Healthy Pastors Leading Health Churches
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Two-thirds of Americans believe public schools should rent to churches and other community groups, according to a new study by LifeWay Research. The study comes as a Feb. 12 deadline banning the use of New York City schools by churches approaches. Up to 160 NYC congregations that have used school buildings for … [Read more...]
This past Sunday made the fourth week in a row we’ve worshipped in a local movie theater with January 15 being our official launch. We didn’t intend to launch in a theater. I fact, we spent a great deal of time looking at retail spaces, but eventually landed at the Malco because of space, price, and availability. There’s a part of … [Read more...]
I remember Shawn Lovejoy telling the story of how, when they had their opening service at Mountain Lake Church, he totally forgot to take up the offering, and they couldn’t meet the following two weeks because of ice. I love guys that are real who pour themselves into others, and that’s Shawn. He and his team host an annual conference … [Read more...]
God has certainly used a battle with cancer to help Ryan and Jessica Woods to understand how God can use them to lead a Grassroots Conspiracy in downtown Vancouver, Washington. In Exponential's Stories of Sifted, Ryan tells his story... God has not promised me another day, I do not believe he has promised healing (though I do believe he … [Read more...]
If you haven't already, read part one first. 7. Change the way people think about church: In the first year of our church, we made a decision. In everything we do, we’re going to seek to change the way people think about church. This is so much bigger than the type of music we do, or our dress, even though they are parts of the … [Read more...]
Obviously, I’m passionate about church planting. On the blog of the Acts 29 Network is a great article that echoes my heart about the matter. It’s an adaptation of a writing by Tim Keller, and it really reflects the reason why we’re planning on planting out of Grace Hills as soon as possible. The vigorous, continual planting of new … [Read more...]
Twelve years ago this week, we launched weekly worship services at Mountain Lake Church. Wow. What a ride! God has used me despite my stupidity; and I have learned so much along the way. Here’s the first part of my top twelve lessons I’ve learned in the last twelve years. 1. Having a vision is easy. Sticking to the vision takes … [Read more...]
I’ve become convinced that healthy churches reproduce and unhealthy churches don’t. I’m also convinced that the key to fulfilling the Great Commission throughout the world is church planting. Therefore I can say with certainty, regardless of your denominational tradition, that your church should be directly involved in planting … [Read more...]
The most important question any church planter can ask is “ Why am I planting a church?” I have had some conversations with some great guys lately who I think are really struggling with that question. All of us struggle with why we are in ministry on Monday morning, but we need to evaluate our motivation on a bigger scale. Let’s … [Read more...]
There various viewpoints on the bestchurch planting model. Some launch fast and large to attract the masses. Others launch slowly and intentionally with more of a one-on-one disciple-making mentality. There are probably cautions with any approach to planting, and one of the cautions I would raise is simply don’t neglect the power of … [Read more...]
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