Rich Birch

Rich Birch is one of the early multi-site church pioneers in North America. He led the charge in helping The Meeting House in Toronto to become the leading multi-site church in Canada with over 5,000+ people in 18 locations. In addition, he served on the leadership team of Connexus Church in Ontario, a North Point Community Church Strategic Partner. He has also been a part of the lead team at Liquid Church - a 5 location multisite church serving the Manhattan facing suburbs of New Jersey. Liquid is known for it’s innovative approach to outreach and community impact. Rich is passionate about helping churches reach more people, more quickly through excellent execution.His latest book Church Growth Flywheel: 5 Practical Systems to Drive Growth at Your Church is an Amazon bestseller and is design to help your church reach more people in your community.

communications strategy

5 Heart-Check Questions about the Volunteer Culture at Your Church

Rich BirchOctober 6, 2015

If you traveled to most communities around the world, you'd find a local church fueled by volunteers who are making a difference. Your church is powered by volunteers who show up week in and week out to serve other people and make ministry happen. I challenge us all to create compelling volunteer experiences that...

Developing a Leadership Pipeline podcast strategy

Larry Hubatka on Seven Day Seminary

Rich BirchOctober 1, 2015

Today I’m excited to be talking again with Larry Hubatka from Elevation Church. For those who don’t know, Elevation Church was founded in 2006 by Pastor Steven Furtick and his wife Holly in Charlotte, NC. Elevation Church has now grown to 13 locations--10 in the Charlotte area, 1 in...

communications strategy

6 Reasons Your Church Needs More Checklists (& 6 Done-for-You Checklists to Use!)

Rich BirchSeptember 29, 2015

Astronauts use checklists to ensure they're doing tasks in order and they don't miss anything. It's been statistically proven that hospitals that require surgeons to use checklists have fewer accidents, lower death rates and better outcomes. The use of checklists by airline pilots has made that form of travel the safest...

communications multisite personal productivity podcast

Josh Whitehead on Leading from the Second Chair

Rich BirchSeptember 24, 2015

We’re happy to be back and talking today with Josh Whitehead from Faith Promise Church in Knoxville, TN. Faith Promise has been around for 20 years and started in Oak Ridge, TN, without a pastor. The original group wanted to impact the unchurched in their community by being a different...

personal productivity strategy

8 Ways Meetings are Killing the Mission of Your Church

Rich BirchSeptember 23, 2015

“We're now addicted to meetings that insulate us from the work we ought to be doing.” ― Al Pittampalli, Read This Before Our Next Meeting Leaders who don't like meetings are like dentists who don't like teeth. Leaders who don't think critically about their meeting cultures are like dentists who...

communications multisite podcast strategy

31 Lessons From 10 Church Leaders You Should Be Listening To

Rich BirchSeptember 22, 2015

Every Thursday on the unSeminary podcast, we get the opportunity to learn from some incredible church leaders who are making an impact in their communities. Our hope is that you get some practical help for your church, inspiration to keep going and have a little fun along the way! To...

strategy

6 Reasons the Next Hire at Your Church Should Be External

Rich BirchSeptember 9, 2015

Hiring "from within" is a common value in many churches. In fact, some leaders see it as a badge of honor that they only hire people who have "come up" through their ministry context. In the worst cases, leaders are condescending about churches that bring in people from other communities. That is a...

communications strategy

6 Ways Teaching Leads Your Church

Rich BirchJuly 28, 2015

Whether you call it teaching or preaching, the message in your main service leads your church. It's core to what makes your church ... your church. In fact, in a very real sense your community is simply gathered around the main teaching at your church. Here are ways that teaching...

communications personal productivity strategy

7 Free Leadership Development Strategies for Church Leaders

Rich BirchJuly 22, 2015

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy Developing leaders is core to what church leaders do. We constantly look for ways to raise up the people around us ... to help them take their next step in the development journey. We don't always have the...

communications multisite

Geo-Targeted Maps for Your Church: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Rich BirchJuly 21, 2015

Google Maps has a handy (AND FREE!) tool that you can use to import a spreadsheet of addresses onto a map for use at your church. Our brains are very good at picking out patterns and visualization of data like this can be a powerful tool for decision-making. It could...