I remember the first morning I woke up after I had moved to Syracuse, NY. My family had spent the previous year discerning the Spirit’s voice with friends, family and our faith community. My wife and I had served in full-time vocational ministry for 15 years, and we were sensing a growing call to start a new faith community in …
At the V3 Church Planting Movement we get the question all the time “Why do we need to plant more churches?” It is a valid question. Certainly in most cities we can see a church edifice every couple miles and in some cities every few blocks. It might appear we don’t need any new churches. Additionally, the church currently does …
This year Lent begins on Valentine’s Day and ends on April Fools Day, a little challenging in perspectives for those of us that like to adhere to the church calendar while still observing some of the practices of our secular culture. On Godspace, we have chosen the theme “For Love Of The World God Did Foolish Things” as our Lenten theme using …
Missional leadership depends upon the art of reframing. Reframing helps us to take a walk in someone else’s shoes and see the world from a different vantage point. Leaders who can reframe a context or situation can turn conflict into opportunity; despair into hope; sorrow into joy. An Alternate Lens When you are teaching a class, preaching, leading a formation …
In the few days after Christmas, we’ve seen families in new church plants here in Seattle realize they have given their kids new tech toys not realizing these toys are often not a “treat” but a “trick.” Smart Toys and Secrets For example, in a recent report on NPR, a new talking doll called Cayla has some serious issues and …
Now that Christmas Day is over many of us feel let down because the day we have been anticipating for so long has passed. The malls strip their elaborate decorations and junk their remaining Christmas stocks with huge 50-70% off sales. Christmas wreaths and trees are thrown out for the garbage collectors and our frenzied activities give way to a low grade …
To be a church planter, you need to have vision to see something that doesn’t exist yet. You also need to organize your life around the goal of seeing that vision become a reality. There are a million temptations along the way, mostly having to do with trying to take control of the process, attempting to make things happen instead …
Two to four years into a church plant? How do you know the church is making a difference? Courageous enough to seriously ask? How do we know our ministries—whether preaching, outreach, serving the poor, children’s programs, or life groups—make a difference? Measuring impact tends to be elusive and often downright avoided, especially in Christian circles. In this blog, however, I …
This year, the Praxis Gathering will be making an intentional effort to expand our conversation to include urban, suburban and rural environments and church plants. Here’s Jonathan Davis on his perspective as a minister in rural America. To hear more from him, sign up for the Praxis Gathering 2017 HERE. While the cultures may be vastly different, rural churches seemingly …
“I’m so lonely. I don’t have any friends who understand what I am doing.” I don’t know how many times I have heard variations of this statement from young church planters who feel isolated and overwhelmed struggling alone in a hostile environment. Some leave their fledgling churches feeling they have failed in their vocation. Others struggle constantly with depression, anxiety …