Creating Connections Beyond Sunday Morning
Relationships are critical for leaders. Our culture is crying out for authenticity, community and transparency. As …
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. …
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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‚Äôs civil war. Now …
Ordinary People — Cleveland, Ohio
https://vimeo.com/247847348 Gabby, Katie and Allison are ordinary, everyday believers, but they are stepping out in faith …
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 …
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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 …
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Engaging lostness: Lessons learned in San Francisco
Ministry in San Francisco has been better and harder than I expected. Better because it’s not …
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Diagnosing lostness: 4 Potential causes
This article first appeared in Annie Armstrong Easter Offering material, “Lostness in North America: A Guide …
Living on mission in the Bible Belt
It is interesting how the enemy can use ministry to keep Christians away from our mission, …
What it means to engage lostness
Today, we will launch a short but much-needed conversation. It is a conversation about the need …
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 …
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If Christian women talked about race
I’m going to be brutally honest here. Christian women don’t talk about race as often as …
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 …
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When white supremacists come to town
I live in Charlottesville, Virginia. You may have heard of it. You may have seen my …
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 am a huge fan of great mission team experiences. Over the past 13 years of …
Reflecting Christ in a tense political climate
My heart has been incredibly heavy over the state of our nation. I have friends and …
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 …
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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 …
Let’s be willing to care for the refugee
“I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China. I don’t know who it …
Is your calling based on identity?
Every Christian is called to be a missionary, and this calling extends wherever we are. Every …
Building relationships with those different than me
It’s hard to imagine there existed a time before walls. Today, we can barely imagine how …
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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 …
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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 of 2016: #7 Five ways to engage: The campus Read More »
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 …
Most popular in 2016: #8 Redefining success: Gospel conversations Read More »
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, …
What is an arepa and what does it have to do with starting churches? Fabian Perea, …
Stop assuming your neighbors are hostile to your faith
Some of the headlines are ominous. The value of religious liberty is on the decline. Many …
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The most frequently asked questions regarding race
The following post from Trillia Newbell’s blog gives great insight and wisdom as we continually learn to better …
The most frequently asked questions regarding race Read More »
Stories from the frontlines: Dustin Nimmo
This week we interviewed three practitioners serving on the field as church planters. These are their …
Entering the conversation about the racial divide
I grew up in a town stamped and molded by racial issues that were never discussed. …
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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 …
The city needs christians to dwell in its midst
Living in the city is hard. There are more inconveniences and risks. It’s a fact. (Why …
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 …
Five cross-cultural lessons for families in public school
My 11-year-old daughter, Alli, looked anxious. It was sixth-grade summer orientation — her first year of …
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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 …
Turn Your ESL Ministry into a Church Planting Machine
In the past, I have shared about the importance of shifting from a “come and see” …
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Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. — Hebrews 13:3 …
Culture in 5 easy-to-understand categories
Let me start by saying this is an oversimplification. Culture and worldview are complicated topics. Are …
Engaging people groups: cultural expertise vs. cultural acquisition
So you feel unequipped to connect with diverse cultures? Keelan Cook writes such an encouraging, informative …
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With U.S. global migration rates rapidly rising, we no longer have to book a flight to …
Learning to love foreigners well
People gathering together is a universal activity that translates into every culture. And there’s nothing quite …
What Does the Bible Say about Loving the Foreigner?
“Who is my neighbor?” — Lawyer in Luke 10:29 According to USA Today, currently 14.9% of the residential …
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Kingdom First: Leading God’s People
The Apostle Paul, gave this charge to the Ephesian church leadership: “Pay careful attention to yourselves …
Why I Stopped Entertaining People In My Home
We’re re-posting some of our favorite blog posts from 2015. Kathy’s post from October 5, 2015 is …
“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 …