Counseling Tools: Premarital Plan
For almost a decade I’ve been pastoring a church plant in the heart of downtown Columbia, …
Resources for Planter Wives
The kids decided to get creative in the kitchen. Five year old Ben chattered on excitedly …
Why neighborhood integration improves ministry opportunities
God has taken our family on a surprising, exciting and somewhat overdue journey the last two …
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How To Respond To Ethnic Tension {#SEND2015}
A little over two years ago I moved from rural Kentucky to the urban core of …
Hospitality is NOT about entertaining. What have you historically thought about when you hear the word …
I was absolutely shaking, sitting in the front seat of my minivan packed full of six …
How to Balance the Demands of Family and Ministry
My husband is currently a bi-vocational church planter. This means that he has a full time …
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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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“The goodness gospel is a friend as long as life is neat and tidy …” – Christine …
Giving Grace {From Good to Grace}
Grace is a big deal. A mighty God gave us grace and we sometimes give grace …
Receiving His Freedom {From Good To Grace}
This was one of my favorite chapters. It took me far too long to understand that …
How to stay healthy in the ministry
A few years ago I felt the itch to do something I had never done before. …
Receiving God’s Help {From Good To Grace}
We are continuing to read along in Christine Hoover’s latest book, From Good to Grace. If …
Planting healthy: The gift of rest
The Lord gives good gifts. Few people would likely disagree with this claim. He gives love, …
Death To The “Try Harder” Life {From Good To Grace}
A friend gifted Good to Grace: Letting Go of the Goodness Gospel to me. I wondered …
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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 …
You Can’t Go Back Again {From Good to Grace}
(The Flourish summer series is a blog crawl through Christine Hoover’s book “From Good to Grace: …
Just prior to take-off, the scheduled, and albeit slightly annoying, safety instructions are announced on the …
For Your Summer Reading: From Good to Grace
Join us this summer in reading through the new book From Good to Grace: Letting Go of …
“Get out your cell phones.” When is that ever said in a gathering? During the annual …
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our guest editorial is from IMB President David Platt. You will find IMB content throughout …
When You Feel Like a Hypocrite on Sunday Morning
My husband and I had a truly awful weekend together. I wish I could blame it …
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Father Models – Ten Roles Dads Play with Their Kids
Continuing our parenting series, we look specifically to fathers. Fathers play many roles in rearing their …
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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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Getting to Know God With Your Children
We’ve been working through a series of biblical and practical thoughts on parenting. This is something …
Redefining the Netflix Generation
Two small children sit entranced in front of a big box tv set. The doorbell rings …
Why Some of Us Are Loners (and Why That’s Not Good)
Though this article is written with pastors in mind, there is much for each of us …
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Every Pain Repurposed for His Glory
As my husband held down my three-month old son, I buckled the braces in place and …
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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Five Prayers to Prepare for Time on Facebook
It hasn’t just been one conversation. It has been multiple conversations. Recently someone was sharing with me …
Why I’m Rewriting My Task List Today
I’m a “get it done” kind of girl. Make the lunches. Do the laundry. Plan the …
Events You Need to Know about at the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention
Each year, at the annual gathering of Southern Baptists, there are events that women need to …
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How to shepherd your children | NAMB
Most pastors would affirm our priority is first to shepherd our family, and then to shepherd …
How to plant a church without losing your family
One of the great things about YouTube is the fact that anyone can post a video. …
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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 …
Pastor Dad: How to Lead a Family Devotion
Each evening at exactly 7:00 pm, my wife and I call our children downstairs for a …
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 …
To My 28-Year-Old Self on Mother’s Day
On Mother’s day the year I was 28, I was just hours away from giving birth …
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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Dear Mama of Littles, Perhaps you’ve snuck into the bathroom with your phone and they haven’t …
In 2008, my husband and I planted a church in a cultural context where it’s fairly …
Why We Need to Read Local Books
My face turned multiple shades of red as I sunk deep into both the couch and …
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 …
Church Planting Essentials pt. 2
Essential #2 In the “4 Essentials for every church planter” series, the second essential is this: …
A Terrifying Sentence Your Husband Might Hear
We think Craig Thompson surfaces a critical issue that ministry marriages need to be aware of. …
Church Planting Essentials pt. 1
No one is ever “officially ready” to plant a church, but there are essentials that help …
Confessions of a People Pleaser
Confession: I am a people pleaser. Wanting people to like me or approve of me as …
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 …
Finding Strength When You Face the Impossible
Though many of us have not walked through the grief and pain of losing a child, …
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 …
What Spiritual Maturity Really Looks Like
Spiritual maturity contains amazing ironies. It is strange mixture of progressive growth while simultaneously still experiencing …
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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What the Gospel Has to Say in the Face of Cancer
Because I firmly believe that God uses all my circumstances for my good and His glory, …
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The Importance of Complete Honesty
Brian Williams, one of NBC’s most respected news anchors, was recently caught in an embarrassing lie. …
Serving as a church planting apprentice
I had just left seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and was en route to join a …
NAMB’s Farm System: Serving as a Church Planting Intern
My journey of life on mission began my sophomore year of collge. As a 19-year-old student, …
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Four Tips On How To Accept Correction
Raise your hand if you like to receive correction? Just what I suspected — none of …
Serving as a student missionary
As a full-time college student, my life consists of a frantic schedule of studying, writing papers, …
When a Woman Is a Catalytic Leader
In the fall of 1939 at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Fort Worth, Texas, a group …
The Lurking Danger In Seeking Validation
A well-meaning person in our church once openly questioned why my husband and I would choose …
Five Inspirational Quotes For Life On Mission
We are a culture that collects quotes. Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest fuel our love for quippy …
Why a Small Town is a Fabulous Place to Raise Kids
In 2012, Kathy Keller wrote a blog piece, “Why the City is a Wonderful Place to Raise …
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For When You Only Have Five Minutes to Be in the Bible
I’m a sucker for a candy bowl, especially if it involves chocolate and caramel. Recently, I …
For When You Only Have Five Minutes to Be in the Bible Read More »
How to fully engage in motherhood and mission at the same time
What does it look like to be a mom on mission? When I got pregnant with …
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To The Woman Who Knows Too Much
What’s healthy is 64 ounces of water a day. What’s healthy is exercising several days a …
Saying Goodbye to Good and Hello to Grace {and a Giveaway!}
I’ve been obsessed with being good and performing all of my life. Hello, my name is …
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How To Create A New Easter Tradition
How does your family observe Holy Week and Easter? Outside of church services and doing the …
The Parable of the Peep Toe Shoe
I have a confession. Granted, I will never be confused as a fashionista—my wardrobe far too …
For When You’re Paralyzed by Planning
I’m not one to make rash decisions. No spontaneous big purchases. No impetuous schedule changes. I’m what …
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. …