STORIES OF SUCCESS
CENTENNIAL ROAD CHURCH, BROCKVILLE ON
The BLI is breaking new ground by bringing high-quality ministry coaching and leadership development right into the heart of local churches and associations.
Dr. Buckingham delivers principle-based training that benefits pastors and churches of every size. In one weekend, Dr. Buckingham energized my local church through his preaching, consulted with pastors of large churches of our region, and conducted a leadership development seminar with pastors and lay leaders. Dr. Buckingham is a man of vast experience and a proven track record of helping leaders recognize and understand what has changed in our environments and how to grow to meet the demands of change while staying true to our purpose and fulfilling our calling.
When you combine a sharp intellect, infectious personality, and a deep love for the local church and its leaders, you become immediately aware that Dr. Buckingham will get you where you want to go.
Dr. Eric Hallet, Pastor
COASTAL CHURCH / WOODS HARBOUR WESLEYAN
From the BLI we learned the following crucial lessons:
How to navigate conversations and to learn how to lead a board.
Leaving every meeting ready to lead.
The crucial importance of security and health of a leader.
Getting people to see the “why” … why the church exists.
Taking responsibility as a leader is huge. Learning to own it and find solutions.
Equipping other people to do the job - This helped me to empower others for the mission.
It taught me to celebrate the wins on Sunday mornings - highlight what God is doing....it is a huge source of energy in our services. The importance of being strategic with your time is missional. Not being bogged down with responsibilities and being a problem solver.
My biggest takeaway is dealing with conflict!!! This is the most important thing for me.
The bottom line for me is this: Why wouldn't you want to take advantage of this opportunity to be equipped to be more effective?
Pastor Jason Parker
Ready to grow your ministry? Take our course to begin.
TRUE LIFE CHURCH, QUISPAMSIS, NB
Prior to the mentoring, the church had been in decline at a rate of 4% a year for around 22 years. The attendance had gone from well over 500 people on a Sunday morning to now well below 300. Things were not good at all.
The nursery was closed and the median age of our congregation was around 60 years of age. The children’s ministry was dismal and in deep trouble. We had become very inward-looking and had no real desire for outreach and if you did the math, it did not take much, for us to realize, that if something did not change, we would not even exist, in 20 years’ time.
Being a part of the leadership Institute challenged me to be a better pastor. To go farther, to work harder and wait deeper upon the Lord.
Dr. Buckingham dealt with many of the areas that we as pastors needed to hear. And some of them were difficult but necessary. Such areas as insecurity, having a winning attitude, celebrating the wins, keep on keeping on, and having a clear vision and mission statement.
Through Dr. Buckingham’s encouragement and the Lessons taught at the Institute we stayed the course. Our Nursery was reopened, we had 13 Babies born into the ministry last year.
We are exploding with new people coming in the door, every Sunday. The church recently had a high attendance which was double a few years ago.
Pastor Barry Todd
RIVER CHURCH, BANGOR, ME
Since attending the Leadership Institute and applying the lessons, we have continued to have a steady pattern of upward growth in every major area of ministry. As an example, this past Sunday last years’ attendance was 87 and this years’ was 125. After a meeting last evening one of the LBA members made the statement, "my expectations are surpassed every week and I can't wait for Sunday".
I thank the Lord you keep the "pedal to the metal" and set an example that challenges me to keep stretching and growing.
Pastor Steve Sinclair
Ready to take the next step in your ministry? Take our course to begin.
FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH, HALIFAX NS
The pastoral mentorship course with Dr. Buckingham was an excellent opportunity to connect with other pastoral leaders and have helpful conversations around effectiveness in leadership and church ministry. Dr. Buckingham’s experience and passion contribute to engaging and encouraging sessions, while also offering continual challenges to address weakness and pursue a path to more effectively grow the Kingdom of God. The potential benefit is more than worth the time commitment involved - there are key things to learn regardless of your current ministry context.
This church had several years of decline prior to the mentoring. Last year we had a 15% increase.
Pastor Borden Scott
EASTERN PASSAGE BAPTIST CHURCH, NS
The training and mentoring in Christian ministry leadership that I received last year from Dr. Buckingham have been valuable to me in three ways:
I have learned important principles about church leadership which make forward progress possible in a time when so many churches are losing ground.
I have had the benefit of frank discussions about how to apply leadership principles and ministry values in my context -- with other pastors who face some of the same challenges and opportunities I am in the local church in my city. It has been most helpful to hear their perspectives, insights, and encouragement, and to have their prayer and practical support.
My confidence received a boost and affirmation -- confidence in God to fulfill the promises of His Word, and also in my capacity to know what to do to lead the church to greater effectiveness in discipling believers and reaching the lost.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to learn and grow through this stimulating leadership mentoring experience!
I would recommend it to anyone who is willing humbly and prayerfully to reconsider what they are doing in leadership, and what they could be doing better. Surely the cause of Jesus Christ deserves no less!
Pastor Jamie MacArthur
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COMMUNITY CHURCH, HAMPTON NB
As a young pastor in a young church I am constantly searching for mentors to speak into my life and my ministry.
What I appreciated the most from my time with Dr. Buckingham was the gift of time and wisdom that he invested into my life and into my development as a leader. His candor about having the self – confidence to surround yourself with smarter people is a lesson that I’ve taken to heart and embraced in my own ministry.
I also appreciated the chance to cross paths with leaders from different ministries, denominations and ministry roles that I would not normally encounter. Their voices gave me perspectives that I never would have considered otherwise.
Pastor Brandon Thompson
HILLCREST CHURCH, SAINT JOHN NB
Our church was working hard and spinning our wheels. We knew that we needed some fresh eyes to help us see how we could be working more effectively.
Inviting Dr. B and Pastor Dave Steeves to come partner with us through a consultation was historically one of the more important moves we have ever made as a church.
It wasn't that we were not working hard, it was that there were pieces of the puzzle that we were missing. I use the analogy of the spokes of a wheel. We had plenty of spokes, but they weren't all going far enough to be effective.
Dr. B's words of encouragement and practical wisdom are still ringing through our business meetings and leadership language. Having someone from their own generation endorse the changes that needed to take place has helped folk to pay the emotional costs needed to move forward.
Our attendance and finances both grew because people caught a vision for what our church could be like. The people bought in, owned the pain and worked the vision. By the years end we wound up having the best attendance we've had for years and the healthiest financial situation that our treasurer had seen in the last decade. There had been so many fresh new faces that it simply left us dumbfounded. We felt like Naaman and wondered how doing something so simple (not easy) could make such a life changing difference.
If you are hoping to see change in your church then Dr. B and Dave Steeves have the skill and experience to identify how you can move forward. However, there is no shortcut and they don't promise a shortcut.
They help by showing you where you will need to do the hard work and pay the emotional costs. Then they will continue to support you and encourage you and cheer you and your church on.
These initial victories paved the way for even more!
Having them come for a consult made a world of difference for us at Hillcrest. To move forward cost us many tears and the laying down of our personal preferences, but never has pain felt so good nor the rewards been so rich.
Thank you for your investment in Hillcrest!
Rev. Andrew Morse, Pastor
