Poverty and Our Misguided (Good) Intentions
January is poverty awareness month. Here are 4 thoughts on this complicated topic.
Resources for Missional Engagement
10 Practical Tips for Living on Mission in Your Community
Living missionally in your community requires intentionality, a willing heart and dependency on the Holy Spirit....
The intentional life of a Christian
The Christian life is not about me living for Jesus; it’s about Jesus living His life...
Bivocational Church Planting | Dr. Marino Martinez-Vargas
“I see myself as a self-funded missionary.” Between serving his church as pastor and aiding patients...
Chicago: Portrait of a Neighborhood
When most people in Chicago look at Garfield Park, they see drugs, crime and violence. When...
Ordinary People — Cleveland, Ohio
https://vimeo.com/247847348 Gabby, Katie and Allison are ordinary, everyday believers, but they are stepping out in faith...
Because of your prayers and faithful giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, North American missionary...
Some practical tips and how-to’s for promoting the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in your church. This...
When Rich Perez was growing up in his New York City neighborhood, he always heard that...
https://vimeo.com/247517692 Kempton Turner met Jesus in the most unexpected way in the most unexpected place. ,...
At Home in Minneapolis, At Home in Africa
https://vimeo.com/247816656 Khamis is a Christian from South Sudan. He lost everything in Sudan’s civil war. Now...
Believers participate in Christ’s priesthood, not within the walls of the church, but in the daily...
Everybody thinks they hate evangelism, but what if that was because they didn’t understand how evangelism...
Spiritual journal discipleship
Church planters get pulled in many directions at once. The task of discipling men can get...
Top 10 Posts of 2017: #2 Six Ways to Practice Hospitality
1. Reserve a night for “Neighbor Night” Years ago, when my wife and I started talking...
Top 10 Posts of 2017: #7 Co-vocational Church Planting: Rethinking Vocation
The idea of rethinking vocation must start with considering the sacred/secular divide, or what some people...
There are many reasons you’d want to attend an established church—some good reasons and some, well,...
Co-vocational church planting: Rethinking vocation
The idea of rethinking vocation must start with considering the sacred/secular divide, or what some people...
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...
“When I see someone baptized, I see myself,” says Martin Haghani. Martin planted Iranian Baptist Church...
Why celebration is a tool for multiplication
You’ve heard it said that you are what you celebrate and there is nowhere that is truer than...
Why membership is a tool for multiplication
Recently, my wife and I were driving back home, and decided to check out the country...
How to send mission teams well
Mission teams can be a tremendous help to a church planter, but often they become a...
I Don’t Know How to Start a Church
Through an unexpected turn of events, God called Paul Sasis to start a church in California....
I Don’t Know How to Start a Church
Through an unexpected turn of events, God called Paul Sasis to start a church in California....
I am a huge fan of great mission team experiences. Over the past 13 years of...
Why conversion growth is crucial in church planting
Healthy things grow. If you’ve been in ministry for long at all, you’ve probably heard that...
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...
Is your calling based on identity?
Every Christian is called to be a missionary, and this calling extends wherever we are. Every...
Gravity is not something we can see or feel. However, it’s constantly at work. Gravity works...
5 ways to protect the vision from God
All people protect things that matter to them. Be it a wedding ring, a picture drawn...
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...
Most popular in 2016: #8 Redefining success: Gospel conversations
The North American Mission Board is blessed by a wide array of voices that speak to...
Bivocational church planting: ReThinking It
By Brad Brisco Over the past several years there has been an increasing interest in church...
Why Christians should care about politics
During the course of a presidential campaign, it is common to hear evangelicals, especially younger ones,...
Stories from the frontlines: Dustin Nimmo
This week we interviewed three practitioners serving on the field as church planters. These are their...
Stories from the front lines: Whitney Clayton
This week we interviewed three practitioners serving on the field as church planters. These are their...
Why church planters need long-term vision
I’m always stunned by the mess kids can make. Give them 30 minutes alone in a...
Kingdom focused church planting
Have you ever missed something in conversation? You know, times when you’ve assumed something a person...
Brotherhood: God’s prayer for relationships
My phone usually pings around 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. The most recent one read: “Praying for...
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,...
In Tuesday’s post, we discussed identifying the needs of your community. Recognizing opportunities to show mercy...
Needs are all around us. Some are obvious and overwhelmingly urgent, such as a crisis situation....
A growing trend in evangelical circles is the emphasis on being socially conscious, which includes caring...
Redefining Success: City Transformation
Insignificance. Most of our nightmares revolve around this. We all want to know we are making...
How to have successful gospel conversations
We’ve all been there. Or even if you haven’t, people in your church have. You start...
Ready, Set, Go—Equipping Sending Churches pt. 3
Some years ago, the movie “Chariots of Fire” introduced the world to an Olympic champion and...
Ready, Set, Go—Equipping Sending Churches pt. 2
Running has never been really fun for me unless it was an actual race. Although I...
Ready, Set, Go—Equipping Sending Churches
I have been running marathons for almost 15 years now. It’s amazing how the sport of...
Yesterday I was talking to a good friend about his next ministry assignment and what is...
In the last post I shared that the first theological distinction deals with the missionary nature...
In part one I explained that when I am asked to define the word “missional” I...
For nine years I taught a course on evangelism at a small Christian college. There was...
Generosity: Building a Generous Church
Encouraging generosity in the church is a matter I believe I can speak to because it...
John Bunyan once said, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone...
Kingdom First: Leading God’s People
The Apostle Paul, gave this charge to the Ephesian church leadership: “Pay careful attention to yourselves...
“I wanted to change the world, but I couldn’t find a babysitter,” said a mother. Motherhood...
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...
How to Multiply A Missional Community
What steps should we take to multiply? First, assess the health of your group. Make sure...
Todd Engstrom Interview: Missional Communities
Send Network: Tell us a little about the culture of your church. Todd Engstrom: At Austin...
Send Network: What is the vision of Midtown Fellowship? Allen Tipping:Our vision statement is, “A Jesus-centered...
Community and Mission: A Divine Meeting
My wife and I have a rugged wooden farm table. It’s not impressive—there are scratches, stains...
Is your church an evangelizing church? NAMB
During this blog post series, I am trying to help you assess your church by providing...
Is your church a discipling church?
During this blog post series, I am trying to help you assess your church by providing...
Is your church a ministering church?
During this blog post series, I am trying to help you assess your church by providing...
Is Your Church a Fellowshipping Church?
During this blog post series, I am trying to help you assess your church by providing...
Sending Church – Commissioning
When you begin to rattle off the names of the great characters of the Bible, there...
Every life on mission and every church on mission
“Every Life On Mission” and “Every Church On Mission” are two phrases NAMB will use prominently...
What are the frontlines of mission?
Church planter Patrice Viakinnou shares his vision for ministry to New York City’s West-African population. Send...
Are You Weak Enough for God to Use You?
There aren’t many societies that praise weakness. Ours is no different. Whether you’re a pastor or...
The following is an excerpt from Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that...
This week Jeddidiah Coppenger shared five ways to lead a local church towards effective engagement in...
How to create a culture of international missions
I love shortcuts. Whether it’s a hidden road to get to work 30 seconds faster, some...
The following blog is an excerpt from Paul David Tripp’s regular blog which can be found...
The Kingdom-centric church plant
If the goal of a new church is to be relevant, edgy and grow quickly to...
Staying is the New Going – How to Do It
“God is going to use you in BIG ways someday!” I will never forget when someone...