In the life of church planting, communication is so key. Especially in a time like we’re in – in the midst of COVID-19. I’m sure we’re all in the same boat, making decisions for our local spaces and gatherings, changing events and plans, but in the middle of all of this, we have a unique opportunity to invite those we …
God has wired all of us for ministry. When we uncover and awaken the five-fold typology (apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherds, and teachers mentioned in Eph. 4) in our faith communities and our neighborhoods, we will not only be able to live out our calling, but also help others discover theirs. If you want to plant churches that are resilient and …
As we race into the 2020s, we have suddenly been awakened to an accelerating global COVID-19 Pandemic that few saw coming. Those of us in North America rapidly joined countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East in dealing with this new Coronavirus Pandemic. While most churches is the US have canceled services or re-routed their services online, they have …
“Our God is a God who cares, heals, guides, directs, challenges, confronts, corrects. To discern means first of all to listen to God, to pay attention to God’s active presence, and to obey God’s prompting, direction, leadings, and guidance.” [Henri Nouwen][1] Discerning God’s direction does not happen by accident. The Spirit helps us to discern but we have a part to …
Pruning branches on a living plant helps it to be more productive, grow better fruit, and sustain the plant for the long haul. As churches have become dispersed because of COVID-19 it has revealed the fruit of our labor when times felt much less complicated. The lessons we are learning in order to be church today can help us to …
The Covid-19 pandemic is disrupting life as we have known it. It will take radical social distancing for us to flatten the curve. What does it mean for the people of God to be a blessing to their neighborhood and networks in a time that feels chaotic and unpredictable? In this webinar we will be drawing practical, on-the-ground, missional lessons …
Last Wednesday, I went to Costco for my usual fortnightly visit, arriving early to avoid the crowds. Or at least, I thought I was. The place was crowded and people were loading carts with what looked like a year’s supply of toilet paper, rice and other staples. Over the weekend, it was even worse and when I went this week …
A 4-week Immersion to begin and build a social good enterprise for the sake of missional presence in your neighborhood w/ Hugh Halter About this Immersion There is a seismic shift in American culture, the church now finds itself in increasing irrelevance in its “come to us” posture. The Church is invited to break down the sacred/secular divide by creating …
Being Pastor or Planter involves embracing a ministry vocation that includes a consistent encounter with the conflicts and challenges most spend their life trying to avoid. While leading people to the beauty of Christ, we concurrently face the tragedy of betrayal, grief from unending losses, and pain from emotional assaults. What happens to our mind, soul, and body from this …
There’s a story from American folklore that Henry Ford, after launching the Model T, declared consumers could pick any color they wanted…so long as it was black. To me this sounds like the same approach Christian worship has taken. It comes in basically one color. There are two main versions: sing songs and listen to a preacher, or follow some …