Dear Friends,

I am very sorry to hear and see the pictures of awful storm of Tornado in USA . (A Tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth)

.  it is heart breaking and terrible event . it is so sad to hear that many people lost their lives and lost everything.

There are so many people… Continue

Can an established church make the missional church transition? This is a good question. 

 

In The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch says that the missional church “is a community of God’s people that defines itself, and organizes its life around, the real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world. In other words, the church’s true and authentic…

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Just wanted to throw out this quote from C. S. Lewis' book The Weight of Glory:

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what…

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Unless you are a church where all of the young people leave to go see their parents, your highest worship attendance this year will most likely be on Easter. I would guess that the average church receives at least a 20% bump in…

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The Story of Redemption is an eight part evangelistic Bible study that I have written to help lead unchurched, postmodern people to faith in Jesus Christ. This story is largely narrative in form, which is appropriate for many reasons. [1]

• Humans are storytellers, and they make sense of their lives through narrative.[2]
• Most of Scripture is narrative, and the Christian faith was presented…

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All I have to say is that I have not been more marked by the Scriptures or more convicted of my idols and shortcomings than when I walked through this book. 

I can't begin to unpack all of it.  To more understand the depth of what I'm saying and to hear the journey (mp3's, transcripts and study guides) go to http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/sermons and start with The Angst of Waiting (12/19/2010) and then go on to Parts 1 through 11…

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J esus said to his disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you" (Jn. 20:21). Being sent is a part of who and what God does.

 

The more that the missional understanding is taking hold, the more this understanding causes us to rethink all of our daily lives and church life and practice. Mission was once relegated to a side ministry of the church. In…

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Back in 2008, David Laubach presented some statistics at the Baptist World Alliance gathering in Prague. There he stated that church attendance was stagnant or declining in 75% of churches in America. Of the remaining churches, 24% of churches were “growing” by getting members from the declining churches. Only 1% of churches are growing from reaching the unchurched.…

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If your church one day ceased to exist, what would people in the community say? 

• Good! I'm glad to get rid of those mean-spirited, difficult people; or
• I didn't even know they existed; or
• Oh no. What will we do? This church has meant everything to do this community!

When I first heard this question years ago, it struck me. Perhaps it was because most churches I was a part of growing up seemed to be little known in the community. …

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In our fellowship, usually the only thing that people ask about to determine if someone is Christian and part of the body of Christ is, have they been baptized?

 

There are several problems with this, but the one that comes to mind right now has to do with Mormonism. Mormons baptize. They even immerse and baptize for the forgiveness of sins. Are they…

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In the Old Testament, God's Spirit was given only to select leaders. In the New Testament, however, it is clear that the Spirit of God has been given to all of God's people. On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit was outpoured:

 

¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says, 

   I will pour out my Spirit on all people. 

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, 

   your young men will see…

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Our small group has six youngsters that are full of energy and who have wide open hearts for God's Word. Some of them were desiring to be baptized. At such a young age, their parents were concerned that they need to have some grasp of what baptism meant and how it is a part of a larger faith experience. 

We decided to study through…

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Last night I got this message from a contact form on our website:

"I've recently moved to McKinney and I'm looking for a new church home and would like to visit this Sunday if possible. I didn't know if notice was necessary? Any info would be helpful. Please feel free to email…

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A mission-minded family focus for April Fool's Day - for prayer & outreach:

ATHEISM

- Psalm 14:1 tells us, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no…

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In Matthew 28:18-20 we find what is typically referred to as "The Great Commission." Here it is:

 

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of…

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ChurchLeaders.com reported this shocking announcement:



Less than a year after his departure, Chan has returned.

SIMI VALLEY – Bestselling author and Pastor Francis Chan made a return to the platform last Sunday at Cornerstone, his former church in Simi Valley. He announced that he had “big news” to share with the church. “I’m coming back,” he said. It was on Sunday, April 18, 2010 that Chan announced to his congregation that he felt “called to resign” his role at the church.… Continue