The old saying is true—an organization is only as strong as its leadership. That also applies to the church! With our Solid Foundation seminar, your elders and deacons will gain practical insight, tools, and ideas to do the work that God has called them to do—to serve the Lord and His church. And now you can design your own leadership training seminar!

We recognize that every church’s situation is different. Each circumstance has its own set of concerns. So to help you accomplish what is needed at YOUR church, we’ve redesigned our seminars to allow you to choose the topics that will fill your needs.

That’s right — you choose the topics, and we come to YOUR CHURCH OR AREA to lead this program! (Check out some of the places where we’ve been.) You don’t have to try to get your elders and deacons to go out of state–or even out of town–to get the training they need.

Our leadership seminars are designed to show your current elders, deacons and staff how to effectively lead God’s people to accomplish His will in your area. We also recommend that you invite any men who may be interested in attending this program.

Want to know what others think of our programs before you schedule? Great! Check out these comments! Then, when you’re ready, click here for more information, or to schedule a seminar for your church or area.

Workshop Options

Listed below are workshops that are currently available for your seminar. You may choose a total of 4.5 hours of workshop time, understanding that we will have opening and closing sessions, plus time for questions and answers, and breaks throughout the program.

90-Minute Workshops:

1. The Biblical Work of Elders.  What is the true role of elders in the church? What should they be doing to properly oversee the spiritual needs of a congregation of God’s people? This workshop will not only explore the Biblical teaching, but will give your men practical tools to effectively lead and minister to your congregation.

2. How Personality Affects Leadership Teams. Why do our leaders think/act as they do? Understanding your own personality as well as the personalities of others on a leadership team can help the whole team function well together.

3. Leadership Principles from Biblical Characters. What can we learn from Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, Paul, and others about church leadership? These are men through whom God did amazing things in leading His people. We’ll take those same principles and apply them in a practical way.

60-Minute Workshops:

1. What the Church Needs from its Leadership. God did not establish leadership in the church just because He thought that might be a good organizational move. There are various needs every congregation has that must be addressed by its leadership. This session will help you to be purposeful and intentional in ministry to your church.

2. Position and Work of Deacons. We’ll review the Bible’s teaching regarding deacons and examine the role of deacons in today’s church, then learn practical ways your church’s deacons can fulfill—and excel at—their biblical function.

3. Characteristics of a Dynamic Church. What sets one church apart from the rest? How can that church have a dynamic ministry while others in that same area are languishing? The session will give you insights and suggest ways your church can be the one accomplishing great things for Christ!

4. The Leader’s Personal Life. There is a side of the leader few people see. How can he maintain a deepening walk with God, as well as a consistent witness in his private relationships with family and friends? This session explores the inner life of the leader.

30-Minute Workshops:

1. Keys to an Effective Eldership. The Apostle Paul gave quite a few insights and directives into the life and work of the elders when he addressed the elders from Ephesus. In this session, we’ll see what he had to say about being an effective elder, and how that affects your church.

2. Relationship of the Elders and the Ministers. Are the ministers employees of the church, members of the leadership team, or the captains of the ship? How your church members view them could affect the present and future effectiveness of the church. We’ll explore the pros and cons of each of these relationship types, and help you discover which will work best for the ongoing work of the church.

3. Growing as a Leader. Church leadership demands a stellar Christian character, a deep understanding of the body of Christ, and well-honed skills with people. A leader will be constantly learning how to serve well. We’ll discuss the public life of the leader in this session.

4. Leadership Styles in the Church. There are four basic leadership styles that are at work in churches. In this session you’ll discover what they are, you’ll see which is the primary style in your church and how that affects the congregation as a whole.

5. Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers. One of the most demanding facets of leadership is the development and maintenance of a dynamic volunteer squad. Glean useful tips and ideas to build your band of servants.

6. Changing Size / Changing Roles. As a church grows and changes, the roles of its leaders must also change in order to maintain its effectiveness in the cause of Christ. In this session you’ll discover when that occurs in the life of a church, and how the leaders’ roles change.

Revitalize your teaching…energize your classes…renew your enthusiasm…with a teacher training seminar from Jim & Diane McLoud!

(Designed by you, for your church, held at your church!)

