churches Thrive blogpost. It’s about a character trait, a fruit of the Spirit, or call it a “grace,” if you prefer. It’s about meekness and meekness is actually a vital quality for thriving, Godly churches. It’s a big subject that I’m diving into today and…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Theology

Your Seniors Are Frustrated, But You Can Help Them: My Grumpy Conclusion

July 27, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

Seniors have a bad reputation today.  They have become known for their grumpiness. Come to think of it, maybe they’ve (“we” actually, since I am one myself) always been seen as grumpy. Charles Dickens had lots of grumpy old people in his wonderful stories, and we know that his characters were based on real persons…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

Your Seniors Are Frustrated, But You Can Help Them, Part Three

July 19, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

At the risk of sounding like a politician or a spokesperson for a politician, “Let me make this perfectly clear.” I’ve been writing about frustrated seniors and how you can help them. But I’m not doing this because I feel sorry for seniors. I’m doing this because I eat, sleep, think and breathe church revitalization….

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

Your Seniors Are Frustrated, But You Can Help Them, Part Two

July 12, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

It sounds like everybody’s frustrated. Last week I started writing about actual statements and questions I’ve heard over the past few years from seniors who are frustrated about the prospect of change in their churches. Believe me, I’ve gotten an earful. This week I’ve been getting another earful from pastors and others who are frustrated…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

Your Seniors Are Frustrated, But You Can Help Them

July 5, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

Everywhere I go I meet older church members who are seriously frustrated with their churches. Since becoming a senior myself, I think I’m learning to understand them. These are mostly very good people.  Some of them, in fact, are great people.  Some of them are amazing people.  Those of us who are younger than they…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership

The Revitalization Playbook: Return To Real Discipleship

June 27, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

We’re working on a revitalization playbook, a compendium of initiatives which church leaders can choose from, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, in their efforts to see their congregations returned to vibrant, Great-Commission health. My final suggestion for you – and by no means am I saying that I’ve given you these in the order of…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making

The Revitalization Playbook: Make Good Use Of Membership

June 21, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

Wait a minute!  Don’t touch that dial!  “Membership” doesn’t have to be as unexciting as a new vaccine. I know that many churches don’t have an actual membership.  If that describes your congregation and this is a conviction for you, then it’s okay if you change the channel.  I’ll understand.  I’m not going to use…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Create A Great Culture

June 14, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

My father was the manager of a small-town, bottled gas plant.  One year, the large corporation which owned the plant came up with a new campaign to squeeze a little more out of their beleaguered managers.  It was called IADOM. My hard working, loyal but laid-back dad was forced to wear his own IADOM button….

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Measure Your Progress

June 7, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

To count or not to count: Churches have been debating the wisdom of measuring “nickels and noses” – now known as “metrics” – for a long time. I’m sure I’ll never convince everyone, but I’m going to make a case for keeping track of a few metrics as part of the process of revitalizing a…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Encourage Real Worship

May 31, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

Since my post on March 8th, I’ve been writing a revitalization playbook, a church leader’s resource for helpful, timely, turnaround strategies. The first three plays were “scripted,” in the sense that I strongly recommended that they should be implemented in this order: Help your people face the true condition of their church, Help your congregation…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: The Value Of Hands-On Projects

May 23, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

I can’t entirely explain this, but there is something about a hands-on project that is very helpful to churches undergoing a revitalization process. By a “hands-on project” I’m talking about efforts that involve physical tasks undertaken by a large number of people, or a large percentage of the members of a small church, which have…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Address Your People Problems

May 17, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

In some congregations it’s just one person: one controlling Diotrephes (III John 12), one harmful Alexander (II Timothy 4:14), one willful, rude, thoughtless bully, somebody who wants to be a big fish in a small pond. In other churches, it’s one family which thinks that First Church is their own personal piece of property, like…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Build A Supportive Coalition

May 3, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

Last week I wrote about building a unified leadership team as an important step in seeing a heaven-sent revitalization of your church. If you are the pastor (or lead pastor) in a congregation which is on the downside of the church lifecycle, you’re going to need a cooperative – if not an enthusiastic – board/council/consistory/session,…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Build A Unified Leadership Team

April 26, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

You can’t do this yourself. David had his mighty men (I Chronicles 11).   Jesus chose twelve men, “…that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons…” (f/Mark 3:13-15). I’m assuming, for the moment, that you are a pastor. If you’re not,…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Missional Realignment

April 19, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

It’s that time of year again.  At least here in the Midwest, it’s pothole season. And for drivers, potholes mean front end alignments. Churches need periodic realignment as well. They just naturally get all bent out of shape. Among other problems, they tend to forget what their mission was.  Missional realignment is often needed to…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Bold, Serious Preaching

April 13, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.”  II Timothy 4:2 “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among thorns.Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, Circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem…” F/Jeremiah 4:3,4 Six weeks ago,…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Give Your Congregation A Simple Dream Of A Revived Church

April 6, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

I used the word “dream” in my title instead of the more popular, “vision” because I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not talking about anything grandiose here: You know: 20 thousand people, 40 acres of land, etc.  I’m talking about something which is far more accessible than that: A dream for…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Play #3 – Persuade Your Congregation To Pray For Revitalization

