First things first – What to do when landing in a new context
Joshua Wyatt, lead planter at Charles River Church, explains the first steps planters should take when...
Resources for Cultural Context
On Sunday mornings, the streets of Montreal are quiet and deserted. Some people dream of a...
https://vimeo.com/247517692 Kempton Turner met Jesus in the most unexpected way in the most unexpected place. ,...
Paradigm shifts: The need to rethink
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but...
The practice of hospitality: Your home on mission
To develop healthy disciple-making practices, we must recapture the art of hospitality. Our castle or His...
If you’ve heard me speak or if you’ve read any of my books, what I’m about...
“When I see someone baptized, I see myself,” says Martin Haghani. Martin planted Iranian Baptist Church...
The difference between church relationships and friendships
My husband and I have been in full-time vocational ministry since the day we were married....
More than a song: Fostering a culture of worship in your church
The past few months, I have been reading through the Old Testament minor prophets. As a...
How to get a church to engage in a community
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This quote, most often attributed to Peter Drucker, has been used...
Most popular of 2016: #1 Five ways to engage: The City
The North American Mission Board is blessed by a wide array of voices that speak to...
Most popular of 2016: #7 Five ways to engage: The campus
The North American Mission Board is blessed by a wide array of voices that speak to...
Nine reasons we must connect our churches with cities
Even if you have no interest in urban settings and ministries, I plead with you to...
How to get visitors to return to your church
There are so many elements that determine if guests will return to your church after a...
What are the internal barriers to growth in a church?
There is rarely a simple explanation for the decline of a church. It is often a...
Six ways you can pray for your country
This has been one of the most tumultuous years in recent decades. America is riven by...
Three reasons why every Christian should vote
We are in the midst of a presidential election that, even to this political junkie, becomes...
Why Christians should care about politics
During the course of a presidential campaign, it is common to hear evangelicals, especially younger ones,...
The fallacy of our spiritual gifts: Part 2
(Continued from The fallacy of our spiritual gifts: Part 1.) What is the Kingdom’s O.S.? Weakness. Just weakness....
The fallacy of our spiritual gifts: Part 1
Brett and Noelle are busy penciling in 200 dots in the new member’s class at church....
How to share the message of Christ with our neighbors
How in the world do we, as believers, carry out the Great Commission? Jesus wasn’t joking...
How to understand your neighbor
I was born and raised in the southern part of the United States. South Carolina to...
When I was growing up, I loved watching “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.” I loved the trolley that...
Methodology to aid a planter in understanding their context
Gaining an accurate understanding of context is critical to successfully plant a new church. Barry Whitworth...
Five ways to engage: the campus
1. Reach students with depth. As we engaged the campus a generation or two ago, we...
Five ways to engage: the suburbs
In recent years, increased attention has been given to the city centers of our world. This...
1. Learn the city.Find the best sources for learning about your city. There are likely newspapers,...
Redefining Success: City Transformation
Insignificance. Most of our nightmares revolve around this. We all want to know we are making...
Redefining Success: Family Culture
What makes a church successful? Is it the number of those who attend the weekly gathering,...
Why gender diversity is mission critical for your plant
One of the best moves I ever made as a young church planter was seeing the...
Missional Community Connections: Part 2
Environments Conducive to Missional Communities Connections at The Austin Stone is not simply giving information that...
What are Missional Community Connections
Connections at The Austin Stone is not simply giving information that propels individuals towards involvement but...
Todd Engstrom Interview: Missional Communities
Send Network: Tell us a little about the culture of your church. Todd Engstrom: At Austin...
Most of us are safe and we like to stay that way within the confines of...
Engaging culture: Understanding poverty
Poverty: A Confusing Conversation Leading to Misguided Good Intentions How does a minister help a homeless...
The last year has seen a steady dose of media stories that focus on the issue...
Engaging culture: Introduction
The New Testament Early Church was certain of the missional reality that they were living in...
What are the frontlines of mission?
Church planter Patrice Viakinnou shares his vision for ministry to New York City’s West-African population. Send...
Understanding context when planting a new church
Gaining an accurate understanding of context is critical to successfully plant a new church. Barry Whitworth,...
Staying is the New Going – The Need
There are prominent bluffs in the middle of my city where I have gone at times...
Why neighborhood integration improves ministry opportunities
God has taken our family on a surprising, exciting and somewhat overdue journey the last two...
Out of the World and Into Our Neighborhood
God has taken our family on a surprising, exciting, and somewhat overdue journey the last two...
Missional vs. Attractional: Which is Right?
Since Riverbend started in 2009, I have heard many who support a missional over attractional philosophy...
How to make connections in churches and communities
Practicing hospitality in our homes is essential to our work in church planting (see The Why of...
In 2008, my husband and I planted a church in a cultural context where it’s fairly...
Six Ways to Evaluate Your Church’s Strategy to Assimilate New Believers
Maybe you’ve seen it happen. A new believer joins a local church, and is thrilled by...
Church Planting Essentials pt. 2
Essential #2 In the “4 Essentials for every church planter” series, the second essential is this:...
Knowing and Engaging Your Community
“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called...
It was 12 years ago that a neighbor invited my family to a church plant called Sojourn....
Do Christians have a role in addressing slavery?
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy...
Church foundation: Eating from gardens we didn’t plant
Alan Briggs It’s easy to criticize that which we don’t understand. As a young church...
Colossians 1:18-20 – Is peace really possible?
He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn...