I’m Steve Lawes
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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)
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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
Current Trends in the Church in 2023
As the world continues to rapidly evolve, so too does the Church, adapting to societal changes while seeking to preserve its core mission. In 2023, there are a number of significant trends in the church that are redefining the Church’s role, its approach to worship, and its relationship with its congregation.
Foremost among these is the trend towards a ‘Digital Church’. The COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the globe in 2020 forever changed the way the Church interacts with its community, thrusting digital platforms into the spotlight. Now in 2023, many Churches continue to offer virtual services, hybrid Bible studies, and online community outreach, recognizing the convenience and increased accessibility these platforms provide. Through these digital tools, Churches are not only maintaining but also expanding their reach.
A shift towards ‘Small Group Ministry’ is also noticeable, in which smaller, intimate gatherings supplement traditional, larger community worship. This trend aligns with the broader societal shift towards localized, community-focused experiences. These smaller gatherings, often organized around shared interests or demographics, are fostering deeper connections and allowing individuals to feel seen, heard, and valued in ways that large congregational settings sometimes cannot provide.
Inclusivity and diversity are another central trend in 2023. In response to the wider societal call for equal representation, many Churches are emphasizing diversity in leadership and congregation, extending a welcoming hand to people from all walks of life. This trend has reshaped Church communities into rich tapestries of cultural, racial, and socio-economic diversity.
The Church is also revisiting its engagement with social and environmental issues, reflecting a trend towards ‘Faith in Action’. More Churches are expressing their faith through practical means, be it through social justice advocacy, poverty alleviation, or active participation in environmental stewardship. This trend embodies the belief that faith and good works should not exist independently, but rather that faith should inspire action.
Lastly, ‘Youth Empowerment’ is a significant trend, as the Church seeks to attract and retain the younger generation. With an awareness that young people are not only the future but also the present, Churches are involving them in leadership roles and decision-making processes, offering platforms for their voices to be heard and their talents to be utilized.
In 2023, the Church is not a static entity but a dynamic, responsive organism adapting to the changes and challenges of the times. These emerging trends reflect a Church that seeks to be a supportive community, responsive to its congregation’s needs, and relevant in an ever-evolving world.
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
Sword Sharpening Part 5
We are in a series we are calling “Sword Sharpening” and we are looking at how to make the most out of your time with the Bible. This week we are going to start talking about the storyline of the Bible.
John 1:1-5 (NIV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
I like to refer to the storyline of the Bible as His Story. I love that He invites us into His Story. He is the noun and we are adjectives. In order to live the full and abundant life we are called to, on a broken planet, in a fallen world, we need to be shaped and formed by His Story. We need to know how His Story fits together from beginning to end. If we don’t know how His Story is put together, we really can’t understand the good news, the gospel of Jesus. Without the whole story, sharing the gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection is like coming into a movie theater at the most important moment but not knowing how we got to this place in the story.
You might be able to put together bits and pieces of the story, but you won’t grasp the full significance of what is going on without having some understanding of the backstory. For the purpose of our Sword Sharpening series, we are going to break His Story down into eight sections. We are going to give each section a Kingdom of God heading to help us try and remember the main point of the section.
1) Kingdom Revealed (Genesis 1 – 2)
2) Kingdom Rebellion (Genesis 3 – 11)
3) Kingdom Covenant (Genesis 12 – 50)
4) Kingdom Foreshadowed (Exodus – 2 Kings)
5) Kingdom Coming (1 Chronicles – Malachi)
6) Kingdom Incarnate (Matthew – John)
7) Kingdom Tension (Acts – Revelation 20)
8) Kingdom Consummated (Revelation 21 – 22)
Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Over the next eight weeks we will dig a little deeper into each section. How amazing it is to be a part of His Story!
Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.
Sword Sharpening Part 4
We are in a series we are calling “Sword Sharpening” and we are looking at how to make the most out of your time with the Bible. This week we will talk more about how the Bible is written for us but not to us, and the importance of context.
“The Bible was written for us, but not to us.”
John Walton – Old Testament Scholar
The Bible is 100 percent inspired by God, and we can have confidence that every word in the original documents of the Bible is exactly what God wanted it to say. We can be assured that the Bible is completely trustworthy.
The books in the library of the Bible are for all people at all times, but the Bible wasn’t originally written to us. It was written for the original hearers and readers, and it was written in several different languages in a number of literary styles.
To really understand what God was communicating when he inspired the authors of the Bible to write, we need to try and read and hear the words as the original audience would have heard them and in the way the author would have meant them to be understood.
The Bible, the entire library of sixty-six books, reveals the story of God. It tells us who God is and what he has done. It tells us about our salvation and gives us insight into who we are and why we are here. The Bible gives us guidance for life, gives us hope for what lies ahead and most importantly, it tells us who Jesus is.
The Apostle Paul wrote this about the importance of the Bible:
2 Timothy 3:15-17 (NIV)
15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Paul was saying in his letter to Timothy that all of the Old Testament (the portion of the Bible they had at that time) is useful for making Timothy (and us) wise and equipping him (and us) for our day-to-day life in Christ.
Today we also include the New Testament writings in what we consider the Holy Scriptures, and we believe all sixty-six books in the library of the Bible can equip us for practical living that honors God.
Interestingly, also in 2 Timothy, Paul gives us all a challenge:
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
The implication is that some people handle it incorrectly. This is one of the reasons we are working through this sword sharpening series together.
“Never read a Bible Verse”
Greg Koukl – Christian Author
The quote is purposely a little sarcastic, but it is sarcasm with a point. The point is that we should never read a Bible verse in isolation from the context. When it comes to the Bible I like to say, context, context, context.
A Bible verse, out of context, can be misunderstood and misinterpreted and used in all kinds of ways that have nothing to do with the original meaning. For example Jesus says this:
Luke 12:19 (NIV)
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘
To take this verse out of context would be to say that this somehow captures Jesus’ philosophy of life. When in context, this verse is part of parable that teaches the exact opposite.
We will be digging into even more this weekend at Keys Vineyard Church so be sure to check it out in-person or online.
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?
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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!
