I’m Steve Lawes
Certified Church Consultant
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Church in Decline? Plateaud?
Helping Churches Thrive
Utilizing a process we call “Virtual Church Consulting” we work with you through a series of steps to help pinpoint problems and offer solutions. This all online church consulting method is effective and affordable.
Internet Impact (Learn about your digital footprint)
Community Statistics (Learn about your community)
Effective Outreach Ideas (Learn how to reach your community)
Church Marketing (Help your community learn about your church)
Internet Impact
Your website is the “digital foyer” for the church. It is the first impression for almost everyone that visits your church.
Community Statistics
Demographic information is helpful in getting an overview of what is happening in your community.
Church Marketing
Church marketing is a tool to help people who are in need of what your church offers to be able to connect with you.
Effective Outreach Ideas
An outreach strategy is a specific set of tactics intended to ultimately attract new people to your church.
Meet Steve Lawes
Steve Lawes is a Certified Church Consultant. He has been the lead Pastor of Keys Vineyard Church in Big Pine Key since 1992. He has a Bachelors Degree in Bible and Theology from Berean University and Masters and PhD Degrees from Atlantic Coast Theological Seminary. He lead the Cuba Missions Team for Vineyard Missions from 1995-2005 and traveled to Cuba more than twenty times helping to plant churches and build up local leaders. He served as the South Florida Area Leader for the Association of Vineyard Churches for ten years. He also founded the Jesus Moment Bible Institute and Seminary in 2014 which has a student enrollment of over 2000. He has written three devotional books, Daily Psalt Intake, Daily Sage Intake and Daily Strength Training which are now out of print but are currently available as free e-books.
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Recent Posts from Church Consultant
The Power and Promise of Jesus’ Resurrection
Easter celebrates the most pivotal moment in human history – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This transformative event continues to impact lives today through its profound implications for faith, salvation, and eternal life.
Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?
Four key pieces of evidence support Jesus’ resurrection:
Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection multiple times
The tomb was empty and no body was ever produced
The disciples were transformed from fearful to bold witnesses
Over 500 eyewitnesses saw the risen Christ
Why Does the Resurrection Matter?
The resurrection addresses humanity’s fundamental problem – separation from God due to sin. Without Christ’s resurrection, Paul says our faith would be futile. But because Jesus conquered death, we can be reconciled to God through faith in Him.
How Can Jesus Live in Us Today?
The most important question isn’t just whether Jesus rose historically, but whether He lives in us personally. As Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
Life Application
The resurrection calls us to examine our own lives and relationship with Jesus. Consider:
Have you personally accepted Christ as your Savior?
Is there an emptiness in your life that only Jesus can fill?
What evidence of Christ’s resurrection most impacts your faith?
The invitation remains open – “If you declare with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Take time this week to reflect on what Jesus’ resurrection means for your life and whether you’ve fully embraced His offer of salvation and new life.
This series may be taken as a course offered by the Online Bible Institute. For more information check out the Keys Vineyard Ministries Courses page.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
The King’s Humble Entry: Understanding the Significance of Palm Sunday
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, it marked the beginning of Holy Week and revealed profound truths about His kingship and our response to His presence. This pivotal moment shows us how the King of Kings chose to make His entrance in an unexpected way.
Why Did Jesus Choose to Enter on a Donkey?
Jesus’s choice to enter Jerusalem on an unbroken colt was no accident. It fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah that described the king coming “lowly and riding on a donkey.” This humble entrance stood in stark contrast to how earthly kings typically arrived – on tall war horses as conquering heroes.
This paradoxical scene – the King of Glory on a borrowed donkey – demonstrated Jesus’s pattern of upending societal expectations. He entered not as a military conqueror but as the Prince of Peace, mirroring His humble birth in a manger.
How Should We Respond to Jesus’s Presence?
The crowd’s reaction to Jesus’s entry presents us with two clear responses:
Praise and Celebration – Many disciples joyfully praised God, laying down garments and palm branches while crying “Hosanna!” (meaning “save now”)
Rejection – The religious leaders were bothered by the implications of Jesus as king and asked Him to quiet His followers
What Makes Praise the Proper Response?
True praise should be:
Joyful – Coming from genuine gladness about who God is
Personal – Based on our own experiences with God
Imaginative – Engaging both heart and mind
Daily – Part of our regular life rhythm
What Happens When We Miss Jesus’s Visitation?
