Is your church a ministering church?
During this blog post series, I am trying to help you assess your church by providing …
Resources for Missional Engagement
The Key to Belonging in Your Community
I love my community. I love eating at my favorite restaurants. I love shopping at my …
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 …
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How I Started Pursuing Hospitality
The New Testament abruptly righted my lens in regard to hospitality versus entertaining when I got …
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 …
https://vimeo.com/139248295 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the only church Derek Collings and …
https://vimeo.com/140101933 86% of the people in Morgan County, Utah belong to the Church of Jesus Christ …
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 …
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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 …
Staying is the New Going – The Benefits
As I was flipping through a magazine, an ad caught my eye: “Have you been everywhere yet?” …
Staying is the New Going – The Need
There are prominent bluffs in the middle of my city where I have gone at times …
Social Skills: 7 Tips to Raise Your Game
Our lives demand social skills! Some of us have them naturally and are inclined to be …
How To Respond To Ethnic Tension {#SEND2015}
A little over two years ago I moved from rural Kentucky to the urban core of …
I was absolutely shaking, sitting in the front seat of my minivan packed full of six …
Live Life on Purpose {#Send2015}
God has set your life up for a unique display of God’s glory. You are placed …
My Life on Mission Matters {#SEND2015}
Discouraged. Disoriented. Defeated. Unfortunately, these words describe the path of many in ministry. They often do mine. …
5 Principles to Becoming an Effective Multiplying Church
Dr. Dan Morgan is one of North America’s most experienced and insightful missiologists. He has been …
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Does God Hear the Prayer of a Muslim?
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion …., a devout man and …
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our guest editorial is from IMB President David Platt. You will find IMB content throughout …
What My Generation Needs to Do for the Next Generation
As churches, denominations and Christian organizations transition their leadership into the next generation, those of us …
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Nuts and Bolts – How to Develop a Mission Statement pt. 2
Keep it simple The simplest task for a church planter should be choosing a mission statement. …
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Nuts and Bolts – How to write a mission statement
During the pre-launch phase of City Church, when we were just a core team, I remember …
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Gospel Intentionality Doesn’t Have to Feel Fake
Often when I encourage other women to engage with their neighbors, friends, and co-workers — in …
Nine Ways to Cultivate a Meaningful Summer
On the first day of this school year, I wrote the post below and entitled it …
An Everyday Missionary Disguised as a Barista
My dad has been a pastor for my entire life, and as a result, the lifestyle …
Out of the World and Into Our Neighborhood
God has taken our family on a surprising, exciting, and somewhat overdue journey the last two …
An Important Teaching on a Woman’s Purpose
Matt Chandler, lead pastor of The Village Church, wades into dangerous waters with his sermon series called …
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 …
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In 2008, my husband and I planted a church in a cultural context where it’s fairly …
Living Outside the Camp of our Comfort
We like comfy. In fact, I’m in my PJ’s, hair thrown in a ponytail, my favorite …
Christ-Centered Preaching: Part 3
This is my third and final post in a three part series (part one, part two) …
Christ-Centered Preaching: Part 2
This is the second post in a three part series on Christ-centered preaching and teaching (part …
The goal of Christ-centered preaching
Baptists through the years have emphasized the need for Christian preachers to preach the unsearchable riches …
How do I start a Mercy Ministry?
In the last blog post, I discussed the rationale for starting a mercy ministry in your …
4 reasons why Mercy Ministry is absolutely vital
If I say that mercy ministry is absolutely vital—which I think it is—to a church’s local …
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Serving as a student missionary
As a full-time college student, my life consists of a frantic schedule of studying, writing papers, …
Five Inspirational Quotes For Life On Mission
We are a culture that collects quotes. Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest fuel our love for quippy …
How To Create A New Easter Tradition
How does your family observe Holy Week and Easter? Outside of church services and doing the …
When NOT to Multiply a Missional Community?
Editor’s Note: Multiplication is a critical piece of effectively making disciples, and foundational to a movement. …
When should I multiply a missional community?
Editor’s Note: Multiplication is a critical piece of effectively making disciples, and foundational to a movement. …
Why Multiply A Missional Community?
Editor’s Note: Multiplication is a critical piece of effectively making disciples, and foundational to a movement. …
Welcoming Foreigners into My Home
Women gathering together is a universal activity that translates in every culture. And there’s nothing quite like …
How to minister during suffering
We’ve been spending some time in Psalm 4, learning from David as he responds to deep …
Last week I argued that it’s not human responsibility to define human need, giving three reasons …
I’ve been spending some time reflecting on Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 6. I’ve laid out 3 …
It was 12 years ago that a neighbor invited my family to a church plant called Sojourn. …
When I first moved to New Orleans, a couple of church planters invited me to a …
Loving will almost always require inconvenience. At least that’s what I’ve been learning lately. Recently God …
Have you thought about revitalization?
“Have you thought about revitalization?” My missions professor asked me this question one day as I …
“I wanted to change the world, but I couldn’t find a babysitter,” said a mother. Motherhood …
In a blog post yesterday Slavery: We Must End It, I wrote about the Christian’s responsibility …
Love is work. To love a city, a people, a church community, well, it takes thought, …
How To Close the Racial Divide
In Monday’s blog we identified the biggest ministry lesson from 2014 to be the racial divide …
Four Responses to Our Racial Divide
Unintentionally in 2014, Flourish started a new year practice of identifying the biggest ministry lesson of …
3 reasons why I am a missionary coach
“Do you think coaching will be around a few years from now or will it be …
Generosity as a Church: Releasing Your Best
How much should a church give to church planting or missions in general? Should a church …
As spiritual leaders we come alongside people often in the midst of losses. We are asked …
Entertaining Versus Hospitality
The guests have arrived! The doorbell rings, you glance around the living room area to make …
An Introvert, a Minister’s Wife, and the Great Commission
As a ministry wife, I spend a lot of time with my church. If I’m not …
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Jesus ate with sinners. Repeatedly. Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him …
Three Circles Three Arrows: In the Ice Cream Aisle
Confession time, each Wednesday I anxiously await the mailman to faithfully deliver the weekly sale circular, …
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Four Things to do When Bringing Home a Child from Hard Places
{Editor’s Note: This article was originally posted on jamieivey.com on September 4, 2013.} When we brought …
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When Clay Holcomb moved to Portland, Oregon to start a church, he knew he’d probably be …
I gathered with a group of women who were grieving for a friend who just had …
What Everyday Life Says About Us (Part 2)
Everyday life provides the battlefields on which our character (see Character… What Everyday Life Says About Us …
What Everyday Life Says About Us
Why character? Because people watch leaders. Some of you hate that notion. They watch not only …
Speak the Gospel. Use Deeds When Necessary.
We’ve bought the line, “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”
[This quote …
In my last blog post, I encouraged all of us ministry wives to be a strong …
The Most Taboo Conversation in the Church
The other day it struck me. Don’t get too excited. Most of you will either furrow …
Life as a pastor’s wife can certainly be lonely. We know many people, but we are …
As a way to show him love, I’m giving him the city this year. Our city …