“It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.” – C.S. Lewis
Keys to Worship Planning: The Ultimate Goal
“Repentance is the ultimate goal of worship, which makes it the number one priority of our worship planning system. Everything we do is designed to call people to repentance.” – Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley The above quote is from p. 35 of Engage: A Guide to Creating Life-Transforming … Read More
Age and Religious Identity in America
Today’s guest post comes to us from Michael Lipka, a Senior Editor at Pew Research Center. The U.S. religious landscape is already in the midst of some dramatic changes when it comes to the growth or decline of people with certain religious identities. And while it is impossible to predict exactly how that landscape will shift in the future, some key … Read More
How to Use a BIG Day in Your Church (Boot Camp Week EXCLUSIVE)
This week I’m focused on Evangelism. How can I help you: Double your attendance? Mobilize your church for evangelism? Equip your people to reach more people for Christ? You see this week I’m leading our Church Systems Check-up and Boot Camp. Our theme is “reaching the unchurched.” Since you’re unable to be here, I want to share with you one … Read More
Dimensions of Church Growth
Today’s post comes to us from Dr. Garry E. Milley, columnist for Christian Week and author of An Inconvenient Cross: Proclaiming Christ Crucified. Garry is also the Lead Pastor of Church in Oaks in London, Ontario. I wanted to call this article “On Introducing Change” but decided against it because, as Mark Twain is supposed to have said, “The only … Read More
Monday is for Follow-up: Encouraging Second-Time Guests
“When your second-time guests walk through your door, they unknowingly come face to face with a fork in the road. Four to six months from that moment, they will either be assimilated into your church or they will be gone – far from the church and likely far from any kind of relationship with Jesus. Your job is to guide them … Read More
William Tyndale on the Church
“The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it.” -William Tyndale
Keys to Worship Planning: Seven Principles
“At The Journey, we have established seven principles of life-changing worship, built around the acrostic WORSHIP. These seven principles works together to define our philosophy of worship; they are the core values for how we do worship planning. Not to mention, they are also constant, action-oriented reminders that protect us from settling into a status quo. Work as a … Read More
Becoming a Global Christian and Developing Your Heart for the Lost
Today’s guest post comes to us from Karen Coleman for Eternal Perspectives with Randy Alcorn. Karen and her family spent 23 years in Cameroon, West Africa doing missions work. It might come as a surprise to some, but if you do a Bible search for the words “mission” or “missionary”, you aren’t going to find much. To understand the role of … Read More
From one pastor to another…
Kerrick Thomas is a pastor and friend of mine who has learned first-hand how to manage personal crisis and church leadership. Over the last year, he has experienced crisis in his own life: The tragic loss of his mom in a fire . . . then less than a week later his wife having reconstructive surgery on her ankle that left … Read More