Starting a life-giving church has never been easy. The season we find ourselves has magnified two things: Planting churches in these turbulent times comes with some unique challenges. The world needs Jesus more than ever and the Great Commission still needs to be fulfilled. Can we still plant effective, life-changing churches? The quick answer: [...]
Every church should get a grasp on strategic planning practices. When we implement intentional planning, we set ourselves up to succeed. No matter what we want for our churches in the coming year, communicating our goals, direction, and budgets can turn our vision into reality. This blog post will discuss how creating church calendars can [...]
It has been over 21 years since I first became a pastor. I've had the privilege of equipping many for church planting and missions. Here is some advice that I share with those who feel called into this field of ministry: 1. Read everything you can get your hands on! Leaders are readers. If [...]
A good leader inspires people to do something bigger than themselves. In the case of churches and para-church groups, the Great commission along with the Great Commandment are the driving reasons for all we do. In order to make a difference, we need to work together to accomplish key objectives. I believe that we are truly better together [...]
Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” We know about the Great Commission. The "going" is pretty clear. The question is more about the "making" portion of this [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]