If you have been in ministry for more than a week, you can relate to this blog topic. All of us want to see people discipled and the gospel of Jesus spread to every part of the world. if we are honest, we have all been disappointed. Maybe things didn't play out the way we [...]
By Bryan Stevenson A Matter of the Heart In the middle of the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah just before the prophet speaks of the Messiah, the Lord pronounces a judgment (through Isaiah) on the people of Israel – one that Jesus recalls in Mark 7:7. Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says, “These people say [...]
In January 2020, I was teaching on the vision for the church as is my norm each year. January and February were great months, and then there was March 2020. It was different. Much different than anything I had experienced in my 20+ years of ministry. [...]
By Bryan Stevenson Over twenty years have passed since I was first involved in a church plant. There is much that has changed in the field of worship and technology, but as the saying goes – the more things change, the more they stay the same. No, I am no longer lugging a Fender Passport [...]
I remember one of Ron Myer's blog posts from 2019. It was titled "The God Factor." Here is a snippet from that post: "In life’s many challenges, sometimes we forget the God factor. I call it the God factor because it is God showing up in the middle of life’s situations and doing the [...]
Here is sneak peak early footage as we were learning to shoot a video cast. In this episode Larry Kreider & Merle Shenk talk about the value of Catalyst Relationships for church leaders, aspiring leaders and church planters. There is a synergy that happens with these types of relationships is a great thing to see [...]
Third base - Finances If you missed the first three posts preceding this one in our baseball analogy check them out here, here and here. Third base is the financial base. God’s plan to finance the local church is through the tithes (10%) and offerings (Malachi 3:8-11; Matthew 23:23). However, when a church is being [...]
Second base - Prayer Last week we talked about the first base in our baseball analogy being Training. If you missed it check it out here. Second base is the prayer base. You must break through the spiritual strongholds in the potential church planting area. You need a team of dedicated prayer partners/intercessors who will [...]
Cover your bases before launching out to plant a church Last week we looked at the importance of being sent from a home base. If you missed it check it out here. Today we will look at the first base in our baseball analogy for church-planting. First base - Training First base is the training/preparation [...]
Cover your bases before launching out to plant a church This teaching contains basic principles, not laws. Many sincere church planters and missionaries, after a few years of pioneering, seem to hit a brick wall. They are praying and believing, yet something does not seem to be working the way they anticipated. There are spiritual [...]