5 Vital Things Church Planting Spouses Need to Thrive

Like many spouses who supported their partners through schooling, I was thrilled to finally see the end of a long, hard season. My husband Ben had just graduated and was now moving into his first full-time ministry job. That’s when reality hit me: This is going to make me a “pastor’s wife”. And then I did one of the worst …

Ministry's Most Commonly Forgotten Secret

My week had been particularly hectic, stressful and busy. But honestly, so had the week before! After thinking more about it, I realized that actually we hadn’t taken a day off in more than a few weeks now. Things just kept popping up. I’d say to myself, “This is just a season. It’s how it is now, but it won’t always be …

4 Ways to Stop the Cycle of Non-discipleship

The beginning of planting our first church was a time of passionate vision, excitement about possibilities and anticipation about what God would do through our emerging community. Dallas Willard’s quote about the church and discipleship stirred our hearts: We must be disciples, we must intend to make disciples, and we must know how to bring people to believe that Jesus really is …

How to Build Community: What the Real Cost Is

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. -Romans 15:7  Building community is hard work. It takes intentionality and risk; requires energy and planning. And there is always the possibility of rejection as we put ourselves out there. However, making room for others in our lives is an essential practice for those in the community of faith. A Difference Between …

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3 Ways To Help Your Introverted Child in Missional Community

In our first church plant in 2008, we experimented with mid-sized groups called Missional Communities (MCs). MCs are kind of like extended families: groups of fifteen to forty people focused on a relational network or neighborhood. The experience of doing life together, of living a life on mission with a group of people, was life changing for our family. Eating Alone …