March 29, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

I know full well that I just used two, sometimes scary, words in that title. The word “persuade” means that I’m going to be talking about leadership, and leadership is challenging for many of us pastors. The word “pray” zeros in on one of the hardest aspects of the Christian life for many believers.  The…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

The Revitalization Playbook: Play #2 – Help Your Church To Take Responsibility For Its Condition

March 23, 2023 By Brian Thorstad

Two weeks ago I began sharing a revitalization playbook.  It’s not a step-by-step manual for church renewal, for I don’t believe that creating a universally applicable revitalization plan is possible. But it is going to be a playbook, like that of a football team which has a couple dozen plays it has practiced extensively. And…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making

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Testimonials

Pastor Darin Kirkman
I am so grateful to God for Brian, his ministry, and his friendship. As a result of his assessment and coaching, my church has experienced unmistakable, God-given renewal. We are increasingly living out our church's mission which is to love and glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. This is clearly showing in terms of spiritual depth (i.e. more people are maturing as Christian disciples) and spiritual width (i.e. more people are becoming Christian disciples). Our communication is clearer, our structure is stronger, our leadership development process is better, our facility stewardship is more proactive, and our cultural mindset is now set on eagerly advancing the kingdom of God. I strongly recommend the Church Whisperer to you.

Pastor Darin Kirkman
Elder Jim I wanted to let you know that we have really made some huge changes in the last few months.  We are seeing new people every week and we had a leadership meeting with 23 in attendance. Pastor ______ is doing well and God is doing amazing things.  Thanks for your support, prayers and love for the church!
Elder Jim
A New Church-Goer ...thank you for your messages at [our church] over the past weeks.  I just started going to _____________ while you were there and hadn't been to church in decades.  Your messages kept me coming back...  Thank you for helping me find my way back to God.
A New Church-Goer
Pastor Trey Turner "Brian is an experienced and insightful investigator of church systems.  He has real skill in looking at and diagnosing some areas needing attention.  I benefited greatly from his insight.  As a result, our church is benefiting greatly.  The process Brian took us through gave it the encouragement it needed to begin coming out of the 2020 difficulties.  We will work on the insights Brian provided as a roadmap back to better health."
Pastor Trey Turner
Pastor Greg Lund I've appreciated so much Brian's very practical coaching as he's guided me and the leadership of our church as we've sought to become more effective for God's kingdom. His extensive experience in assisting churches navigate a variety of issues makes him highly qualified to help lead churches through congregational change.
Pastor Greg Lund
Pastor Bruce Jahnke
"Our church is extremely grateful for the insight, adaptability and wisdom Brian so graciously contributed to our needs as we transitioned.  Our pastor transition was from Father to Son, which is by definition, difficult.  Yet Brian was able to foresee issues, feelings and responses with high accuracy.  Brian is personable, yet can direct when he needs to help us be reasonable and vision-oriented."

Pastor Bruce Jahnke
Andy Shanholtz I had the privilege of co leading a pastor’s training group with Brian. Brian’s wealth of knowledge and practical experience was an asset to all of us. The interaction with the group and the relationships built was a great value. I highly recommend having Brian facilitate a group to provide invaluable resources and practical knowledge.
Andy Shanholtz
Pastor Jed Manders
Leadership development within cohorts and peer groups has become increasingly popular, and rightfully so. Being involved in Brian’s leadership training group allowed me the opportunity to work through challenges, develop strengths and learn from both reading and peer development.


Pastor Jed Manders
Pastor Mark Pitroff "I have been so privileged and encouraged to be ministered to by Brian Thorstad as I have served as an Interim Pastor here in central Wisconsin.  He has been such a help and encouragement to me and especially, to this church I have served - Faith Community Church of Waupaca.  His leadership in helping us develop the “Journey Wall” enabled us to look back on the church’s history, the high points as well as the difficulties faced, especially in recent years.   Brian has helped FCC recover from a very difficult time…  Brian was such an encouragement to us, especially in the early months of recovery and preparation."
Pastor Mark Pitroff
Pastor Dan Norman “I enjoyed getting to know the guys in the group [and] I appreciated the thought, mind and spiritual challenges presented… I found many things that I was able to immediately apply, and I am still developing next steps that much of the discussion and training of this class helped to build a foundation for. [The handouts on strategic planning] will continue to be helpful in trying to guide our church to being more intentional. This [was] exactly what I was looking for at exactly the time I needed it.”
Pastor Dan Norman
Pastor Steven Boyd  "This course showed me that I, as a solo pastor, have to do things that don’t come naturally to me and has given me some tools to do the hard things.”
Pastor Steven Boyd 
Pastor Brian Schley “I found value in our meetings and am grateful you invited me to be part of it as a ‘future senior pastor.’ I enjoyed being able to be part of the conversations and glean from those beyond me. Thanks for your leadership with the group and your heart for pastors!”
Pastor Brian Schley
Pastor Todd Sauve "It was a privilege to have been a part of a pastors group led by Brian Thorstad. It's always great to learn from other pastors, and someone needs to provide leadership to make that happen. I'm thankful that Brian was willing to do that, and to share from both his successes and failures in ministry. He's honest, humble, and cares about people."
Pastor Todd Sauve

Brian A. Thorstad

Call: 651-319-1953

Email: churchwhisperer@gmail.com

1931 Cook Avenue
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494

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