With more than 30 years’ experience in training Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, Diane and I will infuse new excitement and zeal into your church’s education program. (You can read about Diane here.)

Some seminars are filled with theory on teaching. Not this one! This program will give your teachers practical tools, methods and ideas that they can use this week in their classes.

And now you can design your own teaching training seminar!

Want to know what others think of our programs before you schedule? Great! Check out these comments! Then, when you’re ready, click here for more information, or to schedule a seminar for your church or area.

Workshop Options

Listed below are workshops that are currently available for your seminar. You may choose a total of 4.5 hours of workshop time, understanding that we will have opening and closing sessions, plus time for questions and answers, and breaks throughout the program.

90-Minute Workshops:

1. Getting to Know You.  This workshop is divided into two simultaneous session:

Birth through age 12 – We look at common characteristics of each student age group, then suggest teaching methods that work best for each.

Teens through Adults – We look at common characteristics of each student age group or life stage, and teacher methods that work best for each.

2. Eyes Wide Open: Visual Teaching.   Increase students’ retention up to 300% by using visual teaching methods. This fast-paced workshop is loaded with ideas for teachers of all age groups.

3. Teach With Personality.   Understanding the four personality types and how they affect your teaching—a fun and engaging session with enlightening information that may change your approach to teaching.

60-Minute Workshops:

1. Using Your Classroom to Teach.  The environment and setup of your classroom can either enhance or detract from your teaching. Here’s how!

2. Making Memorization Fun and Easy.  Insight into how memory works, followed by 25 practical methods for helping your students memorize scripture.

3. Hands-On With Learning Centers. Understanding that everyone learns best by doing, this workshop shows how to use learning centers with students of all ages. Sample centers are displayed for participants to see and experience.

4. Growing Your Church Through the Sunday School. This session will help your teachers learn how to turn visitors into disciples, making them feel welcomed and part of the class.

30-Minute Workshops:

1. Giving Your Best: Duties of the Sunday School Teacher. What are the basic elements involved in being a good teacher? This session lays out what should be expected and why it’s important.

2. Look Inside: The Personal Life of the Teacher. The depth of a teacher’s personal life in the Lord is the bedrock on which his/her teaching is founded. We give teachers a tool for evaluating the health of their personal lives, then provide motivation and ideas for staying strong.

3. Computer Resources for Teaching. Many applications, web sites and software are available for teachers. We guide participants to computer tools that enhance their preparation and their teaching in the classroom.

4. Classroom Discipline. Wondering how to head off discipline problems or how to deal with existing ones? This session offers insight and ideas, including 15 Ideas for Maintaining Classroom Discipline.

5. Motivating Your Students to Personal Bible Study. This session gives ideas for structuring lessons that drive students to reading, studying, and memorizing scripture on their own.

What’s the schedule? Our seminars are held on either a Friday night (7:00-9:00) & Saturday morning (8:30-12:30) schedule.

What’s the cost? To receive information by email regarding the fees for our seminar, please complete the short form at the bottom of this page. If you have any questions after reviewing the information, please give us a call or drop us an email note and we’ll get back to you quickly.

What about housing? We will arrange for our own housing, at no additional cost beyond the fee quoted to you for the seminar.

Will there be breaks, and should we provide refreshments? Yes! We encourage you to have some snacks and drinks on Friday evening. Some churches choose to have a continental breakfast on Saturday mornings, and then leave out the leftovers for the first break. If you schedule a Saturday-only seminar, we recommend that you also have lunch provided to help facilitate the continuity of the program.

Can we invite area churches to our program? Yes! In fact, churches have often worked together to sponsor our seminars. It not only makes for a larger, more encouraging fellowship, but also helps in sharing costs. How you handle all this is totally up to you.

Do you provide any suggestions to help us plan and set up for our seminar? We sure do. Once your program is confirmed, we’ll email you a file of materials which will include advertising ideas, poster layouts that you can print and distribute, setup suggestions, and much more!

How do I schedule a seminar for my church? It’s really very easy! Just complete our online Speaking Request Form. By submitting this form, you are NOT obligated in any way. This is simply a free inquiry! We’ll contact you by email with more information, a quote that covers all fees and expenses, and details of how to proceed when you’re ready.