Skip to main content
search
Category

Missions

4 Ways I Discern Saying No to Good Opportunites

By Call to Ministry, Church, Church Planting, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Missions, Vision

Age and maturity has helped me get better at discerning what I can do and should do based on my strengths, weaknesses, passions and dreams. It’s freeing when we become more certain in who God has wired us to be and who He has not.

Still, I’ve learned (through many different seasons of life) that there are often more opportunities than time in life…even God-honoring, seemingly good opportunities. Recently, I have had to say no to some great opportunities. These were things that I would have clearly thought had to be “God appointed”, but as much as they line with my strengths, passions, and dreams I have for my life, I said “no” to them.

How do you know when to say no to what looks like a good thing…perhaps initially even like a “God thing”?

Here are four things I look for in examining my heart before responding. I say no when:

Read More
October 15, 2018
Love4

5 Shared Characteristics Needed to do Church Planting or Church Revitalization

By Call to Ministry, Church, Church Planting, Church Revitalization, Leadership, Missions

Recently I posted a funny video about what it takes to be a church planter. Want a laugh? Watch it HERE. I decided it might be a good idea to share what I really believe is necessary to be a church planter. Church planting is a difficult, but rewarding assignment in ministry. All pastors and planters should operate under a calling of God, but it does appear to me that there are some unique qualifications for church planters.

From experience, here are five characteristics I believe it takes to be an effective church planter:

Read More
August 20, 2018
Love2

7 Suggestions for Churches Meeting in a School

By Church, Church Planting, Leadership, Missions

I get lots of emails asking how we do certain things as a church. I usually figure that when several people are asking the same question that it represents a larger audience wanting to know the same answers. This post is an example of that thought.

Recently I was asked what suggestions I have for a church planning to start meeting in a school facility. Grace Community church has met in our high school for three years now and it has been a blessing to us and the school, from feedback I have received. Here are 7 suggestions for churches meeting in a school. Most of these are more philosophy than actions, but with them as our paradigm it helps direct our actions.

Read More
October 19, 2015
Love1

4 Ways to be a Church for Dummies

By Church, Church Planting, Missions

I received email feedback the other day from someone who attends our church. Not having grown up attending church very often, but now wanting to learn the Bible and about the things of God, the woman thanked us for being a “church for dummies“. (That’s her term…not mine…) I laughed at first when I saw her comment and wondered if I should take it as a positive remark, but then she explained that she used to leave church more confused than when she arrived, but now she is starting to understand the Bible and wants to learn more. She is thankful for a church that is challenging her to grow in her faith, but inviting enough to feel welcome, regardless of her background. I took it as a high compliment!

As I processed the meanings behind her statement, I thought of a few reasons she may feel as she does about our church.

Here are 4 ways our church became a “church for dummies:

Read More
August 6, 2015
Love1

7 Suggestions for Planting a Church or Revitalizing in a New Community

By Change, Church, Church Planting, Church Revitalization, Encouragement, Innovation, Missions

I was recently asked for any suggestions I have for planting a church in a different community from where you currently live and know. There is a group of 25 plus people who are leaving the comforts of home in California traveling to the state of North Dakota to plant a church. I love that kind of faith.

If you don’t know, Grace Community Church is my hometown, so I am very familiar with our community, but I planted a church before this one in a city in which I didn’t know anyone well. Still, as I thought about these suggestions, I really believe they are shared for any church plant (perhaps even any church.)

Of course, these are given assuming you have a clear calling as to where you are to plant, but here are some of my suggestions for planting a church a another community. There are probably hundreds of others, but these were the first 7 that came to my mind:

Read More
May 5, 2015
Love1
Close Menu