Jesus wept over Jerusalem because many failed to recognize “the time of God’s coming.” The same crowd that shouted “Hosanna!” would cry “Crucify Him!” days later because they wanted a military revolutionary rather than the Prince of Peace who came to defeat humanity’s true enemies – sin and death.
Life Application
Jesus desires to enter not just Jerusalem, but your heart – not for a day of celebration, but for a lifetime of transformation. This week, consider:
Questions to reflect on:
How do I respond when Jesus shows up in my life?
Am I giving Him proper praise and recognition as King?
What areas of my life need to be surrendered to His lordship?
Challenge: Make time each day this week to intentionally praise Jesus, remembering His humble entry and ultimate sacrifice. Let your daily activities become acts of worship by inviting Him into every aspect of your life.
Remember: The King of Glory stands at the door. The proper response is not just temporary celebration, but complete surrender to His lordship in our lives.
This series may be taken as a course offered by the Online Bible Institute. For more information check out the Keys Vineyard Ministries Courses page.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
Finding Grace: Understanding God’s Heart for the Lost
In Luke 15, Jesus shares three powerful parables that reveal God’s heart for those who are lost and His joy when they return. These stories challenge our understanding of grace and celebration in God’s kingdom.
Why Does God Celebrate When the Lost are Found?
Jesus tells three interconnected stories about lost things – a sheep, a coin, and a son. In each case, something of value is lost and then found, resulting in celebration. This reveals several key truths:
Lost things have inherent value to God
Lost things are worth searching for
Finding what was lost is cause for celebration
God actively seeks those who are lost
What Does the Prodigal Son Story Really Mean?
The parable of the prodigal son illustrates God’s heart of grace through several powerful elements:
The father’s unconditional love despite his son’s rejection
The father watching and waiting for his son’s return
Immediate restoration of relationship when the son returns
Celebration of reconciliation without conditions
The older brother’s resistance to grace and celebration
How Does This Apply to Modern Christianity?
There’s a natural tendency to slip from living in grace to focusing on rule-following:
We can quickly become like the Pharisees after experiencing grace
Small irritations and judgments reveal our drift from grace
True grace leads to celebration, not criticism
God’s grace should shape how we view and treat others
Life Application
This week, consider these questions and challenges:
Where in your life have you slipped from grace into judgment?
How can you better celebrate when others experience God’s grace?
Are there “lost” people in your life God is calling you to pursue?
Challenge: Each day this week, intentionally look for opportunities to extend grace rather than judgment. When you feel irritated or critical, pause and remember the celebration in heaven over one who returns to God.
Remember: The theme of God’s kingdom is grace-filled celebration, not rule-following condemnation. Let’s live accordingly.
This series may be taken as a course offered by the Online Bible Institute. For more information check out the Keys Vineyard Ministries Courses page.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
Testimonials
“Steve and his team at Keys Vineyard Church have built a church that has done an inspiring job reaching their community. Steve is a treasure trove of experience and has continued to prioritize learning and growth throughout his more than 30 years of ministry in a way few pastors have. You’ll get a lot out of connecting with him!”
“I watched first hand as Steve experienced the devastation of hurricane Irma in his town of Big Pine Key, Florida. The town was destroyed, the church building rendered unusable and the staff impacted personally. I watched a leader rise to the need of his community and minister in a situation that not very many could. He has a powerful voice of experience and wisdom earned the hard way.”
“Steve Lawes is a valuable coach/ mentor. I’ve watched Steve over the last thirty years build a substantial outward focused church with disciples who do what Jesus did. He has inspired leaders of churches with simple/tested ideas to develop leaders and grow churches.
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“Steve Lawes is an outstanding coach. He is authentic, creative, and personable. He has more cutting edge ideas than any pastor I know in regard to evangelism and meeting the needs of people in his community.”
Interested in Becoming a Church Consultant?
We are pleased to be partnering with the Jesus Moment Bible Institute and Seminary to be able to offer Free Church Consulting Training. Even if you are not looking to become a certified church consultant, the free church consultant training will be beneficial for your personal ministry.
One of the greatest questions Jesus asked was “Do You Want to Get Well?”
I t would seem that the answer was obvious. But getting well for the man who had been not well for a very long time meant that he would have to do something different. It is not easy to change, but it always starts with a first step.
Take that first step now by sceduling your no obligation, free thirty (30) minute Zoom meeting with us today. You have nothing to lose and it may be your first step to a new and healthy way of doing and being the church.
Don’t Wait Any Longer. Take The First Step Toward Getting Well Today!
